I am writing in reference to Mr. John P. McKay’s letter in the March issue of the Roundel concerning which electronic ignition to buy for a BMW 2002. I would like to offer my advice.
I have a BMW 2002tii whose engine has been modified by Miller & Norburn. One nagging problem which I had at the beginning with this engine was spark plug fouling due to the cold plugs required with 10:5 compression and a 330 degree camshaft. They would last only a few hundred miles before fouling and no manner of tuning would help solve the problem.
I installed a Speedatron CD ignition along with a Bosch Blue Coil. The Blue Coil was necessary because the terminals in the stock coil could not be removed to fit the wiring of the Speedatron unit. Right now, the engine has done about 2500 miles of city-country driving without experiencing fouling problems. This unit has certainly proved its worth. Points last longer, and I no longer have plug fouling problems at high RPM despite the use of relatively cold spark plugs N NGK B8ES’.
I hope my experience with this modification will be of help to Mr. McKay and other BMWCCA members.
Author: Manuel Rodriguez Mehrhof
I installed Pertronix in my 76-02 and have had nothing but trouble. It took four hours to figure out the wiring sequence and to make the tach work. Since then the system has been very unreliable. Some days it starts and other days it does not. I have tested grounding and other leads until I am blue in the face. Pertronix has been useless for help.
This is just too fragile a device to try to use for ignition duty.
I installed Pertronix in my 76-02 and have had nothing but trouble. It took four hours to figure out the wiring sequence and to make the tach work. Since then the system has been very unreliable. Some days it starts and other days it does not. I have tested grounding and other leads until I am blue in the face. Pertronix has been useless for help.
This is just too fragile a device to try to use for ignition duty.