i have a 97 lt1 and the opti spark keeps breaking the rotor is breaking only at high rpms anyone have a clue

 

Replace it with msd one stock one is garbage

 

Possibly the rotor screws are vibrating loose, or the wiper contact is coming loose. In the GM it is just held on with melted plastic.

I like the MSD Opti, however, I used some replacement Allen socket-head screws and thread-locker to keep the rotor screws from getting loose. Also, the MSD cap and rotor are much better than the GMs.

WD

 

I also have the MSD Unit, really like it and have not had a problem yet...

 

i have put locktite on the bolts that hold the rotor and made sure everything is tight it just keeps breaking the tab of the rotor or breaking it in half

 

The MSD one is more garbage than stock, MUCH higher failure percentage.

IMO an MSD cap and rotor on a stock base is the right choice.

I am starting to wonder though if particular engine setups are causing the stock opti problems, seems like some guys always have issues with parts others don't. IMO there are a lot more poor tuned and valvetrained setup out there than folks realize and I wonder if harmonics from all that is what breaks rotors on guys. For every guy who cries the opti is junk there is someone going just as fast without a problem.

 

the car is stroked to a 383 and has the lt4 hot cam kit i have herad that it might have something to do with the cam but i don't know

 

Well that cam in a stroker was a mistake but I can't see it being the cause of this. It should not rev high enough to be causing rotor damage. a cam that small in a 383 you rev it too what maybe 6300 MAX. Gobs of cam only LT1s out there reving higher reliably on stock optis.

 

yea i bought the car with that cam in it what cam should i go with i guess iam going to try the msd cap and rotor see if that works for me

 

You might measure the length of the dowel pin. If it's too long (> .680"), I've heard stories of it pressing against the optispark's rear bearing, thus pushing the rotor against the cap (or something to that effect), and blowing things apart.

I use a 1995+ type-2 optispark, and I think my cam dowel measured around .620" ~ .630" protruding from the face of the camshaft. At very least, measure the dowel length from the face of the cam gear, and compare it to the depth of the slot on the opti drive mechanism.

 

on my opti it has the shaft with the two o-rings on the back and on those there is only one way to put them on just make sure they are lined up on the msd cap and rotor kit dose it come with the little bolt in the wiper blade

 

I respectfully disagree and my position is based on a “considerable amount” of testing with both the GM and MSD Optis! And, I’m in routine contact with the engineering staff at MSD on their Opti.

Just out of curiosity, have you actually tried the MSD Opti on you engine, or have you just simply drawn a conclusion (possibility based on your emotions)?

Additionally, I’ve noticed your posts are often very “heavy-handed” and routinely refer to people here on the forum as “stupid” (myself included). Therefore, I was wondering what type of “objective” performance assessment you have performed on the MSD Opti, or if you’re falling into the same “mind-set” you routinely accuse people of here on the forum?

WD

 

dose the cap and rotor kit come with a bolt holding the wiper contact

 

I love my MSD opti! I have even done the forbidden and pressure washed my engine bay without even a hiccup!

 

I have pressure washed my engines with completely stock optis without a problem too.

I have handled the MSD opti when we took it off a guys car to put a stocker back on. I can't affort to make every mistake, I need to learn from others and when I make mistakes hope to help others learn from mine.

I have put roughly 180K miles on my LT1/l99s, worst opti "problem" I have had is the wagon needed a cap and rotor replacement, car had somewhere up around 190K on it no idea if that cap and rotor were original but I just put the old ones from the Caprice on it, sits at 222K today. The Caprice I put the MSD cap and rotor on when I did the heads and cam removing a functioning cap and rotor.

I know a guy with a 9 second car that the MSD could not survive the burnout(optical unit) so he went back to stock optis with self modded rotor, don't know what he does too it but he does something and they work.

A lot of guys that initially liked the MSD complete opti have withdrawn that opinion.

If the MSD opti works for you great, but it's failure percentage is MUCH higher than stock and it cost twice as much, as well as the fact all most need is a fresh cap and rotor which is only $150 if you go with MSD, take the $350 saved and put it towards say rockers and springs, make a real difference in performance.

If everyone bought into marketing hype the way some of you do we would not have anything but Hypercrap and Granatelli to mod our cars with. Skeptics and thinkers like me are necessary to force GOOD products to market.

I have had cut heater hoses, standing water, wp failures etc. never had an opti base fail bearing or sensor, only had one cap and rotor wear to the point of impacting performance.

 

What your forgetting to add is that people bad mouth the stock opti everyday too! Anytime someone's LT1 is missing they automatically blame the opti whether it be stock or MSD. You also can't just say the MSD is "known" to fail more often because most of the time it is the installer's fault. Also it is unfair to base your conclusions on a few people that posted up about it on forums. Now MSD is using a different O-ring compared to the round one they used to use when their opti first came out. People were just throwing it on without being sure it stayed on the lip it was supposed to be on, so it would be on crooked and the rotor would rub causing failure. The new O-ring is square so it doesn't roll off the lip as easy...that is the one I used! I also bought my MSD opti about a year after they came out so some of the bugs could have been worked out by then. Obviously when a new product comes out not everything can be perfect the first time around and you correct from there with real world testing.

 

You and I are on the same page and I don't believe many people here on the forum have the Opti experience I have. Also, I don't pressure-wash "any" GM distributor, Including the Optis. Here is a photo of the new square O-ring.

WD

 

You, he, and I are on the same page.

GM Optispark failures are not some internet myth/conspiracy -- it has always been the LT1's weakest link. To say the MSD has surpassed the failure rate of the GM optispark over the past 16 years is utter nonsense. It hasn't been around long enough for anyone to form such a conclusion, let alone by someone who has no personal experience with the product other than "briefly holding one".

The MSD is a newer product, and has had a few bad design flaws, but I recall even GM had to redesign their "flawless" unit in 1995. I'm rather impressed with how quickly MSD has worked out the kinks, and I'm thrilled that the LT1 even has a market 10 years after its demise. My MSD is doing great after 5000 miles, even with the old round o-ring, but time will tell.