HEI setup for an 87 YJ with a 258

Is 55,000 volts really necessary on a 258? Or would 35,000 volts be plenty? Im about to pull the trigger on a HEI distributor and setup HEI on the YJ. I have come across companies with DIST. with 55,000 volts, 35,000 volts, and even 65,000 volts. Which is the way to go? I have read that 35,000 is more than plenty and 55,000 is just getting ridiculous for a stock 258.

What say you? Also is HEI the best way to go on trail Jeep on the East Coast, mainly hitting trails in WV, Kentucky, PA,VA, and NC?

anything?

Go for it. I ran a stock setup on mine for awhile, but during my engine rebuild I slapped the HEI on because of the advantages and 1 wire set up for my buggy-style wiring. Can't tell a difference because I never ran the two different set ups back to back.

35kv is just fine for a stock 258. If you were going to spend the money on a brand new aftermarket unit... id go ahead and get the 55kv if it close to the same price.. but to answer your question , the 35kv will work fine for your app.

chevy c10 distributor $60 with new coil and drive gear drops right in. Just look for a chevy 250 from a c10 or a nova, rebuild it with a new cap rotor and coil, get a jeep drive gear and drop it in, one wire and works like a champ

Thanks for the response. I was reading and CRT Performance makes a direct drop in HEI Dist. complete for the 258, however they sell both the 35,000 and 55,000 volt dist. They recommend the 35,000 volt dist over their 55,000 volt dist for the 258 that is why I am asking the question of whether or not 55,000 volts is really needed or is 35,000 volts all i need?

I have never used HEI or driven a Jeep with this mod so basically I am just asking for some input(that I have recieved) as to which distributor to go with. Keep the suggestions comming.

chevy c10 distributor $60 with new coil and drive gear drops right in. Just look for a chevy 250 from a c10 or a nova, rebuild it with a new cap rotor and coil, get a jeep drive gear and drop it in, one wire and works like a champ

Thats exactly what ive done... bought the dist. and drive gear off of ebay.. total of 80 bucks.

Ive been running it for almost a year, reliable and tuneable with new springs/weights for the advance. I couldnt justify the price of the after market versions.

The coil will only produce as much current/voltage as needed. 35K as said above it plenty. What is more important is going to be the advance curve of the distributer, which as said above is tunable, but good luck without a whole lot of knowledge or at the least a distributer test stand. Make sure it is set to come on smoothly and not advance too fast, which is a common problem with worn springs. IE rebuilt dist with almost no parts replaced.