[s-cars] Ignition coil replacement

[Varon H. Fugman]

I've been running 1.8t coils for a couple years now.  The original set of
coils I got from 034 with my wiring harness were junk and began failing
within a few weeks.  I replaced them with a mix of VW dealer-sourced 115R
coils and some STI branded coils.  Only one of these has failed, after
almost 2 years.  Certainly easy to pop in a replacement.

I've never been sure the car (which has a TAP Stage I chip) runs at 100%
under full boost... it seems like there might be just a little something
lacking, and I mean very slight.  Or I could be making it up in my head.  I
can't do a back-to-back comparison unless I repair my OEM coil set.

I'm not sure what to do long term... stick with the 1.8t coils, revert to
OEM (and the POS problems that have become a distant memory), or consider
the GM LS2 coils.  I like the idea of coil-on-plug and am not keen on
introducing a plug wire into the equation, then again, on top of the valve
cover isn't exactly the most hospitable environment for a coil... certainly
not good for heat dispensation!

Before the 1.8t coil option surfaced, I was considering how to improve POS
reliability, either with a more robust replacement circuit and/or mounting
the POS modules in a more friendly environment (such as the airbox as is
done on some other models.)  I also was thinking about a set of terminal
screws on the firewall that would allow swapping POS channels or coils
without having to resort to connector pin surgery or splicing wires to
troubleshoot ignition problems.

Someone mentioned dirt getting down by the spark plugs when running w/o a
coil cover... I've had this problem with the 1.8t coils, in fact a chipmunk
decided to use my valve cover as a food cache.  There were pieces of acorns
and whatnot stuffed along side the coils!  I had to use a shop vac crevice
tool in conjunction with a drinking straw to get it all cleaned out.

Varon
'95 urS6


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