bunker

The opti with the LTCC will last forever, especially if you get rid of the rotor all together. I didn't remove the rotor cuz I fergot & I'm not going in there just for that, lol , but once my new JOE cam goes in next year prolly, I'm taking the opti apart & taking the rotor out.

Matt.

RicocheT

Saw another thread about this and it was talking about what stage two included... well I ment to ask this on there but hadn't seen it come up in a while so I figured I'd ask on here, the stage 2 seems to replace the optical sensor with some type of magnet and use the same plastic casing. Is there no way to just get rid of that all together and use something like MSD's crank trigger for the low res signal?

CamaroSS30thAnn

u got me on that 1

HOZZ4

Just to clarify...

The Stage 1 kit (which eliminates cap and rotor from the opti) is $667.25. This kit requires NO fabrication work of any sort. Everything is included to run your vehicle off the included brand-new GM Coilpack.

Stage 2 is not yet available, but when it is, it will be $806.65. And yes, I will keep everyone posted as to when it is available!

When doing a cost analysis of our unit vs. replacing the stock opti a few times, there are a few things to consider. True, our unit is about 2x - 3x the cost of a replacement late-style opti (not 5x). Most late-style optis are about $220-$300 (before shipping is added). However, the install is incredibly simple. As long as your opti sensors are still working, you just leave your opti in place and install our system (no water pump removal, no camper removal, etc).

The cost of an early-style opti is generally over $300, right? So now, the cost comparison is closer to 2x...

Also, remember that when the high-voltage side of the opti is removed, there is no longer caustic ozone production inside of the opti, and the sensors tend to last longer from never getting exposed to an arc from a worn out cap or a damaged rotor. So really, we are increasing the longevity if the opti-spark sensors by removing the high-voltage.

Finally, this is NOT an apples-to-apples comparison! The coils that Delteq uses supply much more energy that the stock opti-spark setup. Higher rpm's with full coil charging is the main benefit to the system, but most of our users will tell you that there is a noticable difference to idle and part throttle quality as well. But don't ask me...ask them!


Pete

Injuneer

A few of us have been running our LT1's using only the optical section of the Opti and the LS1 coils for several years. Not an LTCC or Delteq, but still an example of what happens when you remove the high voltage stuff from the Opti. George Baxter made 1,125HP on this setup, with close to 8,000rpm redline... and the ignition system was faultless for almost 4 years. My engine has been producing 800HP on the same setup for about 3 years.

The optical sensor provides a very high accuracy cam and "pseudo" crank position signal. It is really a great system.... if they had just isolated it better from the outside world, and put a decent bearing in the case.

VIPRETR

Well, I just bought an Opti from Dal and it was $198 before shipping. I thing your product looks good but let's not over inflate opti prices,. If you look you can find them at a somewhat reasonable price. The average opti should last at least 20K miles if installed correctly, most likely much more. It would take a while to to justify your product price wise when selling to a customer who will not "push the envelope" with their car. With that said, I think your product will work well and I would purchase one myself if I didn't have an Accel DFI unit sitting on a shelf in my garage. I'm happy to see more options coming to market for those who want to eliminate *most* of the optispark. Agian, this was not meant as a flame, I just disagree with your price comparisons as a selling point.

ram air camaro

delteq replacement are one of the best new things to the LT-1's, but now consider the opti is gone bad and your wanting to put a delteq to me that sounds like a bad idea! since the delteq is not a complete substitute so therfore you have to replace the opti $300 + delteq $600 or so now we have a problem (exspensive) what im trying to say is it's only a good idea if opti is still good! i'll wait till there's a complete replacement and being able to throw the whole opti away for good, i'm hoping. correct me if i'm wrong?

CamaroSS30thAnn

that would be awesome......the only thing that LT1 owner usully are complaining about is their opti...to get rid of it completely would be just great........just b/c those Ls1 owners dont have an opti they think they are surperior to us lol.....j/k

97WS6SCharged

If you want to completely rid yourself of the opti, just drill the manifold, remove the oil pump drive shaft, install a distributor and run the car in batch mode. Done deal.

ram air camaro

true!

HOZZ4

Sorry about the "misleading" opti-spark price comparison...I have never seen anyone selling a late opti for $200! Then again, I haven't bought anything from Dal...yet! Looks like I found my new GM parts source!

So what are his prices on the early design opti? It's got to be a bit more, right?

Anyway, I agree that for typical street use, an opti-spark will *sometimes* hold up well...as long as it is the 2nd design! As a funny anecdote, one of our customers had contacted us before the Opti-Direct kit was available, so we put him on a waiting list. When we finally had a system ready to sell, I called him up, and he said that he had just replaced his opti-spark at the dealership (for $900!!...and that's actually a not-uncommon number for people getting a new opti installed at a dealer! I've actually heard even worse, too.). This all happened in late November.

Two weeks ago, he bought an Opti-Direct kit from us because the car was not running properly (and was actually throwing misfire codes!)...after only 3 months!! I have to admit, I was pretty surprised to see one fail THAT quickly. Especially since it was the 2nd design opti. The nice part was that, like most of the opti failures, the sensors were still perfect, it was just a cap and/or rotor problem of some sort. I am not trying to be a salesman with that story, I just thought everyone would find an experience like that humerous...as long as it did not happen to them personally!

I have one quick question that I would like to get some feedback on (this is assuming you have owned a pre-LT1 SBC):

How long do/did you go before changing the cap and rotor? Obviously, this will depend on your style of driving, but I can't remember ever driving conservatively enough with any of my cars (including my current 92 Camaro) to get more than 20K miles from a cap and rotor before it looked like a bomb went off inside the distributor!

Unfortunately, I think most of us (myself included, before we made the Opti-Direct) go way too long on our Opti-Spark cap and rotor because it is such a pain to change. And therein lies the true beauty of the direct ignition system...nothing wears out!!

Pete

kmook

Good post Pete. As far as the dist question, my friend with a gen1 SBC goes through them quick.

One point that I think people don’t think about is labor, and the pain in the *** factor of opti's. Yes one of these new ignition replacement systems coming out these days might cost 3x that of an opti, But once you install it you are done messing with the ignition for virtually forever. True you may buy 3 opti's for $600, but that is also 3 opti replacements you have to do.

But hey, maybe you don’t mind doing tons of monotonous work over and over again on your car... in that case, I have a yard that needs raking every week

97WS6SCharged

I've had a billet distributor on an older TPI car that lasted for a few years and quite a bit of abuse. My father has a stock style small cap in his truck that lasted to about 160,000 miles before it died, and I believe he replaced the plugs and wires/cap and rotor every 60-80k miles. I wish my tires would last as long as his, he gets about 80K miles to a set of tires vs my 25k (If I'm lucky).

I'm probably going to go with the LTCC when my current opti wears out now that MBA is starting to make mounting hardware for the coils.