So to make a long story short, I had two coils go out and two plugs were fouled. I am changing the set of four plugs wires and cables, but this is the worst possible timing for me because of Christmas. I was ready to go with the BHR Ignition as soon as I got my tax return in a few months because I know from this awesome forum that failures occur around 30K miles, Im at 27K, and I wanted to go with their setup. Well again because of the timing I could only afford the OEM set on Mazmart, which are supposed to be the redesigned coils and wires? Anyway the main question is, is the difference so much that I should shell out another $500 to go with the BHR kit, eventhough i now have brand new coils and wires?

 

Appreciate the honesty! I plan on doing some autoex in the summer, and want to go with accessport, so I will reconsider then. Thanks again!!!

 

I was in the same boat as you a few months ago. Needed a new ignition system, I did just like you and got a new oem set (with those joke of a update coils). Not even 2,000 miles after I put on the new oem set in, I had two coils fail on me. Talk about a waste of money...

I sucked it up and got the bhr set, talk about a night and day difference! MPGs went up, idle improved, upper rpm band became smooth, start ups got a little quicker, **** I could even enjoy using the a/c again. That was about 6k miles ago, still works great till this day! (thanks again Charles!)

Bottom line?
Oem = LOL
BHR = WIN

 

If you fit quality leads your coils will actually last a LOT longer .

 

If by leads you mean wires, I was using msd wires that came with the coils. It was a "kit" from RR. Came with 4new coils, msd wires, and NGK plugs. Seemed like a good setup.

 

/\ OK - that is not my experience.
How about this then .....
I have personally tuned 3 turbocharged cars making between 280-320whp fitted with D585 coils (same as BHR uses) and the before and after results were identical to oem coils.

 

How else would one react to paying around $300 for a new oem ignition system and have two coils fail in under 2,000 miles? I don't blame RR, I blame Mazda cheaping out.

Of cousre I will list all those differences cause I had 2 bad coils when I went with bhr. In my experience oem was a total waste of cash.

I should have worded it better I guess... What wires would you recommend for oem coils then?

 

3? Wow, you are on a roll!

 

I had Auto EXE which use the best connectors I've ever seen . However , I'm sure there are plenty of other less expensive wires around that will out perform the OEM pos wires .

 

That's just the ones I've personally driven here in NZ .
Not trying to say the BHRs are not worth the money - just that OEM coils get a bad wrap around here and that often the culprit is the leads .

 

Not only have I seen many people say that the OE coils were failed when in fact they weren't, I did it myself too quite a few years back

The factory method for checking the OE coils is not accurate. The early internet version of the factory manual had a mistake in it that if used, makes you believe they have failed when they haven't. Otherwise most people guess about it with the usual butt dyno mentality.

IMO the only accurate method is the HEI spark tester tool, which happens to work on both of them

otherwise I could care less which coils you use because at some point you will need to test either one accurately for troubleshooting purposes. I have personal experience with both coil types failing. It also tests the wires too. See my DIY thread.


.

 

I'm not sure what method was used when Mazda tested the coils, all I know for sure is, I had random hard starting (hot or cold), poor throttle response, very jumpy accelerating to red line, and lower than average mpgs (14mpg was my best prior to bhr). The two coils Mazda said were bad (L1 and T2) both had those white marks on the bottom, while the other 2 look brand new still.

I now average 16mpg city / 22 hwy, which seems a lot better.

 

Again, white marks do not indicate a bad coil.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9krpmrx8/6512718701/

 

I knew that already. I never tested them myself, only Mazda did (or said they did). But why only 2 looked that way?

 

You probably spilled milk in your engine bay while eating cereal and it only made its way under two of the coils and then you cleaned it up. That's my theory anyway

 

Well you know them kids are always after me Lucky Charms...

 

OK, everybody start sending me the coils you were likely going to just throw away and let me test them

otherwise any coil can fail, it doesn't matter if it is OE, GM, made in China, or whatever


.

 

So which leads are you using then, brettus ? I'm using the MSD like the OP ... :S

 

If you were being serious, I would send you 8 oem coils to test. I still have both sets sitting in a box. Just curious to know if the 2nd set was really bad. Not that I would want them back or ever use oem again... Just saying I would send them lol.

 

 

Yep if he is serious I would send him my 4 old ones also. I just wonder if he can test to see how healthy the coil is or only if it works or not.

 

Per my DIY thread the tester heavily loads the coil to determine if they will fire or not under that load. They either pass with a strong consistent spark or fail with a weak inconsistent or no spark. If they are good it snaps sharply with each firing. It will also do the same for the wires. It was originally a GM factory tool and is done on the car with the engine running or cranking.

Yes I am serious. PM me.

.

 

/\ I would be really interested to hear the results from that - especially on the coils that were "bad".

 

They could very well be bad.

 

*starring at my LIFETIME WARRANTY set of OE-Like coils that cost less than Mazda's prices ...*

oh yeah, I think it's time for me to use my Warranty. Why? cuz I CAN :D MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA FREE HAHAHAHAHAMAUHAHAHAHAHAH

my oe wires are only couple thousand miles old. Hmm hell I still have a set of RB wires in my garage with maybe 5-6K on them. maybe I should swap it AFTER I GET MY LIFETIME WARRANTY THING DONE ... WEEeeeEEEEeeeEeeEEEE