Pertronix vs. Compufire...?

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I'm sure I'm just beating this debate into the ground, but my finger's hovering over the 'buy' button and I can't make up my mind... For an inexpensive electronic ignition, should I go Pertronix or Compufire? Everyone I know immediately says Pertronix whether they actually they've used one or not, so what's the word from actual compufire users? (Does such an animal even exist?)

[Eaallred]

I've used both, and found they both perform the same. No difference. They are both points replacement units. All they do is send a signal to the coil.
I personally like the compufire more though.

[slackin' at work]

had pertronix. damn thing caught my distribtor on fire. no joke. pertonix relaced the unit for free though, which was cool since they almost made my ride go up in flames.

my 2 cents.

[Erik G]

I have wondered about the knockoff, I think It's called an accufire? same thing only cheaper? I like the compufire, I wonder if the accufire is just as good, just $20 cheaper?

[chabanais]

How in the hell could a drop in distributor module cause the carb to catch on fire?

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Do these units work for both 6 and 12 volt cars?

[type34inKY]

There are 6V versions of the Pertronix, but you can't use one of the regular ones as they are 12V

[chabanais]

In JC Whitney for $99 you can buy a Crane unit for 6 volt.

[Tribalbus]

I had the same problem with petronix as slackin at work 'had.that petronix module internally short circuited and prob. would of burnt my poor bus to the ground given the chance.i then decided to replace that burnt. petronics module with a compufire.that was 4 years ago and two motors ago.......and that compufire just keeps going and going and going.


*Disclaimer*this has nothing to do with the fact that i am a compufire stockholder.

Tribalbus

[lenwood]

have the petronix unit in my 2110 didnt misfire or skip a beat from norcal to the classic and back over 1100 miles. so far so good.

[slackin' at work]

Chabanais,
it was the distributor and not carb. I had an 1835 with dual dellortos in my 55 rag. I stopped to get smokes (ironically) came out and the car wouldn't start. went out back and opened the lid. Damn thing was a ball of flame. I do believe that anylonger (or if I had a single carb) it would have went poof! damn scary to open a deck lid and see a nice little flame going.

lesson #1: stay away from drop-in modules all together...
lesson #2: always carry a fire extinguisher

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I think I may go ahead and install the compufire. I saw the accufire, and so far as I can tell it's made by compufire. I too wonder what the difference is... I need to check out the compufire website....

[doveblue3]

when drivinig cross country once my bus was sucking bad on hills (worse than usual) turns out that one of the magnets in the pertronix part that slips over the distributor shaft had come out, and i was only running on 3. that was for 500 miles. i put in points for the rest of the trip, then switched to compufire. that was 20000 miles and that one hasnt had any problems. my other compufire is 35000 miles and going strong.

[Juancho]

I use a Pertronix in my boat, and a compufire in my VW Bus. I like both equally well. Just remember to carry an extra set of points. These modules can fail without notice, or so I have read. It is just me, or has the price of these ignition modules doubled in 3 years? I first bought my first Pertronix back in 2000 for about $32. Now they are like $75. What is up with that?

[Erik G]

thats what I'm sayin John, it's B.S. huh? that's why I'm gonna try that empi accufire knockoff, it's way cheaper, and It has to be the same exact thing.

[carey blanco]

i have a pechtronix on my type IV engine and it is work free and no problems so far for the last 2 years. There are 2 models, the regular PECHTRONIXflame thrower and the PECHTRONIX II. Each has its own coil and both are excellent.

[supermanmach1]

I have a Compu Fire DIS-IX setup on my 2275 bug, and I had the distributer set 90 out and a spark went from my right carb to the fender (HUGE SPARK), and caught the air/fuel mixture on fire inside the carb, but went out just as fast as it started. I couldn't figure it out for the longest time. But I corrected the timing problem and it worked just fine after that. I'm really happy with the product.

[werka]

I think either of those brands are decent. I was have recently seen 2 bad Bugpack knock off versions of the Compufire/Pertronix units that were bad OUT OF THE BOX. Third time was the charm. I know I won't buy one of those ever.

[wheel607]

It also depends on what distributor you are going to use. If you are using the 010 you can only get Pertronix at about $110 for the module.

[jbbugs]

I've run the Pertronix in my old 77' Westy for 8 years,over 90,00 miles without any problems at all. I also ran one in my Dirt circletrack racecar for 7 years w/o failure. That one saw constant abuse everytime it was started.
Paul
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