Has anyone had any experience positive or negative with aftermarket distributors for the B series Coil on plug conversions? Also, would like to find one that fits the billet block off plates, so would need the bolt arrangement that fits the OEM spec cap. Just don't like the look of the open unused distributor connectors in the engine bay.

I had the conversion done on my ITR motor a few years back, after a while my OEM distributor had an issue and started breaking up, soon after would crank but not start, if it did anything it would just backfire and shut off.
I replaced it with a Duralast one and runs perfect, has been issue free for over a year. Unfortunately, they do not fit the block off plates (after while started to get to me), so looking for another reputable distributor people have used with these setups without issues.

From my experience and from what I've heard from others some distributors have issues with this. I emailed Speedfactory and they said they tried some of the ones just off Ebay or Amazon and haven't had an issue, but some others seem to have had break up issues. Anyone know of any specific ones that have been issue free?

 

There two different block off plates for two different variations of distributors

 

Yeah there's the B16 variant and the B18c1/B18c5 variant. Slightly different bolt hole arrangements. Whatever the case, really looking for an aftermarket one people have used that has been reliable with coil on plug. I have the GSR Speedfactory block off plate. A lot of aftermarket manufactures list the same distributor for both models, so hard to tell which one it is, or if it fits either of them.

Speedfactory for example lists out the 2 variants and which ones they fit:Specific Distributor Cap Delete Fitments

SF-02-082

B16, B18A/B (LS), D15, D16, (OEM Part Numbers TD41U, TD42U, TD44U, TD46U, TD55U, TD61U, TD73U, TD74U, TD81U)

SF-02-083

USDM / JDM B18C/C1/C5 (GSR/TypeR) (OEM Part Numbers TD86U, TD87U, TD68U)

 

I used the Locash cap on mine because I didn't want all the engraving and branding splattered on mine and because well, Joe is a legit old school Honda guy who's been building cool stuff for our cars since they were still new

https://www.locashdyno.com/store2/in...f30ce07ab340e5

I need to try a different distributor on my daily bucket. I think this one is starting to go south.

 

I did get some more information from Speedfactory. Apparently the O'reilly auto parts remanufactured distributors work well with this and use OEM spec housings and OE spec components which it also says on the website, also has lifetime warranty. Price point is higher from $241.99 to $322.99 considering I would be removing the Cap, Rotor, and igniter anyway, and you can get options around $70 on Ebay/Amazon that are also warrantied. A lot of them though are showing the same part for both GSR and B16 so not sure which cap size they would end up being. They said they have had luck with some of those on COP conversions as well so may be a waste of money, just need to find out which ones. They have like 2000 WHP B series so figured they are probably working on high power cars.

Was sort of hoping someone had a particular model they have found to work well that was a cheap simple solution.

Hondata only recommends OEM, but all those are discontinued so kind of leaves you with Facebook marketplace junk that's decades old. My experience was the opposite, OEM went out pretty quick and Duralast has been issue free for years. Too bad their housing doesn't fit the block off plates, didn't care so much in the beginning but started getting to me.

 

I've had issues finding an oem used distributor in decent enough condition to trust too. No matter how clean they are, the wire insulation is all cracked and dried out. They just live their lives in a violent environment. There's only so much you can expect out of them.

If we could find a reliable sensor set, the rest of the disto is 100% rebuildable, in my opinion.

 

That's thing with OEM, 20-30 years old anything can start falling apart. Seems like Hondata would have found some simple solutions they recommend off Ebay/Amazon or something since The igniter, rotor, coil aren't even being used for this.

It was interesting Speedfactory found some of the cheaper solutions off ebay/Amazon work, but then others say they've had issues with break up. Seems like a complete hit or miss. Just have to find a common one with a good quality housing.

 

Richporter Technology used to be a brand everyone tossed around as good aftermarket. I think they may have been bought out and merged into Spectra and as such had their production moved out of Taiwan and off to China. Normally that's a big downgrade.

 

I also heard Richporter was good at one point, but I was wondering the same thing. Not sure what happened to them.

Speedfactory said another option is the O'Reilly auto parts remanufactured distributors and they use OEM spec parts.

I noticed a lot of the aftermarket distributors list both GSR and B16/LS part numbers and sell the same distributor for both, I think most of them are likely using the B16/LS housing/cap size, but I have seen aftermarket that uses GSR cap size. So probably shot in the dark if you care about block off plates.

I ordered a B16A Block off plate for this and found that it was so close to fitting the GSR Duralast Gold Distributor (ALMOST a perfect fit) that it only took a few minutes to drill in the holes slightly towards each other including the bottom cap bolt slightly up and it fits. Very mild modification maybe a few mm, can't even tell by looking at it. So considering it seems to work well that's another solution, although both are a little more expensive.