There is indeed a difference between old and new rub surfaces--the new is bigger by about 10 thousandths, which would tend to make the points gap more rather than less, so obviously doesn't get to the problem. (Maybe that difference is due to wear?) Now I've carefully compared the geometry of the new points to the old, and there's about a 40 thousandths difference in the potential point gap, which appears to be due to the angle of the arms (the angle between the rub surface and the point contact). For the record, I complained to Marine Engine, and the rep told me that there have been other reports of bad points (these are BRP/Johnson) and to their credit immediately sent me out a new pair, this time Sierra. We'll see how it goes when the new new points arrive. Man, I've never in my life paid so much attention to points, even when they were the rule in our cars!
