ZERO OHM plug wires for more mpg?

[gone-ot]

...two very important "spark plug ignition" characteristics are: (1) spark "rise-time" and (2) arc "duration."

..."some" resistance in the sparkplug wire is actually needed/used to "prolong" the arc duration time, which is necessary to ensure complete ignition of lean A/F mixtures in high turbulence cylinders.

...spark "rise-time" is what's important when attempting to get the spark to initially "jump" across the spark plug gap and NOT be shunted to ground though oily-carbon buildup on the spark plug insulator (ie: older worn engine)...faster is better here!

...arc "duration" is what ensures that ALL the A/F mixture in a high-turbulence cylinder "sees" an ignition source (the "arc") with sufficient energy (>30 mJ) for long enough (~1000 uS)...here longer is somewhat better (too long, and plug erosion becomes excessive).

[dkv]

Originally Posted by zonker

increasing spark energy potential to the plug is helpful to a more efficient cylinder firing event but only to a point...................................the way i see it, low resistance wires and hi output coils do not add efficiency, but rather they help prevent the loss of same.
..........

I agree.

Champion Plugs did a research paper and submitted the following:

Drivers cannot perceive one misfire in five on a regular production engine at roads speeds of 30mph and up..( I'm quoting from memory you understand from about 35 years ago.)

I must say I agree, due to the Misfire ECU program on most late model engines detecting misfire you can't feel....for the most part.

Because of valve slide-seating, ( Loose Valve Guides.) plug flash overs, poor fuel mixing and these type of events, a miss will happen from time to time on the best ic engines .

By creating a fat/hot spark, fewer miss events happen and economy is improved.
Once a fuel mixture is ignited , it is ignited, and no magic spark, wires or plug can make that any better.

What the idea is, is to have a spark that is more likely to cause a burn than not and what most European/Asian coil, wire, plug ignition systems don't do, is, fire every event.

My experience is over 45 years in this field, racing, road track and duration racing. There is a some hp and mpg to be gained with a premium ignition system.

The old Kettering points where the worst for misfires induced by the action of the points.....plus wear and tear retarding the timing.

A low resistive load will cause the coil to build more voltage before the avalanche of electricity pushes through and jumps the plug gap than none at all..

The MSD wires I use have a built in resistive loading but are very low per foot run. They are so designed so the resistance stays constant unlike those crappy Red generic wires from Auto**** and O'R*****s that last a year if your fortunate..

The MSD spiral wire around a ferric core induces it's own resistance and makes them low Rf without causing the coil to have a hernia pushing current through the solid resistive carbon wires.


Unashamedly crass product promotion :

The MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Wire is "the" performance wire.Engineered from the inside out, the 8.5 offers everything you have everwanted in a wire; incredibly low resistance without electronic interference! In a single 12 inch length of Super Conductor Wire there is only 40 - 50 ohms of resistance! That is the lowest resistance of any helically wound wire. To accomplish this, we use a copper alloy conductor due to it's great voltage carrying capabilities. The low resistance results in less loss in spark energy so more reaches the spark plug. The conductor is wound extremely tight around a special center core. So tight in fact, that there is over 40 feet of conductor wrapped into a single foot of plug wire. This winding procedure, combined with a ferro-magnetic impregnated center core, produces an extremely effective Electro Magnetic Interference (EMI) "choke". This choke, or suppression capability, keeps the EMI inside the wire where it cannot interfere with other electronics on your vehicle. The outer sleeve that surrounds the conductor assembly is just as impressive. A proprietary blend of silicone and synthetic material produce a sleeve that is highly resistant to high heat as well as abrasion and tears. The MSD 8.5mm Super Conductor Plug Wire is available in Universal Kits and Bulk Lengths.

[ShadeTreeMech]

I say ya'll are barking up the wrong tree. Just go with a small ignition coil mounted directly on the spark plug.

[dkv]

Originally Posted by ShadeTreeMech

I say ya'll are barking up the wrong tree. Just go with a small ignition coil mounted directly on the spark plug.

''I say...I said, lookee here...if there was a COP system that was under $100.00 I guess I'd do it.....maybe.'' '' We're cheap, remember ?''

''I dont know...pay attention there.''

[Joenavy85]

Originally Posted by dkv

''I say...I said, lookee here...if there was a COP system that was under $100.00 I guess I'd do it.....maybe.'' '' We're cheap, remember ?''

''I dont know...pay attention there.''

just go find where the Blues Brothers live and take their car, it had cop suspension, a cop engine, cop radio, cop interior,.... i'm sure it had cop ignition as well, lol

[suspectnumber961]

Originally Posted by zonker

The simplest way to upgrade your ignition system is to 1. increase spark plug gap, 2. use the thinnest wire electrode spark plug available. and 3. index your spark plugs if they are not centrally located in the cylinder.

IF your ignition cannot hold up to the increased demands now asked of it thru the increased gap, then look to fix the problem in the system that is breaking down first. Typically it's the spark plug wires first, the coil second, and the ignition design limitations third.

Not sure where I found this....



"Ignition systems that don't work well with platinums are most likely non-electronic. The finer electrode on the platinum(in Bosch and NGK's case anyways) has a lower firing voltage, you might not think it's very much but at work the difference between our standard Inconel electrode plug and our Iridium tipped plugs is easily 15k volts.

On some ignition systems, especially older ones, 15k volts can be a significant timing advancement (10-15 degrees) so a car that normally runs fine will knock and end up killing not only the plug but possibly itself because of the timing advancement. Newer vehicles the advancement usually only counts for ~5 degrees at the most and the computer can easily compensate for that if it causes knock.

One solution is to voltage match the plugs, that's what I did in my car after this last round of acetone testing. I took the standard copper plugs it came with and measured voltage at 180psi @ .039" gap (about 42kV) then opened up the gap on an Iridium until it matched, I had to get a .052" gap to match the voltage between them.

Let me tell you, that Iridium at .052 runs WAY better than a stock copper at .039 even though it's the same voltage."

[suspectnumber961]

Would like to mention an interesting phenomena on another forum pertaining to recommended ignition wires. I posted the above links on ZERO OHM wire sets and there was some serious scrambling by some posters on this forum to WARN people away from these ZERO OHM wires...some from people admitting to being representatives of other aftermarket wire suppliers.

So the "spamming" goes both ways? Some hyping doubtful technologies...some warning people away from newer technologies to protect their market share?

So...look both ways before you cross the tracks?

[Frank Lee]

Someone other than DKV was doing that?

[ShadeTreeMech]

My biggest concern with zero (or, as I would suspect, almost zero ohm) wires would be the amount of radio frequency interference likely to occur. As was explained to me, such wires will interupt radio frequencies, the most noticeable would be a whining noise when listening to a radio station, and that it may affect sensitive electronics.

As far as a small ignition coil mounted directly to the spark plug, it is common in many Japanese vehicles as early as the mid 90s. My Maxima is one, as well as vehicles such as the 2000 Chevy tracker and mid 90s Isuzu Rodeos, and on some high performance Mitsubuisi cars. I believe some Ford cars also have it, and some produe such a strong spark the grounding electrode could erode away and the car still run fine.

I would think the easier solution would be to get a hotter coil and open the gap on the spark plug a bit.

[jamesqf]

Seems as though all this discussion has become moot, since spark plugs are slated to become outdated technology: Lasers Could Replace Spark Plugs, Making Engines More Efficient | Popular Science