MSD, LLC was founded in 1970 as a research and development company by two engineers from White Sands (New Mexico) Missile Range. The men and their partners were working on a lean burn fuel system called the Electrasonic Fuel Induction system to help provide fuel economy for new and older automobiles.
As the new fuel system was being perfected, the air/fuel mixture was becoming so lean that it was difficult for conventional breaker points and early electronic ignitions to ignite it. Then the men of MSD, LLC started investigating a new ignition system by using modern technology called capacitive discharge (CD). The CD design opened another door for the ignition, the capability to spark multiple times.
MSD has produced the best performing and most popular performance ignitions for over 20 years. The high energy spark of the CD design combined with multiple sparks resulted in a potent ignition. Not only did the multiple spark discharge (MSD) ignite the lean fuel mixture, it made overall improvements in the engine's performance! Enhanced starting, smooth idle, less emissions, and more power are benefits every car and truck can take advantage of, especially race cars.
Professional racers learned of the new MSD quickly and soon widespread throughout the racing world. Since then, MSD has gone on to be the ignition of choice of the top professional drivers in NHRA, IHRA, NASCAR, World of Outlaws, DIRT, SCORE, IDBA, and many more.
Today MSD encompasses over 150,000 square feet! There are over 400 employees, including highly trained engineers, technicians, assembly specialists, and performance enthusiasts.
MSD team designs, develops, tests, and assembles the entire line of MSD products, including ignition controls, fuel injection, coils, timing accessories, spark plug wires, and accessories. MSD, housed in two buildings, includes four engine dynos, two chassis dynos, complete CNC and machining centers, plus assembly and burn-in departments.
MSD products are the finest ignition components you can install on your vehicle, whether it's a daily driver, dirt tracker, 4-wheel drive, seven second Pro Stock car, or Big Foot. MSD is your exclusive performance ignition company and it thanks you for your interest and support.
MSD encompasses over 150,000 square feet and is housed in two buildings. Over 250 people, including engineers, technicians, and assembly specialists work together to design, develop, and assemble the entire MSD product line, including ignition controls, atomic fuel injection, DynaForce alternators, DynaForce starters, Pro-Billet distributors, coil, spark plug wires, and ignition accessories.
The Burn-In area is one of the most important departments at MSD. Every MSD ignition, from its HEI Module to the MSD 8, undergoes a burn-in procedure. The ignitions are connected to power and fire a coil and spark plug for a set amount of time, hot soaked, and then run again. Over 400 components pass through the Burn-In everyday!
Every ignition goes through a battery of hands-on tests before and after the burn-in procedure. Here, electronic specialists inspect wire routing, connections, output characteristics, and the electronic signals of the components.
The design and layout of every MSD product is designed and optimized using the latest computer software. Programs such as Altium Designer for PCB design and Elipse IDE for 8, 16, and 32-bit microprocessor development, enable MSD designers to stay current with emerging engineering trends. For mechanical modeling, layout, and drawing generation, MSD engineers use SolidWorks 2015 with a Stratasys Dimension SST 3D printer for rapid prototyping. Advanced electro-mechanical system modeling is done within the MATLAB environment. MSD CNC guys are on SurfCam 2014.
The only way you can produce superior quality products is to control all the aspects of engineering and production which is exactly why MSD CNC area continues to grow! MSD has three CNC mills (two 3-axis, one 5-axis), one lathe, and a surface grinder.
MSD technicians use Surfcam 2014 computer software to program the state-of-the-art CNC machinery. These precision machines are used for a variety of work, including prototype and production.
A variety of MSD rotors, coil housings, distributor caps, and much more are all injection molded in-house! MSD has two Electric Discharge Machines (EDM) to produce accurate molds for MSD high-pressure vertical insert mold machines, two Arburg presses, and an 80 Ton Battenfield.
MSD Distributor Department now covers over 20,000 square feet! Every billet distributor is hand assembled and closely inspected throughout the entire process.
Just like MSD ignition products, every distributor is put in a spin fixture to test the mechanical advance, rotor phasing, and magnetic pickup operation.
MSD R&D Department has four dyno cells at their disposal to run components through a gamut of tests. There are three water brake and one eddy current dyno, and all of them feature computer controls and multi-channel data acquisition equipment. A variety of engines, from mechanically injected sprint engines to torque-monster big blocks, are on hand.
Like MSD ignitions and distributors, every Pro Mag that leaves MSD building is installed on a spin fixture and scope so techs can check their output and operation.
After getting new components dialed-in on the engine dynamometers, they can also be installed on a test vehicle and run on one of MSD two chassis dynos. Here engineers and techs can record and observe how each component operates on a vehicle, while undergoing a wide range of conditions and loads.
After going through assembly and lengthy test procedures the components finally reach our packaging area. Final decals are applied and a complete set of instructions and installation parts are included before being boxed into our award winning packaging.