Elementaltoad

This is not an advertisement, but i have tried the product and thus far I am pleased. I figure if I can help some automotive hobbyists save money it's worth spreading the word!

Like the title says, i decided to be cheap. I cannot afford a 300 dollar distributor after replacing many other things at the same time, and these seem to be OEM or as close as you will get with the age of these cars.

I found them on ebay, they seem to sell like hot cakes, and mine is working just fine, looks exactly like the original piece except the rotor screws appear to be larger than the factory opti that was on my car.

It comes with the cap and rotor, for 70 dollars, shipping was around 5 bucks, and it came priority mail: Vented opti on ebay

They are the same part number (1104032) used by summit/GM/Jegs as an OEM replacement, but they want 300+

I hope this helps some one out of a tight spot as they have for me.

onedef92

Hope it continues to fire for you. But, IMHO, you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to Optispark Modules.

runner140*

IMHO, its kind-of-like buying a discount water pump from China. You don't want to go back in there. Now, I buy the best I can afford.(brakes, rotors, tires, A/C parts, synthetic oil....etc.)

onedef92

Brass Terminals

Uh, I'm no science whiz, but I do recall copper has better electrical conductivity than brass. The zinc content in brass helps improve corrosion resistance, but lowers the electrical conductivity.

Elementaltoad

I still think it's better than 330 for the same part that GM/Jegs/Summit will give you, I'm not sure what makes this worse than those, given that it is the same manufacturer's part: http://www.jegs.com/p/GM-Performance...54883/10002/-1

onedef92

All I know is you can get a genuine GM/Delphi Optispark Module for $295.00 from thepartsladi on Ebay. I've dealt with her company before and she's reputable.

Some of those off-brand Optis claim to be genuine GM, but do not come in a GM box and come with a black cap and rotor. Genuine GM/Delphi distributors do NOT come with black caps and come in GM/Delphi boxes.

A $77 Opti sounds like a turkey shoot to me. If you get one that lasts into its expected service life, so much the better. But I'd remain skeptical.

As you discovered, replacing an Opti is a fairly labor-intensive job, not one you want to do twice in the same year, in the same car, if you take my meaning....

dchildress

IMHO I agree with these other guys. I dropped some coin a an MSD Pro Billet distributor for my 94 and had troubles with it and it's not an easy job...something I knew I was willing to spend the money on to keep from doing again anytime soon. I do understand a tight budget...I run cheap tires because I simply burn them off and am willing to sacrifice traction and performance for money when it comes to the rubber. The Falkens I am running are pretty darned good for the money so you never know about the Opti replacement....still for $70, I just don't trust it.

AveryCurry

I wonder who makes the Opti sensor for these units? The guy selling these also has the title wrong... 94 95 96 97 corvette ..... 94 is Gen I and has completely different cam interface...

Anyway, if it weren't for the fact that Opti's are a PITA to replace, I would try one out as an experiment....but too much R&R time for experiments.

LT4 F45

James93LT1

http://www.allworldautomotive.com/au..._ots12578.html

PLRX

funny, the partsladi is actually a guy

Elementaltoad

Like I said the whole purpose of the thread was to save some one some money if they are strapped for cash and need to get down the road. I'm not arguing that there aren't better alternatives, then again if I had the funds I would have gone with a billet MSD and a delteq or LTCC system.

Then again I've heard of failures from many delphi/GM/delco/MSD optis, every part fails and you'll never know when. Some are bad out of the box. This unit does not appear to be a bad knock off if it is one.

It is a tan capped opti, brass rotor, and what seems to be a larger thicker rotor/plastic holder and larger screws holding it to the shaft. The only differences between it and the OEM unit are those two features, and the center piece (goes over the optical portion, under the rotor). That piece is black instead of white.

Also as noted these cars are old, and OEM is no longer available no matter where you get them from. Some different manufacturer, probably chinese, makes most of the parts anyhow. If I remember correctly the opti was originally designed by mitsubishi to begin with, and it does not seem to be some rare art form, so I don't feel I should rule out the choices simply because they are not OEM.

When I get some free funds I will order another and do some more concrete comparisons, but as far as I can tell this far this IS the same part sold by jeg's and summit as a GM performance part. If anyone has pictures of a jeg's/summit part or knock off manufacturer's I'd like to see them so I could compare to the unit I have.

My intention again, was not to start a flame war over which is the best/most reliable opti solution, but to provide an alternative to those who need it.

The install was not so terrible that I would feel bad doing it again, it only took one day worth of on and off labor. I'm also certain that time would be cut down the second time round. So far it runs very well, and doesn't miss a beat all the way to redline. I permatexed every screw and crevice on the unit as I've found that the opti mounting bolts allow oil intrusion around the threads and then directly into the optical portion.

Hope this helps.

TorchRedlt4man

I agree 100% with your last post. For $70, how can someone go wrong on a $300-500 part from somebody else.

I would be interested if you ever have any issues with this part. I am thinking you will not. If any electrical part gets through the first 10 hours of use, usually they are good for a very long time.

During almost forty (40) years of working in the auto & truck repair industry, I have found the above to be true. An electrical malfunction of a new part would show up sooner than later.

SAVE the WAVE!

Elementaltoad

I will definitely keep you posted, I've also noticed there are a couple people selling them advertising the delco capped models as "new 2009 revised versions" which could potentially explain the beefier components under the cap. I will also try to remember to grab another when I get some money set back so I can dismantle it and take a look at the guts.

VenkmanP

Dream on.

A quick search on the various LTx forums would have shown you that others have been down this road.

You don't have time and money to do it right, but apparently you have time and money to do it over...

Elementaltoad

No I certainly don't have the time and money to shell out 300+ for a distributor when i've got to get it running ASAP. I do love how this thread spun out of control, and will certainly refrain from posting or looking for info on this forum in the future.

Like I said i've also seen that others have been down "this road" with various other optis. Regardless of whether it works out in the end or not, it's certainly worth a try.

But by all means, if you are the one footing the bill, could I bother you for an MSD unit?

Doing it right in this case is a very relative thing, I spent a good amount of labor making sure it was done "right", chastising some one for a choice of parts/manufacturer is a sure fire way to alienate members. We can't all afford "the best". I just enjoy the corvette and do what I can, with what money I do have...

Demonic85

Might as well get the individual coil system in place of the opti, wont have to worry about it anymore.

Sidney004

Interesting thread.

onedef92

Funny. A female has answered the phone every time I've called them.

onedef92

Doing it right in this case is a very relative thing, I spent a good amount of labor making sure it was done "right", chastising some one for a choice of parts/manufacturer is a sure fire way to alienate members. We can't all afford "the best". I just enjoy the corvette and do what I can, with what money I do have...

Never presume to know another man's finances. I, too, have to make sacrifices to fuel my automotive passion, but there are some components and parts I won't skimp on.

That's why I choose to keep a POS, beater-of-a-Toyota Camry on stand-by for when I have to save up the ends to buy expensive replacement parts (like said Optispark).

I helped a buddy install a Mexican-built Cardone Opti he bought at Autozone for $150.00 We spent the better part of a weekend installing it. It ran for about two weeks, then went ****-up. For his next unit, he purchased GM/Delphi. No problems to date.

My comments weren't made in rebuke, but to possibly help you (and other enthusiasts) avoid the deception of false economy. Like I said, if your budget Optispark continues to operate, all the good. But experience has shown me (and many others here) that it's certainly possible to be penny wise, but pound foolish.