Smartcoils & other ignition questions

[Jurgen Hartwig]

> I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "smartcoils". I'm familiar with a
> setup for the GM V6 that has the module with three wasted spark coils
> bolted directly on top of it. The latest LS-1 V8 has one coil per plug,
> with the coil mounted directly at the spark plug. These are not wasted
> spark, however, requiring eight coils and coil drivers.

Here's an excerpt of a past post, dated 29 May 1998, by Gar:

>>>>>
Oh Man, you don't know the half of it!! A guy in our Aviation group that
works in a GM lab sent me one of these off a decommissioned test
vehicle, and they are NOT mere IGN coils, they're complete single-coil
IGN "systems". They contain ALL the electronics for dwell control,
current limiting, etc etc. These coils are DIRECTLY run from the
ECM/PCM. There is NO module. They have 4 terminals (plus the HV
terminal, that uses these ratchet style terminals I was tellin bout
yesterday), two for Bat Gnd, and Bat +12V, and the other two are the
digital EST signal and it's low-noise gnd return. Not usable for ION as
a transformer-type coil, cuz you cain't get to either the primary or
secondary on these puppies, but still a VERY elegant setup, indeed.
That ain't all. The biggest shock is yet to come. Brace yerself. They're
actually CHEAP (and nice and light, too). I couldn't believe it when I
went to check them out further. The GM parts counter LIST price is $41
for each "smart coil", and EVEN the harness for tying four of them
together is reasonable, list price of $62. You get 4 connectors for the
4 coils, and another larger connector. Not a bad price for 4 GM
connectors and pigtails (if you decided you couldn't use the harness as
is), at the very least, and you might even be able to get the bigger
connector from Packard! The shorty coil wires (yes, these DON'T squat
ontop the coils) have them real nice connectors I mentioned, and they as
well are pretty reasonable, at $11 ea list. My GM pal who must remain
anonymous says you'll see these exact same LS-1 smartCoils appearing on
all the big block truck and bus engines next year! That's what my
samples came off of, NOT LS-1 engines. Heh.
>>>>>>

The ones I looked up for the Camaro do indeed have spark plug wires, so
they are not coil on spark plug.  Additionally, since these have igniters
onboard, there is no need for any boxes.  What I am trying to determine is
if my Wolf 3D setup will directly drive two "smart coils" in waste spark
fashion.  The Wolf system cannot do direct ignition, which really isn't a
big deal for me having only a 4 cylinder engine.  I need to wait until
after the holiday to get in touch with Wolf EMS.  I just wanted to throw
out an email to see if anyone has any direct experience with these coils.

My second option is to use dual post coils and igniters from an RX-7.
They are roughly $30-50US each used and have igniters beneath each coil.

With either setup, I'm not looking at more than $150, and in my opinion,
this package is relatively inexpensive upgrade to simple waste spark
ignition.

To anyone who cares, I picked up my Wolf 3D setup for $645US used, and it
uses plain vanilla GM sensors and can be triggered by a simple Ford Escort
magnetic sensor ($18 from NAPA).  With some creativity, I'll keep costs
below $1000, and be able to go with forced induction in the near future.
I just don't have the brute knowledge to cobble together a GM setup, so I
had to trade money for knowledge.

Regards,
Jay

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