Ignition upgrade or not..........

:banghead: I'm havin some issues and need some guidance.I currently own a 98 gsr, and have invested in the basic bolt-ons.The objective was to do the basics and run a 55 shot.(complements of ZEX) What i'm finding out now is I need to spend more money on an ignition upgrade to advance and retard my timing. Is there a way around it without having to ride around on retarded timing when the nitrous is activated, but not being sprayed? The bolt ons that I posess are dc 4to1 header, apex N1 cat back, aem cold air intake, aem cam gears(intake advanced 2 degrees), aem underdrive pulleys, aem fuel pressure regulator,accel 8.5mm plug wires,act stage 1clutch, and last but not least denzo iridium spark plugs. I have a apexi safc, but have not installed it yet. If must upgrade the ignition system whats the most bang for the buck? I'm almost to the point of sayin the hell with the zex and save up for 6 more months for a ported, polished head and cams. It took a long time to get where i am, and the money tree is almost dead :uhoh: Any positive feedback would be greatly appreciated.

ive got a couple buddies sprayin on the stock ignition system with no problems. But if you have a 98 GSR, you might want to get a VAFC instead of a SAFC since you have VTEC.

I will running a NOS set-up, and they suggest you don't have to retard the timming, at the amount your using. If you do it's only like 1 degree, sooo pulling that out of your basline timing. Really should not be that much of performance lose, for everyday driving.

Back when I had the sc installed, I too was going to upgrade the ignition system. However I was told to save my money for other things. Later I found out that a well maintained igniton system, should be kicking out in the 40,000 voltage range. It's not until you start boosting some high psi, or going All Motor with a high C/R. Then you should consider stepping up the OEM system.

How have your plugs looked when checking them, has there been any signs of detonation...? They need to be checked visually, the reason is you cannot always hear detonation when it's occuring.

Trying to move the activation point for VTEC on a N/A engine, will not give you a gain that is worth doing it. Mainly because the air is not moving fast enough through the intake system, to take advantage of it. Also, make sure the activation points are far enough apart between the N2O and VTEC. Otherwise you could be setting yourself up for a momentarly lean condition. Thats just long enough to damage/blow the engine. However changing the VTEC activation with FI, is a whole different story tho.

IMO - Since you have so much invested in your car, it would far better to have it dyno tuned. Rather then trying to relay on the "old butt dyno" when trying to make changes. It's only relaible enough up to point, after that you are just taking chances with the engine.

If you know how to tune your engine you should get a progressive retard system, tune it, you will pull a much better nos powerband that way. But dont do it if you dont know what your doing. Its the only right way to tune your ignition when running boost and or nos.

Please take my advice here, get a wet kit and put the whole zex thing out of your mind. I know that zex now has a wet kit but still I don't like it. Get a NOS wet kit or a NX. And just retard your timming 1 degree and then put a mark on the distributor so that you know where it is and then when you are planning on racing you can just quickly trun it. Or you could just do like me and ride around with it retarded. It really does not take any hp of any amount that is noticable.