aftermarket cdi or no?

[Darthgeese]

need a new cdi, but i donnt if i should get some used oem one or a new dynatex or something? anyone have any input with what knid of cdi for a somewhat stock 88r? I would like all my switches n **** to work still also

[machwon]

Use OEM only, too many issues with anything else.

[C41Xracer]

I was wondering that myself? What issues are there with
An aftermarket cdi?

[rustyATV]

I've had a Baldwin (?) CDI for about a decade without a problem. It's not a fancy one like Dynatek, though, just an OEM style with the rev limiter removed (maybe, bought it in a panic to make a race).

[8686]

Originally posted by rustyATV
I've had a Baldwin (?) CDI for about a decade without a problem. It's not a fancy one like Dynatek, though, just an OEM style with the rev limiter removed (maybe, bought it in a panic to make a race).

It was probably an oem cdi with a Baldwin sticker. Seriously.

[machwon]

They can do many different quirky things. I've seen them not want to start or backfire when trying to start the motor, but then run fine after it gets started. Others will start fine but always missfire over half throttle. My experience with testing them has been they just don't perform as well as the stock oem versions. In my opinion if they don't say Nipendenso or whatever honda parts say, then they are junk. Take a stock cdi and any aftermarket cdi of your choice and head to the local dyno. In my opinion, the only other good ignitions are PVL's. On other atv's like the Banshee, even aftermarket stators are useless over 70 hp as they again breakdown and missfire.

[deathman53]

Originally posted by 8686
It was probably an oem cdi with a Baldwin sticker. Seriously.

he's not kidding, I don't remember the brands, but 2-3 companies had a higher rev and aggressive curve cdi for a 400ex. Even on the box it said that the battery needs to be 100% charged to start good and a weak battery could pose problems. People still used them, it turned out that those with the warning were xr250r and xr400r cdi boxes, just the part number was scraped off and a sticker was put on it. The reason why the "battery warning" is because the dirtbike cdi's fire at a higher rpm and the starter needs to turn faster. I found you could get the same cdi's from a discount honda dealer cheaper than the aftermarket company. The only cdi's I will use are stock and Vortex. Most of the others don't do anything, if they do anything, they raise the rpm limit too far after the point that power(most start dipping off near the 7/8 line of rpm limit). The ones that actually do something mess with the timing advance curves to suit certain needs or provide a dual range and don't result in hard starts. I have a vortex on my crf450r hybrid, from mild to wild(traction-max power), I can feel a difference in how the power hits.

[Honda5]

the dynatek and the vortex are good and won't cause any wiring problems and don't seem to misfire I run the vortex on most of my stuff. I still have a new vortex sitting around my shop that was for a build that never got built. If anyone is looking for one I'll sell for 1/2 the cost of a new one.