KuHL 951

Why not just buy good capacitors and run them inline at the top of the plug with plug wires attaching to them. Replavement is cheaper than built into the plug itself. I agree the only harm they can do is to your wallet.

VWaddict

I beg to differ greatly.

A coil is NOT a capacitor, a capacitor is NOT a coil.

Capacitors and coils do the exact opposite of each other, both in terms of energy storage, and reactive impedance... for these reasons -if no others- they are generally trated as being the 'opposites' of each other.

Run a google search on inductive reactance and capacitive reactance for more detailed information if you like, but I feel obliged to point out that what is written above is VERY wrong, before anyone gets confused...

In fact if you put a capacitor and a coil in parallel (which is what Nology effectively do) you get a resonant circuit. The tuning of the circuit 'focuses' broadband energy into a specific spectral region, which can be either a blessing or a curse. Brighter sparks can be one product, but nobody has EVER shown conclusively that it does any good...

Of course people who fit them to their cars are USUALLY doing so when it's time to replace plugs and wires anyhow, and so improvements in engine performance are usually guaranteed... and easily misattributed.

Now if you were marketing these things, and you wanted to make your product look good, would you show a comparison of your product against the very BEST-performing conventional spark-plug, or the very WORST-performing conventional sparker in the comparison group?

Something I'd ask myself before buying into this is: 'Why aren't ANY of the manufacturers fitting this, if there really is ANY benefit?' -You have to assume that any manufacturer could negotiate a SERIOUS discount, and the 'endorsement' would be manna from heaven to "techno-spark" inc...

Capacitors are cheap to make... although any capacitor -discrete or 'embedded' into plug-wires- is prone to losses from ESR, dielectric absorbtion etc, so -again- nothing for nothing.

If you pick a motor which -for whatever reason- generally doesn't "like" a certainbrand of spark plug -Bosch Platinums for example- then it becomes VERY easy to switch plugs for your new 'mega-tech' "upgrade" and show super-fast films of faster flame-front propagation, graphs of improved power output, tables of improved efficiency data etc... Something else to bear in mind.

I haven't tried them, so I can't say that they don't do any good in any engine, but a good coil, through a god wire, to a plug well-matched to the engine it's fitted in, is basically hard to beat.

On the other hand, it's very easy for marketing to make people feel better, and there isn't one of us reading this who doesn't secretly hope that something like this really works... And -just like in Hi-Fi Audiophool land, it's easy to make people imagine slight improvements... which is why there are companies making money by selling lacquered wooden volume-control ***** to "improve" the sound...

Keith

NeoRules

But does it go to 11 ?

LFA951

Is that with the flex capacitor??

Spidey944

+1 Keith

Oh yeah, some of you whipper-snappers wern't even born when Back 2 the Future came out!!

It's..... 1.21 Jiggawatts (+1 Daniel) and it called a Flux Capacitor....... Just had to clear that one up! Don't want ya to get your History lesson mixed up!

eniac

Yeah, I know the differences. However they are similar in that they both can store energy and release the built up energy as a increased charge. I didn't have time go into a big explanation on what coils and caps were but I'm glad you did. My point was that something can fit inside a small spark plug cannot really make a noticable increase in the amount on energy being released by the coil....weather it be a tiny coil or a capacitor stuffed inside the plug. Not to mention the question still remains is if you do get more energy through the plugs, is there any real evidence which results in more hp?

inactiveuser92616

I have taken those IC engine classes. This spark plug will not likely cause measurable increases in power. Once the ignition event has begun, the plug is no longer a factor (aside from its physical shape quenching the flame... those multiprong plugs will sap some minor amount of power).

What fancy ignition systems can do is allow you to ignite a mixture that you may not be able to with a standard ignition. Dense charges (from turbo/supercharging, nitrous, or rich mixture) are more difficult to pass a spark through, so a higher energy spark is more likely to be able to bridge the gap. A very lean mixture is also difficult to ignite, in that case a hotter spark event can help out. A continuous arc (like a welder between the electrodes) can realize some benefit, as new mixture passes through the gap and is ignited during the power stroke.

In our engines, not likely to see a difference.

eniac

This is kind of why I am curious to know if these might help some of us who run very high boost. I run the coldest plugs I can but with 83# injectors I tend to foul them out if I idle too long. Becuase of this I can't use the plugs I want for while driving in Detroit traffic. If something like this can increase spark energy it might be possible to use the colder plugs without fouling.

VWaddict

Agreed, an uneven charge density (for example a poorly-designed combustion chamber, which may be characterised as NEVER running efficiently using ANY sort of conventional spark plug) may suddenly find that this techno-plug assists in reliable charge-ignition, but if your engine is an economically-running one (Not a criticism which can be levelled at the 951: -my 1989 'S' still runs beautifully and still gets ~25MPG on a rare highway cruise after 220,000 miles!) or in a well-designed combustion arrangement, there should be little benefit. -Patrat is quite right, the plug initiates and then is basically no longer a factor.

If however, you've got chips in which for example 'dump' colossal amounts of fuel in under hard boost, -to control detonation, EGTs or whatever- then perhaps there might be a circumstance where initiation might be fractionally easier... but essentially nothing real to be gained, although Butt-Dynos are easy to trick.

Your car may accelerate faster as a result of the lightened wallet in the passenger compartment, perhaps more than any under-hood changes.

Keith

VWaddict

Well, if the problem is exacerbated by idling, the charge density is lower, and easier to ignite... I think that if the problem is that the plug is running too cold, and fouling, you need it to hold more heat and burn off that way... Easier ignition isn't going to stop the plug fouling, since the plug will still run cold if it's too cold a heat range, surely?

Keith