Anyone using the Lasar Electronic ignition

[aussieflyer1]

Looking for feedback on the Lasar, I know they don't make it anymore but I bought it with the kit. Just looking for what results in fuel savings, engine starts,etc. How many hours have you operated this system before you had issues.

Thanks for your advice.

[160kt]

I have been flying with LASAR for 6 years now. It is a very good improvement over just mags. It causes about a gallon per hour reduction in fuel consumpiton.
It makes starting instant. It causes the engine to put out more power. It will cause CHT to be a little higher and EGT lower. You can read a review of the system at the following links:

http://www.avweb.com/news/reviews/182489-1.html

http://www.avweb.com/news/reviews/182490-1.html

Some important things:
Be extremely careful during installation and be sure to follow instructions exactly. Do not cross wires or you will damage the controller. It is Importent that voltage drop during starting doesnt go below a certain number. I have that number on my laptop if you need it let me know. It can become an issue when using a PM starter. You will need the T-300 timong tool specifically made for LASAR. You don't really need the CHT option if you are one to watch your temps anyway. They say it won't help with racing at max RPM and down low. I have found that statement wrong. It does work on my plane during racing and down low as evidenced by the lower EGT and higher CHT when cycling LASAR on and off.

If starting from scratch I would look real hard at EIS. It provides multiple sparks and is less expensive. You may be able to sell the LASAR and buy an EIS and have a few thousand $ left in your pocket. EIS only takes the place of one mag and fires half your plugs. LASAR fires all your plugs. That is unless you want to be dependent on a battery for EIS to fire all your plugs

A bit more complicated but perhaps even better option would be
http://www.g3ignition.com/

Best Regards

[jjconstant]

I had mine for around 100 hrs before a catastrophic failure. I know others have been using LASAR happily for more than a thousand hrs. I'd say it is mixed experience, but I think you will find that with ALL ignitions. The part that failed on mine was the main shaft, which sheared. It is actually part of the Slick Mag, not the electronics.

It always started well, and I notice no difference in fuel consumption between it and the PMags I'm currently running. I'm guessing that all flavors of the popular electronic ignitions will give similar fuel consumption numbers. The literature says that once your at altitude you should expect around a gallon an hour decrease in consumption for the same speed, with a slight increase in CHT's. I haven't done an A/B comparison. I like to run lean of peak and once I balanced my injectors there is no discernable roughness until the engine is extremely lean...more than 100 degrees lean and there is a significant decrease in power. I can use the mixture knob as power/temperature knob without the engine making me feel uneasy. I could do this both with the LASAR and the PMags so it's just a function of moveable advance.

I think what you're considering is whether to install the LASAR or sell it and get something else? If so, my tendency would be to sell it to someone that has a certified plane (the LASAR is certified) who doen't have as many good choices as we do and then research which other electronic ignition to get. It is an orphaned product that will get progressively more expensive to find parts.

PMags weren't available when I chose the LASAR. If they had been, I would have chosen them over the LASAR. I really wanted the benefits of both electrical independence and variable timing. At the time LASAR was the only thing that provided that. Now the PMags do that.

[Bob Axsom]

The system has performed well for me but I agree with what I suspect is your concern and I also would be reluctant to install an orphaned system. In a recent search for a sensor mag that It turns out that I did not need, I talked to Joe Logie (864-843-1162) at Champion Aerospace (the current owner of LASAR) and he said Champion is about ready to come out with a new electronic ignition system. He gave me the information for contacting a Canadian company that repairs LASAR Mags - Progressive Air Service 250-376-6226. The man there (I think his name is Brad) gave me the name of a man in the US that has a significant inventory of new LASAR equipment that he is selling Harry Senton (815-566-2735 and e-mail hlsenton@charter.net.

