Review on Enhance Performance with MSD 8239 Sport Compact Replacement Coil by Thomas Chalecki

This coil replaced my factory coil at 88,000 miles. This coil is originally a replacement for the Dodge Neon but due to the Chrysler based Tritec engine in the R50 and R53 MINI Cooper this coil will also fit. Please note that the bolt holes for this reel do NOT match the factory MINI reel bolts. . It's ok, it's been talked about a lot on the web and I knew about this problem before I bought it. There are 2 ways to solve this problem. #1 Replace the screws. I didn't go that route as the standard bolts have a metal bushing with rubber bushings at the top and bottom of the spool to reduce vibration and increase spool life. This also helps prevent over-tightening of the coil screws. Others who simply replace the bolts with standard bolts lose that bushing and bushings and thus have to worry about stripping the valve cover threads, cracking the valve cover due to over tightening, or problems from over-inserting the bolts into the valve cover threads. hairpins. I chose option #2 and drilled the holes in the MSD coil to enlarge it to factory dimensions. Actually it was pretty easy. I believe the pressed bushings on the MSD spool are aluminum, at least they appear to be because they cut fairly easily with standard drill bits. I just removed the supply spool and figured out what size drill bit I needed (I don't remember now). Then place the MSD coil on the drill press and gradually increase the size of the drill bits until the screw holes are large enough to accommodate the factory screws. It's honestly the easy way out, and then you can reuse the factory bolts, knowing the factory torque spec will work to properly secure the spool without damaging the valve cover. My main reason for the coil change was the high mileage with a small "miss" at idle. The #3 terminal of the OEM coil is corroded and this rust and corrosion forms on both the coil and the spark plug boot. I could switch to a different coil but why when MSD is both cheaper and better. While they both produce the same output voltage, the MSD has brass terminals that will not corrode and rust like an OEM coil. That's why I chose MSD. The red color also accentuates the engine compartment and decorates it quite nicely.