i just got my carbs dialed in perfectly. and im thinking about getting a new ignition system. i want to get rid of the 009, and replace it with a vacuum advance unilite with the promaster coil.((im going after MPG) but after researching the unilite, it seems the newer models are prone to problems compared to the older units. is this still the case? any mallory users out there? particularly the newer models?

Jake was not enthusiastic about them a while ago. Maybe they have worked it out, because I got an old one from Massive few years ago and it was a great improvement over the .050 I was using.

i just noticed i could use a svda dizzy and still keep my compufire dis-ix system. the svda uses the 009 cap and rotor so my disix will fit. yahoo! i think i just save a ton of money and still use my old setup. and have the advantage of vacuum advance.

damn it. im back to the mallory. my disix wont work. bummer.

If you get a unilite, make sure you buy the circuit guard box they sell or you will
fry your ignition module ($90). Ask me how I know. Also, make sure you have
a ballast resistor wired properly if you are not using a ballasted coil or you will
fry your ignition module ($90) as well.

I am using a unilite with my Raby 2270. I have not used any other distributor
with this engine so it is hard to compare. I can tell you that my idle is never
100% stable on my digital timing light. I tends to bounce around a 40 rpm
range all the time. I think there is some play in the shaft and internals that
causes this. I replaced the pin in the shaft that came with the unit with one
from an old 090 which was better but still not perfect.

John

john, how old is it?

We no longer sell the units, but I still use them on turnkey engines after modifications to several aspects of them. The units are not what they were prior to 2007, but they are still the best thing going (for the price) that I've noted after the mods are made to them.

The biggest issue is most people that sell them don't know how they are supposed to operate. When we sold them, we set every unit up on an engine in the dyno test cell to keep issues from occurring and not even that worked.

I have got one with mechanical advance. Still have not gotten it set quite right. I did a lot of research online and with location VW shops, all of them said go mallory. It was half and half on the advance style. I like it so much better then my 009 bosch. I had a cylinder died on me so my engine is in rebuild stage currently. Not related to ignition problems. You have to get the ballest resistor for them and the advance spring kit to reset the advance to a type4. They are preset to like 24 degrees or something advance. Type 4s like 16 degrees advance it i remember correctly.

Check with Chris at Tangerine Racing , he's in the vendors section ( Racer Chris ) . he sell a mallory setup . Maybe your best route.

Jack / Jaxdream

I've had a mechanical advance mallory unilite in my bus for maybe 6-7 years now. It makes much better power than the 009 with pertronix that was in there.

The bonus of the Mallary is that it is fully adjustable as far as degrees of total advance and, with the spring kit, how quickly it will advance. Everyone says to just put the grey springs in so if you can just get those, I think that's how they set it up at tangerine.

I've got the old version, that was supposed to be made better and it's ALWAYS had a problem with spark scatter. It's alright at idle but it's all over the place with any revs. I think it's the shafts that the advance/ cam plates pivot on. With the module out, you can move them up and down quite a lot; there is a lot of slop there.

The next iteration of my bus engine (once I get my 914 driveable ) I'm thinking about a distributorless system. Here are some links, this guy has a MegaJolt Lite Jr. and Ford edis 4
http://vw.zenseeker.net/Ignition.htm
This is a kit, though it is for Type I engines.
http://www.boostengineering.net/product_p/...jljkitblack.htm

and more info on such a system:
http://www.autosportlabs.net/MegaJolt_Lite_Jr.

I guess the challenge would be mounting the trigger wheel, I'm thinking similar to/ in the same position as the factory put the drive pulley for the air conditioning compressor, behind the cooling fan - though maybe not on account of oil leaks at the fan pulley?

Sorry to go on, there must be some better option than the unilite

Be sure to get a back up module along with the voltage spike preventer.

I agree with the voltage spike reducer. I had a Unilite with about 5000 miles on it that suddenly died when I was driving down the interstate. The car had experienced no voltage spikes. Voltage regulater was new, there had been no improper wiring connections, no jump starts, nothing that would have caused a failure. I replaced the control unit, and added the voltage spike reducer. Has worked well for about 15,000 miles now. Of course, I always carry a spare dizzy just in case. JoeO

wow i really thought mallory was the set up to have. maybe i will go with the SVDA. its cheaper, uses a regular coil and has the petronics option. i will have to lace a want ad for the strap that hold the coil to the engine. ARGH

The mallory can use the stock coil or you can use a better coil. Mallory sells a resistor if your coil doesn't have one. The Mallory's optical pickup is superior to the magnetic one. Modules for the Mallory are cheaper than new pertronix units also, though Mallory caps are like $40. The scatter is the only problem, and it's not worse than my 009 that way.

I'm not so sure that you need to run spiral wound plug wires with the mallory. I ran bosch wires for years before I heard that without any problems.

You do want the spiral wound wires. I killed a Mallory not running them - did not know any better.

I swapped out to a much bigger coil (the Accel Ultra Coil) for my Mallory. It can take the power, and it has helped my car burn through plug fouling from running rich (still tuning, still tuning).

Mine also has a bit of scatter at idle.

Also, be careful setting the static advance. Mine was off. The static advance plate shifts around easy when you are trying to tighten it down on the keys. It took some fiddling to get it right.

Once I fix my exhaust leak and buy a new timing light I can finish tuning my ignition. (and I have not even touched the car since I parked it in November - too damn cold and not enough time).

The Mallory helps your engine pull A LOT harder then stock or an 009, but it does have quirks that need to be assessed.

Zach