It seems that I have a non-sensor mag failure every 400 hours or so. I thought I had a sensor mag going bad and bought two through personal internet (here) and telephone searches. I now I have two future service units. The sensor mag and the control box and the cables and the LASAR timing equipment have worked without a problem for a little under 900 hours. There is an overhaul kit for the mags which you need to do that work. I bought one but I have never used it even though I have two nonsensor mags that need to be overhauled.

Timing is critical and you have to have the LASAR tool to do it. If you are going to keep the system you MUST get this equipment! (the T-300 Timing Tool mentioned previously).

I race our RV-6A often and it performs fine.

Bob Axsom

[Mile High Relic]

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

I talked to Joe Logie (864-843-1162) at Champion Aerospace (the current owner of LASAR) and he said Champion is about ready to come out with a new electronic ignition system.

Joe told me pretty much the same thing in June 2011 when I spoke to him after my right mag failed.

Originally Posted by Bob Axsom

He gave me the information for contacting a Canadian company that repairs LASAR Mags - Progressive Air Service 250-376-6226. The man there (I think his name is Brad) gave me the name of a man in the US that has a significant inventory of new LASAR equipment that he is selling Harry Senton (815-566-2735 and e-mail hlsenton@charter.net.

That is some great information. Documenting it here will surely help someone in the future.

FWIW, I purchased a plane with a LASAR system and it worked well in terms of start-ups, fuel burn, power etc, but only for about 4 months for me. Total time on the system was about 700 hours and 14 years. The failure I had may have been related to a poorly placed blast tube. It was catastrophic for the magneto but luckily everything kept spinning. The guys at Progressive said the coils were melted and I was lucky it didn't seize up. The proclaimed it unrepairable. Like Jeremy, I opted just to replace the whole system with two P-mags. So far I like the P-mags quite a bit, although as has been document on the forums, they aren't bullet proof either.

[Mike S]

This is good information, as I also have Lasar, and have been chasing high CHT issues since first flight.

I got the Lasar along with a partially completed project, so did not have a lot of information in advance concerning it.

By the way, working fine at 115 or so hours.

[aussieflyer1]

Thanks guys for all the great information posted. I also purchased the Lasar system with the kit I bought and feel that now I'm near ready for first flight(although haven't done first start up as yet) I will stick with the Lasar because of the cost to purchase a new system.
Thanks for the contact info for parts and new contact for the company that purchased Lasar, do they off a trade-in for there new system?? Seeing some of the hours you all have been flying on Lasar, one can only hope to achieve the same, if not more without issues as you all have.
I would sell it if I had someone interested, but it was an expensive item when purchased and not sure what I would get for the full system.

Many Thanks to you all for your help.
Kind Regards

[AlexPeterson]

There is a lot of information and experiences in the archives. Do an advanced search, put lasar in the search box, and check titles only. Be sure to spell lasar correctly, as I just did.

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by AlexPeterson

There is a lot of information and experiences in the archives. Do an advanced search, put lasar in the search box, and check titles only. Be sure to spell lasar correctly, as I just did.

And reset the time to any------default is one year old.

[artrose]

You need the Lasar timing box, the proprietary serial cable to attach to a computers serial port, hyperterminal software, and the list of trouble codes. It helps to have the Lasar manual. There is at least one wiring mistake in the literature. Joe's a great guy, and is about your only tech support left. At least he doesn't disappear to SunNFun when you need help troubleshooting a broke down airplane. I got rid of mine a couple years ago, and my last information had the control box cost in the neighborhood of $4000, and the mags in the $2000 + range. If you can find them. My control box had an issue. I had two sensor mags that came apart inside, and a bad starter switch contact that caused another system failure. After the second sensor mag, with less than 200 hrs, I'd had enough. All this being said, some folks have had great service. It's a great idea that never got the support and further development it needed to become an honest trustworthy system. Would I have another one of these orphaned dinosaurs on my airplane? Never. I spent thousands, and I still couldn't trust my airplane away from home. All things considered, it was a costly mistake for me. You need to learn the system for yourself too, cause the average JoeBlow mechanic will only scratch his head when you tow it to the shop.