Well, yeah, without going to a capacitive discharge (long spark) system
like an MSD, you can run a super coil (I use the hot Lucas one) and
hotter plugs and get a little more bang. Some folks index their
plugs (put a mark on the ceramic where the plug gap lines up and then
thread a bazillion plugs into the head and choose for a given cylinder
only those that line up with the gap facing closest to the center of the
combustion chamber) but I think you don't get enough difference out
of it (in terms of power boost) to worry too much about it. I use
splitfire
plugs, btw, which I like a lot. The most noticeable difference is easier
starting.
But the main benefit I wanted to get (and indeed received) from the
Pertronix was rock solid timing. I found a good tight dizzy and the
Pertronix means no point bounce, which
Lucas points do like ping pong balls above 6500 RPM or so. And the
point bounce gets worse as you run the car. A set of points would
last me no more than a couple race weekends before they would
start bouncing noticeably, and growing little spark zits that further
reduce performance. So the long and short of it is that there is a
significant overall performance benefit in terms of reliability and
longevity of power, even if there's no neck-snapping power boost.
JZ
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Patton Dickson [SMTP:kpdii@mindspring.com]
>Sent: Wednesday, October 28, 1998 10:00 AM
>To: Jeff Boatright
>Cc: Carlson, Rob; spridgets@Autox.Team.Net
>Subject: Re: Electronic Ignition
>
>Jeff and list,
>
>I have been told if you go with electronic ignition, and then get a
>hotter coil (which electronic ignition can control better), then open
>the spark gap on the plugs up to take advantage of the hotter coil
>(which you can do thanks to the hotter coil) you will see SOME
>improvement in power. Without all three, the only advantage is as you
>have seen... no worries about the dwell.
>
>I can't verify this since my car is still on points, but it makes sense
>that the only way to gain any power is by getting a hotter spark.
>
>Let me know if you guys disagree, I am curious to the list wisdom (not
>flames) on this myself as I am leaning towards the petronix on my cars
>as well.
>
>Patton (spouting other people's opinions)
>
>
>
>
>Jeff Boatright wrote:
>>
>> Bob,
>>
>> I am using the Pertronix Ignitor with a Lucas Sport Coil. Installation was
>> easy, but I drilled and tapped an additional screw hole to firmly position
>> the pickup unit. I can't say that this setup has given me any benefits
>> other than obviating the need to set dwell (points gap), which was my goal.
>>
>> Before making this change, you must switch to negative ground. There are
>> instructions at several sites on the web. It's easy, takes about 10
>>minutes.
>>
>> I searched the web for comments on electronic ignition before doing this.
>> There were no complaints about the Ignitor, but several about the Crane
>> system; several failures due to heat and the (apparently) cheap optics
>> wheel.
>>
>> Again, I don't think that you'll gain power. If you do, this would suggest
>> that you have other problems (poor mixture, wobbly dizzy, etc) that the
>> setup compensates for. Of course, simply compensating for the effects of
>> some root problem isn't that bad, especially if the root problem is an
>> expensive fix.
>>
>> Jeff
>--
>Patton Dickson - Dallas, TX - http://members.xoom.com/spridget/
>67 Austin Healey Sprite Mk IV
>65 Chevy Corvair 110/4sp Monza Vert
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