bhgl
Active Member
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2024
- Messages
- 260
- Reaction score
- 206
- Points
- 43
- Location
- Northern Ontario, Canada
- Vehicle Year
- 2003
- Make / Model
- Mazda B3000
- Engine Type
- 3.0 V6
- Transmission
- Automatic
- 2WD / 4WD
- 2WD
Howdy Folks,
I'm doing a tune up on MAB3L, and we're taking a look at cleaning up spark. We've got some quality NGK Iridium XPs going in, new NGK Wires, and now I'm staring at the the old ignition coil and one of the towers has a small crack, and overall it looks generally in bad shape, but it still in fact works. It looks to be the original Motorcraft unit, given my truck's frankenstein nature, its impossible to tell how many miles it has.
Since I'm under here, and really want to improve the overall efficiency of this motor, I'm debating spending an extra couple dollars for a quality unit, or even the extra money for an upgraded unit. Short of intake, exhaust, and maybe a mild tune down the road the motor will remain stock. I'm not looking to make a return from fuel economy, an ignition coil is not going to pay itself back before it eventually dies itself, small gains in efficiency and performance are always appreciated. Even 0.5% increases add up and for my specific use case, are worth pursuing.
Mystery meat coils like this one on Canadian Amazon can be had for 33$, reviews seem to be surprisingly good. I myself have actually had great luck with an amazon-special coil of this exact design for my Ford Freestar.
Reputable OEM replacement coils (NGK, Hitachi, Denso) start at 60-80$ CAD, with the OEM Motorcraft unit around 93$ on RockAuto (as I'm Canadian, the prices on Rockauto are great, but I will as usual pay a bit extra in duties and shipping).
(Allegedly) Upgraded units like this one from MSD 5529 are touching just under 200$ CAD, with free shipping. Steep, but a bullet I can bite. Reviews on the amazon page for the most part just seem to say it was a suitable replacement for their broken coils, and frankly, it appears to come in the same casing with no additional markings. Not to say that stickers and a red paint job make things faster, but for an upgraded part they usually do a little something? This makes me wonder if MSD just bought a quality OEM batch vs. designing an improved unit.
This Accel unit, which isn't the same design as those installed on my 3.0 V6, appears to have the most proven performance record. It's not designed for this truck in particular. The connectors ALMOST look the same, but if I need to replace the existing connector it's a 4$ part, no big deal. The wire plugs in appear to be different as well, I can grab different wires or put new plugs on the existing set, again no big deal. Big Deal however, there's no telling if the ECU will want to talk to this unit either. I can most likely find the OEM version of this coil used and see if it works before I spend the big bucks, but that's a lotta fucking around.
Finally, this Davis Unified unit through summit racing should be a direct fit, and seems to be rated well and will improve spark performance according to reviews and testimony, it'll probably cost me a pretty penny to get it over the border though, but ultimately may be worth it if it works well. Folks are saying it allows the plugs to be gapped up to .060 and spark well. Which would be that performance and efficiency gain I'm looking for.
If anyone has recommendations, or any ideas on how to improve the ignition on these models of 3.0 V6, whether that's parts, conversion, e.t.c. I'm willing to spend around 200 Canadian on a coil, or suitable upgrades/conversions that don't require substantial overhauls.
Thanks as always forum!
EDIT: Added the Davis Unified unit.
I'm doing a tune up on MAB3L, and we're taking a look at cleaning up spark. We've got some quality NGK Iridium XPs going in, new NGK Wires, and now I'm staring at the the old ignition coil and one of the towers has a small crack, and overall it looks generally in bad shape, but it still in fact works. It looks to be the original Motorcraft unit, given my truck's frankenstein nature, its impossible to tell how many miles it has.
Since I'm under here, and really want to improve the overall efficiency of this motor, I'm debating spending an extra couple dollars for a quality unit, or even the extra money for an upgraded unit. Short of intake, exhaust, and maybe a mild tune down the road the motor will remain stock. I'm not looking to make a return from fuel economy, an ignition coil is not going to pay itself back before it eventually dies itself, small gains in efficiency and performance are always appreciated. Even 0.5% increases add up and for my specific use case, are worth pursuing.
Mystery meat coils like this one on Canadian Amazon can be had for 33$, reviews seem to be surprisingly good. I myself have actually had great luck with an amazon-special coil of this exact design for my Ford Freestar.
Reputable OEM replacement coils (NGK, Hitachi, Denso) start at 60-80$ CAD, with the OEM Motorcraft unit around 93$ on RockAuto (as I'm Canadian, the prices on Rockauto are great, but I will as usual pay a bit extra in duties and shipping).
(Allegedly) Upgraded units like this one from MSD 5529 are touching just under 200$ CAD, with free shipping. Steep, but a bullet I can bite. Reviews on the amazon page for the most part just seem to say it was a suitable replacement for their broken coils, and frankly, it appears to come in the same casing with no additional markings. Not to say that stickers and a red paint job make things faster, but for an upgraded part they usually do a little something? This makes me wonder if MSD just bought a quality OEM batch vs. designing an improved unit.
This Accel unit, which isn't the same design as those installed on my 3.0 V6, appears to have the most proven performance record. It's not designed for this truck in particular. The connectors ALMOST look the same, but if I need to replace the existing connector it's a 4$ part, no big deal. The wire plugs in appear to be different as well, I can grab different wires or put new plugs on the existing set, again no big deal. Big Deal however, there's no telling if the ECU will want to talk to this unit either. I can most likely find the OEM version of this coil used and see if it works before I spend the big bucks, but that's a lotta fucking around.
Finally, this Davis Unified unit through summit racing should be a direct fit, and seems to be rated well and will improve spark performance according to reviews and testimony, it'll probably cost me a pretty penny to get it over the border though, but ultimately may be worth it if it works well. Folks are saying it allows the plugs to be gapped up to .060 and spark well. Which would be that performance and efficiency gain I'm looking for.
If anyone has recommendations, or any ideas on how to improve the ignition on these models of 3.0 V6, whether that's parts, conversion, e.t.c. I'm willing to spend around 200 Canadian on a coil, or suitable upgrades/conversions that don't require substantial overhauls.
Thanks as always forum!
EDIT: Added the Davis Unified unit.
Last edited: