feedback on 123 ignitions

[Jimbo1907]

I have a few cars for which 123 makes ignition systems- 280SL, DS Citroen, E-type. I don't know anyone personally who has installed a 123 ignition system on their car, and if anyone here would like to provide feedback on installing one and how they feel about its performance, I'd be grateful to hear it. I should mention that the engines in the above cars are healthy and this may be a case of not fixing something that isn't broken. Mostly I would like to know if there are noticeable performance improvements with the 123 ignition in 113 cars. Thank you, in advance.

[roymil]

The 123 system has worked great for my 280sl.   Before the 123 I was constantly fiddling with gap and dwell and the points would get pitted and degraded after not many miles.  To be fair I probably was driving too much coil voltage with too little ballast, but with the 123 you never need to mess with it again.  It just works.  No real maintenance other than the usual swap of the distributor cap/rotor  periodically.    It is pretty expensive, especially with bluetooth, so if you don't drive the car that much and are setup such that the points are working long enough without adjustments or replacement then its fair to ask if it is worth the investment.    I do like the ability to lockout the ignition via iphone app as a bit of extra security.   my 2 cents.

[clunker]

I second what Mark said, and I thought one of best value upgrades overall. The Bluetooth also allows you to monitor advance and vacuum in real time as well as adjust advance / retard (though process bit awkward) in real time. Simple robust and clean looking install. I think it been well received by pagoda owners.

[Cees Klumper]

I suggest you review previous discussions here on this topic, I think you wil find almost entirely positive feedback on the 123s.
I've installed one on 3 different classic cars: my Pagoda, maybe 15 years ago and still going strong, my '72 Lancia and my son's '73 240Z, all good results.

[yves]

I am going to order a 123 distributor and wonder if the blue tooth is really an improvment and if a neophyte like me is able to notice much differences with the different curve of advance?

[Pawel66]

With bluetooth you can play with parameters in real time and check various curves. With bluetooth you also have immobilizer, which may be quite important.

[Bshaunessy]

JIMBO1997
  I have installed the 123 electronic distributor, ( no blue tooth) on my 1957 190 SL (3 yrs ago) and my 1970 280 SL (4 yrs ago): both very simple to install and both flawless…haven’t touched them since install.
 Since you are in USA, would suggest you buy direct from 123 USA. https://123ignitionusa.com…..good product support.  Also buy the recommended coil from them.  Search this forum..you need to bypass the ignition resistor.

[Jimbo1907]

Thanks to all. I am going to tackle this in the winter, as soon as I've got a few other things sorted out. I appreciate all the responses.

[ctaylor738]

I have recommended 123s for years, and installed at least a dozen.  They are a great product but they are not infallible.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I had a 123 fail in a 250sl soon after installation.  The engine would simply not rev beyond idle.  Gernold at SL Tech had a similar failure in a twelve-year-old unit.  123usa repaired both units at no cost. 

A 190sl with a 123 that I installed ran perfectly for over a year and then refused to start. I sent the unit to 123usa and they could not find any problems.  Almost out of desperation, I found that the coil wire had 5K ohms resistance.  I replaced it with a zero resistance wire and that solved the problem.  So my conclusion is that the 123s are sensitive to resistance which can increase as coil and plug wires age.

So here is my current thinking.  If you have a traditional distributor setup, you can carry a spare set of points, a condenser, a screw driver, and feeler gauges or a small dwell tester.  This will get you out of 99% of ignition troubles.  With a 123, Pertronix, or any of the other electronic setups, you are stuck if they fail.

Cheers,

CT

[richard230sl]

I have been using the 123 tune for years and am a big fan of it.

I like the fact that you can alter the curve in order to have your engine running smoothly.
Also the spark balancing is a nice feature (corrects for uneven spark timing due to mechanical wear)
For the ones running at different fuels (lpg) there is the option to switch between 2 curves.

My car ran great with the 123 unit and I used it daily for a long time.
Hopefully I will get it back on the road soon (and yes, I will definitely install the 123 unit in it again!

Good luck!

[Harry]

As Cees notes, there a lots of discussions on the 123.  I installed one on my 1966 230SL a month or so ago and thus far, I am very pleased.  I had been reluctant to replace the point system largely because of originality, but looking back I really wish I had done the 123 sooner.  Even with new points, my 230SL still had occasions where it just didn't run smoothly - intermittent missing, etc. and that irritated me to no end.

I finally went with the 123 and it was game changing.  It has run so much better, without any missing.  Aside from enhancing the driving experience, this has provided me with a great deal of "peace of mind".  Before, I was always waiting for a miss.  That concern has been alleviated.  In retrospect, I really believe that the original distributor (which I still have) was likely just showing signs of aging.

With the 123, you need to be certain that your coil has the correct ohmage.  And you really don't need the ballast resistor.  I would bypass it altogether.

I hope you find the 123 as rewarding as I have!

Harry