We stopped by the MSD Ignition [1] booth at the PRI tradeshow in Orlando, Florida, and talked to MSD’s Todd Ryden about MSD’s latest releases. When Ryden showed us several new product releases specifically for Chevrolet LS engines, we were pleasantly surprised and excited to see these items. LS engines have become this car generation’s equivalent of the venerable SBC 350 Generation one engines.
[2]MSD's LS Front Drive Distributor (Part #8712)
We have some LS engine products that we are keeping our eye on. We expect these to do well and our customers can expect to see the LS product line increase.
Starting out by showing us their new Front Drive Distributor (part # 8712), Ryden explained that “this distributor is the solution for racers that want to run a traditional ignition control.”
The distributor is driven from a pulley on the camshaft. “For strength we use a nine millimeter belt that provides an extra measure of durability in the system,” says Ryden.
With a distributor head CNC machined from billet aluminum, it is mounted securely to a strong billet bracket to provide an extremely accurate way to distribute spark energy from an MSD ignition to power your LS engine.
[3]MSD APS Starter (Part #50960
MSD APS Starter
Another bright spot in MSD’s LS engine lineup is their new Advanced Power Systems (APS) Starter (Part #5096). “We took a traditional starter and reworked each of the internal components for a strong, and long lasting starter that can handle as much as 18:1 compression engines,” claimed Ryden.
With a published gear ratio improvement to 4.4:1, this starter is sure to provide engine spinning torque for any LS race engine.
[4]MSD Trigger Singal Convertor (Part #6301)
MSD Trigger Signal Convertor
Ryden also showed us a product that has been in the MSD lineup for about a year now, but has started to gain a lot of attention with racers using LS engines. “When racers are using our new front drive distributor, they have been relying on a traditional crank trigger source to generate the signal. The MSD Trigger Signal Convertor replaces the traditional crank trigger,” says Ryden adding, “this convertor is a smaller unit that plug into the factory crank sensor on LS engines. The signal is converted into a 12 volt square wave signal that triggers the MSD ignition control.” According to Ryden, “this is the best option for anyone wanting to use a front drive distributor.”
We liked what we saw at the MSD display and when we get back to our coast, you can count on us to come up with a project engine to try these new MSD LS engine ignition controls on. You can bet on that.