Davis Unified Ignition

I'm looking for a new distributor/ignition. I had heard that my newly purchased EDIS crank fired ignition system would not be compatible with my CB fuel injection kit. I phoned CB today and got the bad news-EDIS won't work with CB's fuel injection kit... CRAP!
My vision is blurry from reading so many Samba forum posts on distributors and ignition systems. One distributor I find interesting is the Davis Unified Ignition http://www.performancedistributors.com/vwdui.htm
I have not been able to find much feedback/information. Anyone have any knowledge about this distributor?
thanks
Ron

these are like the gm hei, they should be great, because you can change the advance curve easy, make it al in buy 1800rpm if you want, but they are big in size,i dont know how it would fit. bill

I'd like to see a photo of one installed on a VW engine.

Like to hear WHY NOT.
EDIS comes as a stand-alone ignition only box...

I had a GM HEI distributor on a past dunebuggy engine. It was a 2276cc with a side draft 40 Weber and a turbo. It worked GREAT

It was way before they were being made commercially.. I guy in San Bernardino adapted the VW drive to the distributor... Same thing as the advertised model, just home made.

What's nice is every auto parts store has parts if needed and losing the coil makes up for the larger size of the distributor.

Dave, I'm not knowledgeable enough to understand why the EDIS won't work. I really wish it would work. Then, I wouldn't have to sell it for a loss and buy something else, which won't be as good.

DANNY PIP IS THE EDIS GUY
(Think his computers down)

Maybe a good jingle will draw him out

WITH A NIC-NAC-CHILLIWACK
GIVE THE MAN A BEER
WHERES DAN PIP WE NEED HIM HERE

CB fuel injection kit?

doesnt that include software? it's just the actual injection - no ignition? good lord it's expensive for just injection (IMO)

have you looked at the new megasquirt? beats 99% of the market at a fraction of the price. check out some sample prices / features: http://www.glensgarage.com/catalog/

Danny and I are running megajolt - which is stand alone ignition system (crank fired). we're both running carbs - which is why i chose MJ over MS.

plus you get to build it yourself. :)

The CB price is for a complete bolt-in kit with everything including fuel lines, pump filters, throttle bodies, etc. It's still not cheap, but it's been integrated and tested, so I would expect the peace of mind and relative ease of installation to be worth something. Just from piecing together the other bits that you'd need along with the Megasquirt brain, I'm not really sure how much you'd save. If there's a bolt-in Megasquirt kit somehwere, I'd love to see it, as I really would like EFI.

lane - check out glenns garage link above... he sells sea shells by the sea shore - i mean sells the complete kits

I did, but all I saw were the kits for the electronics. None of the supporting hardware. Did I miss something?

Ron,

So what does CB say does work with their fuel injection systems if they do not have an ignintion unit as part of their system? Does a standard VW distributor work? If so then any other system you choose should work. Think about it logicly both systems are seperate and do different functions. First is fuel as long as the amount of fuel entering the system is correct then how does it know or why does it care when the spark is happening or how it is controled.

Me thinks the folks at CB preformance is wanting to sell you something else.

Now back to your favorite program......;-)

Mango, I'd love to be able to build a DIY system, but I know my present limitations, and for now I'll stick with the 'everything you need' kit. The person I talked to at CB wasn't pushing CB's ignition system. He said most distributors will work, but the EDIS crank fired ignition will not (at the present time).
I've thought about getting a Mallory distributor and CDI box (had a Mallory distributor on my old engine and really like it), but after reading the 'problems with Mallory' thread on Samba I'm having second thoughts. Instead, I'm leaning towards the DUI distributor, but before I make the purchase I'll make sure it will work with CB's fuel injection system.

Ron, I gotta say I'm very pleased with the Pertronix Flamethrower II billet distributor system. For the money I think it's the best deal out there.

I would think EDIS could work. You just need to know what kind of rpm signal the CB box is looking for. The Ford EDIS box has a tach out on it and the Megajolt also has a tach out. I mean what difference does it make to the EFI what sparks it, all you need to know is what ignition signal is needed.

Hey Ron,

I believe you looked into Compu-Tronix DIS4. According to the folks from Compu-Tronix, their system will work with CB Performance Quick Tune. Their system uses the distributor only for the ignition timing, there is no high voltage going in the distributor area, that is why they call their system Distributorless Ignition System. However, they uses the 009 ignition curve and it is not adjustable, so I am not sure if the ignition curve is important for you or not. I'll be curious on what you end up doing. Keep us posted.

Eddy

I am pretty sure the CB ECU is of a batch-fire configuration. This means that the injectors are not sequentially timed. The rpm signal is needed only to tell the computer rpm, not where TDC is. So it really shouldn't matter what sends the signal, as long as it gets sent.

BTW, if you read the fine print @ CB's site, it says Quick Tune is NOT compatible with Compufire DIS.

http://www.cbperformance.com/catalog.asp?ProductID=1665

I'm going to send my old Mallory distributor (damaged in the fire) to Henry and he's going to send it to a guy who rebuilds distributors. He will be able to tell us if the Mallory is salvageable. Henry also thinks the EDIS system will work with the CB fuel injection kit.
On another note, while I was at Intermeccanica yesterday I noticed a beautiful righ-hand drive speedster, which will be on its way to Scotland in the near future.

Henry sent my toasted Mallory off to a guy who rebuilds old distributors. Turns out my Mallory isn't toast. Looks like I'll be using my old (soon to be rebuilt) Mallory in my new engine. Now, what to do with my new EDIS crank fired ignition system.....