Accel Opti
The unvented one was problematic, but the vented is a pretty good piece not perfect but then what OEM is.
Name one other distributor you have left a cap and rotor on for 100K+ before it acts up. The opti cap and rotor get neglected because they are expensive and a hassle to replace. Now I am not saying everyone should do it with plugs the way they did an HEI just that when after a whole lot of miles when it finally does go UNDERSTAND a cap and rotor are wear items simple as that on every distributor ever made.
Simple logic like this escapes most people these days and the internet just gives those idiots a louder voice, and few logical folks have the stuborn streak I do to keep telling people how wrong they are.
FWIW when its working right the opti is extremely accurate at timing ignition events. The only real weakness IMO is the succeptibility to moisture.
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So I bought a Delteq but ultimately still needed to buy a good GM opti to get it to run right. If you never replace your cap and rotor and then get pissed off when you have a misfire at 150K miles, don't say "damn opti's suck". It's your fault.
If you have a water pump leaking that you never check or fix and it takes out the photo emitter, don't say "damn opti's suck". That's your fault as well
Sure, you need to be a little more cautious due to the area in which it's mounted. However if you use common sense and normal maintenance logic, an opti will last you a very long time.
That being said, on the end of aftermarket ignition. If your going to replace the unit with something aftermarket, I would not go with an opti unit. Not by fault of the opti, but because I do not favor single coil setups. The opti works great for ignition control, but using that system with multiple coil setups is really the best of both worlds.
Your post seems to indicate you think the coil is part of the opti?????? Have you popped the hood on your car? To change a CAP AND ROTOR it would be downright silly to try to leave the opti on that car, the 3-4 bolts that hold it on are nothing compared to what has to be removed to get to it and the coil is mounted up on the head.
The MSD cap and rotor kits are available but keep going out of stock due to high demand, everyone swears they are a huge upgrade but having only been out a few months that remains to be proven. The price is reasonable and they appear to be a better constructed rotor in particular so I bought one and will give it a shot. To claim all these untested parts are wonderful is irresponsible though.
Just wondered if you could replace the cap and rotor without having to do as much work as a full opti replacement.
I will likley replace it if do have to do same amount of work either way.
Car is under the snow in storage so can't go look at it right now.Have glanced under there but not really looked at it all that close.
Murphy's law says you have to replace the waterpump at the same time otherwise it will begin leaking shortly after you reinstall, ask me how I know. NAPA reman pumps are pretty cheap like $40 or so and from what I have seen have a better trackrecord than the "new" GM ones which seem to like to be bad out of the box and cost 3 times as much.





