Jacobs Ignition Pack

[Glenn Biggs]

Jacobs Electronics just called me today to let me know of a new Ignition Kit they are offering. Since I live in San Antonio, Texas, and their company is in Midland, Texas, he said I was the 2nd on the list of 200 or more people,..HMMMMM???. I bought a set of spark plug wires a few months ago from them. Anyways he offered it to me for $410.19 +SH, and said it will go on the market for $600+. Has anybody had any ofers like this one? Any comments? I will be ordering mine tomorrow. I will be doing the before and after Dyno tests, to see if it really improves gas mileage and power.

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92 EB 4x4 130000m
San Antonio, Texas

 

[JAY]

Glenn,
I have owned the Mileage Master igniion system since Sept 15., that is when it arrived on my door step. I have yet to get to use it because it DOES NOT work with all 4.0 engines. They are making adapter kits but since the company was recently bought out, they have been put on hold so it could take months befor they are ready.
Make sure that they throw in the free set of plug wires with your order, not everybody will be getting them so make sure to ask for them. I'm not sure that the intro price will go up anytime soon, Jacobe will be calling everybody (so they said) who bought something from them for the 4.0 engine, to see if they would be intereasted in the new ignition. I would haggel on the price some also. I didn't pay that much for mine, though I had been on the waiting list for two years.

 

[ETJAFFE]

I got that same phone call about a month ago. They quoted me the system for 400 and said it will be 600 after the promotion is over. I honestly don't think many people have purchased this product yet and I have not found anyone who can give me a review of how their ignition system for the explorer really works as far as performance numbers. The Jacobs system is supposed to enhance the ford stock ignition. If anyone has this installed I would love to know.

Eric

 

[JAY]

I finally got the new adapter for my Jacobs ignition system, It did make a noticable difference on my modified engine, I can't say what it will do for a stock one thought. I haven't decided if the performance increase is worth the money yet. Ater I no my next dyno run I'll post the numbers so every one can judge for themselves.

JAY

 

[QTRMILE]

What I have seen from a lot of racers is that the Jacobs unit is not the most dependable one on the market. If you need an aftermarket ignition, I would never buy anything other than MSD. They have had unparalelled success in all forms of racing, their cutomer service is unequaled, and the quality of their products is top notch.

Now, with that being said I must ask why you would consider an aftermarket ignition? Ford ignitions are notoriously "hot" anyway, and will do a great job on anything other than a supercharged or nitroused application. I ran the stock ignition on my race car with a small (125 hp) shot of nitrous and it was fine. It wasn't until I started going overboard that I stepped up to the MSD.

As long as your ignition is working (you aren't having to gap your plugs real tight) there is no significant benefit to upgrading. Its only when you start seeing increased cylinder pressures that actually blow out the spark do you need more ignition.

LAter, Rob

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no Explorers, but plenty of Fords:
'82 Mustang GT 351W
'82 F250 351W
'91 Mustang LX 5.0
'78 Mustang II pro street

 

[danny]

For the simple fact that if it works as advertised it should cure one of the Explorers more common problems. Detenation. Also, I've had lots of fords and other than the DIS ignitions, I've never been happy with the factory setup. They don't produce enough spark and they are very finicky. Just replacing the factory Dura-spark III on my old 400 boosted the hp by 10 on a rear-wheel dyno. And made starting much easier and consistant. As for MSD, I've heard some pretty bad things about their DIS-4 systems. Such as, not letting the engine start, check engine light never going out, missing, fouling plugs, and more. I can't verify any of it, just stuff I've read on message boards, but I've never had problems with any of MSDs products in the past. I'd much rather use MSD than anything that comes from the factory, if it wasn't for the bad reports...
As soon as I see a good comparo between the 2 systems, though, I'll have to look into upgrading the explorer and SHO. Dead Link Removed


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Danny
93SHO
91EB
www.hit.net/~danny/explorer.html

 

[JAY]

I have just recently ran into another problem with my Jacobs system. It is an intermitant problem but still a rather big problem. It cross fires. The tech at Jacobs said that it only happens on the prototypes (40 total) and me having to be one of the first to have one opted for the prototype. I really can't complain the price was unbeatable. Apairently they put some parts to close togeather or something. I have a new one on the way, but just wanted to share the info.

 

[Glenn Biggs]

Thank you all for your replies. I finally installed my pack. But my RPM gauge was not working. One call to Jacobs to care of it. They sent me a plug in adapter, it took care of the problem. The only thing that I did not like is that they made the harness on this adapter very short. So it sits right on top of the plugs coil. It also took me a while to figure out a place to put the module. Finally, since I'm just trying it out, I zip-tied to the front of the coolant/washer fluid tank with some 1" foam to protect it. If I decide to keep it I will build a mounting plate and bolt it down. So far I have noticed a little bit of HP improvement. Gas mileage seems to be improving, but I still need to run some fill-up's to make sure. I did not run any Dyno's like I said I would. It's to expensive! Plus there is only one place here in San Antonio that has one.

 

[William Schumacher]

I gave jacobs a call today to order a set of quality wires,(splitfire did not make them for my '99 sohc),and they wound up selling me an ignition pack(enhancer), that comes with a free set of wires unit was $410. final cost,they also told me that the new bocsh +4 plugs I just bought,I can't use with the new ign. pack,plain copper plugs (good thing I did not put the +4's in yet)
if there are any problems to look for ,I wish someone would let us all know. thanks

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Bill
'99 sport,sohc,auto
T/A,ko's (255/70's)
kkm-true rev,superchip
bilsteins