Best kit for Coil-On-Plug (COP) conversion for 550

Ron the only solution I know of is the legacy MSW option.

I thought John @Cribbj noted one of his input suppliers discontinued and that was a driver for it going away?

 

If you don't get such a coil kit, produce a new wire set yourself.
It's a Saturday afternoon job and costs about 200 $.

Use the search option for description what you need.

Daniel

 

Ron et al, I’m working on resurrecting the COP set up for the 550’s and the 456’s. I found a gentleman with the qualifications and motivation to build the harnesses and I think we should have some good news to share with the community in a month or so.

 

^

Thank-you, John. I'm looking forward to another MSW modification.

 

this mod is priceless! I’m one of the lucky ones running the msw cop conversion. It was a simple install, cleans up engine compartment, and has needed no service for over a decade! When John does something it is better than oem

 

Wow, you guys are too kind. Prior to actually owning one of these cars I had put Ferrari and their engineering on a pedestal thinking they were the epitome of fine craftsmanship and engineering. Was I ever wrong! Then I remembered a quote from Enzo to the effect “I don’t build cars, I build engines. The cars are just something to carry my engines.“ So when I became more intimate with the cars as an owner and DIY’r I realized it wasn’t hard to improve on what the OEM had delivered.

 

This thread is a great comprehensive checklist of things to at least know what can be improved, or what shortcomings can lead to headaches. Much of it overlaps for both 456 and 550 cars

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/niftyfivefiftys-guide-to-preparing-a-550-maranello-for-reliable-high-performance-daily-driving.656494/#post-148425035

 

As far as engine management is concerned Ferrari seem to have followed, like any other OEM, with the then current latest version of engine management (Motronic ECU) that Bosch have had on offer. The "hardware" as I would call it which consists in the mechanical parts alone and how they work together, such as the engine itself, can still benefit in terms of performance, sometimes reliability and fuel efficiency (for those who care) by upgrading engine controls such as the software (ECU) but also technical solutions used for fuel injection and spark ignition, of which John's COP set up is a natural way forward, as when the 550 came out I do not think the COP technology was already well under control and not used yet at all on production vehicles.

You can count me in for a kit.

 

Maserati had single coils starting with the 1994 Ghibli model.
Ghibli MY 93 with distributor ignition
Ghibli MY 94-97 with single coils

Quantity of 94-97 models about 1500 cars.

Daniel

 

Good to know, thanks.

 

Count me in John if you get these

 

Me too, I’d buy a spare/backup.

 

Greetings. I was very happy to find this thread regarding the possibility of finding a cop conversion for my 2001 456. I’m experiencing random misfires and my wires look pretty shot (great time to convert) Any idea if the kits are available and where I can purchase one from would be greatly appreciated. thank you

 

A few of us have been banging on the door for that COP recently.

 

We've run into a supply issue for the 4p Bosch connectors as they went NLA about the same time the Bosch coilpacks did. What a coincidence, LOL. But we've recently found a stash of them and are buying the entire stash. I know this is dragging out a lot longer than y'all & we would like but I think/hope this is the last hurdle.....

 

I made a couple of new sets of loads for my 456. It’s fairly straightforward but the lovely Ferrari branded rubber connectors, with the Prancing Horse logo, are getting impossible to find. It’s a nice job to do and makes a huge difference.

 

Look what UPS delivered today.
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John has some unique packing methods.

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Here is what is in the box.

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John (MSW) has sent me a COP kit with the new wiring harness to beta test. I hope to be installing it this week and hope to have it running by next weekend. I am also installing the radiator fan relay kit from Aerosurfer. I'll do my best to keep you updated as to what I find.

 

I noticed the ignition box you

Exciting to see the pics. Are you not using the ignition box any longer?

 

I am not sure what you mean by 'ignition box', but this is what comes out and is no longer used.

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Mentioned in the early posts (10 years ago) there was mention of a HKS ignition box being used as “added insurance” for the ignition system.
Do you know if all kits leading up to this latest version used an aftermarket ignition box? In other words, is this the first kit that doesn’t use it?

 

I don't know anything about a HKS ignition box, we shall have to wait for John to respond. I just started talking with John about this about a year ago.

 

IIRC John used the HKS ignition module as extra insurance but thought it was not really needed.

Thank you for the update and looking forward to hearing of your driving impressions.

 

LOL, when you live in a remote area of Montana, 1.5 hours from the nearest town you have to improvise sometimes. Very little bubble wrap out here, but plenty of empty beer cans!

The HKS box was discontinued shortly after I offered it as an option. It was basically an ignition "booster" that HKS brought out for the Japanese hotrod market but they declined to continue it for my purposes. They still offer a modified version of it called the Twin Power DLI, but that module is unsuitable for our application. If memory serves I only sold one COP kit with this option and it was to a hard core racer whose 550 was basically a race car, not a street car. All other customers purchased the standard COP kit which is the same as we're now offering.

 

I’d be very happy to send you bubble wrap if you need it, beer cans are fine with me though! I am a retired Porsche/Bmw/Ferrari mechanic. I had a shop 15 years ago and have worked on and helped debug turbo charging systems on some very rare Alpina bmw’s from the early 80’s using wasted spark motorcycle coil setups and other projects for PCA racing clients which included twin plugging 993 twin turbo engines for track use. One of the problems we encountered was splitting the DME spark signal to two coils as it would cause the drivers in the dme to fail so I ended up splitting the signal into two crane hi-6 ignition amplifiers which carried the load for each coil vs using the dme doing so which worked very well. The hyabusa coils have become a popular choice for cop mods in the tuner world including Porsche turbo applications. Back in 2004, we were making over 700hp with 17lbs of boost, we were breaking the wheels loose at 100mph in third gear in a four wheel drive car, something common for today’s tuners was very exciting back in the day. It’s great that this setup has a good dme compatibility track record.
With the correct factory coil packs being unavailable, this cop setup is definitely the way to go. Thank you for all of your research and dedication.