123 Distributor...?

[Shane Noone]

Guys

Now that the 123 dizzy has been out for a while available to the air cooled vw fraternity. Has anyone got any positive feedback to share ?  Only reason I ask is after the product made available to us and promoted in magazine's here in UK the initial feedback I heard was steer clear they are unreliable.......

However when down at the rolling road this weekend the guys that work on other makes of car including british classics were very enthusiastic about these units, singing their praises and saying they rate them highly and find them very good and reliable.

What do we think about then these days for T1 /  air cooled use ?

[Torben Alstrup]

STAY AWAY !!!!!!! from the 123. Let the MG and Triumph guys keep those to themselves.

It is NOT worth the hazzle and will never equal a well adjusted 009.

T

[qubek]

But why? Not that I wont to use it, I'm happy with a Mallory. I'm just curious.

[glenn]

STAY AWAY !!!!!!! from the 123. Let the MG and Triumph guys keep those to themselves.

It is NOT worth the hazzle and will never equal a well adjusted 009.

T

A rebuilt Bosch 010 will run better than any 009

[JS]

STAY AWAY !!!!!!! from the 123. Let the MG and Triumph guys keep those to themselves.

It is NOT worth the hazzle and will never equal a well adjusted 009.

T

A rebuilt Bosch 010 will run better than any 009

Always? Why is that?

[nicolas]

yes why? different engine, different distributor need?

[Andrimot]

2 years ago 2 items ordered from GWD.

When i delivered them GWD ask me to send them back because their axle melt like jam!!

So i never used them but i have heard the same thing from other users.

Andreas.

[Torben Alstrup]

That MAY be correct Glenn.  I have not used the 010 much as it is not very common around here.

The123 distributor suffers from a lot of, shall we say inaccuracies. The smelted shafts I have not seen, but the spark stability is so bad that you have the spark "all over" at high revs. It is not unusual to see that spark wandering 4-5 degrees @ 5000 rpm. Even at idle the spark wanders. When you talk to the people at 123, they say "yes, that is to help idle rpm stability" - Well, why does the engine then have WORSE idle than with a steady 009, and need more fuel to just idle decent ?

I´m NOT saying that the 009 solution is the best out there, I´m saying that even the newer 009 counter products like Accuvance and Eurovance (they may actually come from the same factory) can be made to work a good deal better, than the 123, with a little time and patience. But you have to actually "get your fingers dirty", instead of just turning a screw.

If you want an adjustable unit where you can change the settings by turning a screw, the CB Magnaspark unit is a good solution. The down side is that it doesnt take std plug wires.

The reason that I say let the MG and Triumpf people keep it to themselves is, that just about anything is better than stock on those engines. On a Triumph TR6 I have recently seen a full 10 hp increase in power, (from 187 to 197) going from 123 distributor to to a bolt on crank trigger system. That´s how bad they are.

T