I was kind of taken aback at the conclusion that the MSD maybe "smoke and mirrors". No question it IS a great product. But is it "required" for every application? Not in my opinion.
A very rich or very lean fuel mixture is more difficult to "lite off". High compression also is more difficult to ignite. Any combinations thereof increase the potential problems. Reliability is the BIG benefit of electronic ignition for ANY application these days.
BUT,,,, still, if the plug will fire and the burn is good with 15,000 volts, 40,000 aint gonna give you more power. A reasonable compression ratio with a reasonable fuel air mixture up to say 5000-6000 rpm will work just fine with a "point" type ignition system putting out 10 to 20,000 volts. An HEI (high energy ignition) system would be "better" mainly because it is more reliable over the long haul.
NASCAR, RACE and modified "Cobra" engines using HEI? No brainer! High rpm and radical motors demand some serious spark.
HEI became necessary when the manufacturers started going really LEAN on the fuel injection systems, which are very difficult to ignite.
"Multiple Spark Discharge" systems only give Mulitiple spark at the lower rpm range, where it's LEAST likely to be needed. As the rpm increases the ignition is reduced to a SINGLE spark due to the their simply isn't enough "time" left!
Still,,,,,, no way I would run points on MY car! HEI for me WITH rev limiter!
