Hope this isn't a stupid question. I just had my plugs and wires changed a couple weeks ago. Should the coil packs be replaced as a maintenance item also?

There would be no reason to do it just for preventative maintenance.

Just out of curiosity, what are the symptoms of bad Coils?

Random or multiple missfires, usually a dead cylinder or 2.
Should last the life of the engine and then some.

Are there any aftermarket upgrades for our coils? Are they worth it?

You could buy some MSD coils, and pay a premium price. You're not likely to notice any difference, other than the red color. The series II coils put out a very good spark.

Thanks Archon

I appreciate the responses, thanks.

MSD coils are significantly 'hotter' than stock AC Delco Series 2 coils, and are cheaper than new OEM coils.

The turns ratio is significantly higher on the MSD'*. See the article in Techinfo for the specs. You can see in Techinfo that the secondary resistances are somewhat equal to OEM coils, but the primaries are significantly lower in resistance. The ratio from primary to secondary coil winding resistance is where a coil (transformer) makes it'* power.

Changing the coils on most cars here would possibly result in a smoother idle. Most won't notice any other change. On a MODIFIED car, particularly L67'*, once you start playing with colder plugs, you can run about a .005 larger gap on the MSD'* over normal.

My last investigation into costs, the MSDs were more expensive than the OEM (other than the dealer) coils.

With stock or lightly modded cars, the higher potential of the MSD coils wouldn't make much difference. It'* the other end of the spark plug debate. As long as there is enough spark to jump the gap, that'* what is needed.

Resistance ratio, and turns ratio are not necessarily equal, unless we know whether or not the same gauge wire is used for the primary and the secondary.

I agree that by all indications the MSDs specs indicate more potential. Whether it is noticeable in stock/lightly modded cars in everyday driving is up for debate.