[Spridgets] Pertronix and plug gaps

David Lieb dbl at chicagolandmgclub.com
Fri May 2 06:25:02 MDT 2008


> OK, so what is the benefit of increasing the gap?
> I came across a warning that the original ignition system may not be up to 
> the increased voltage - would the weakness be in the Lucas distributor or 
> in the rotor/plug wires/distributor cap?

Adrian,
The larger the gap, the more voltage it takes to jump it and the hotter the 
spark. It does very little good to put in a "hot" coil and NOT widen the 
gap. OTOH, too wide of a gap encourages the spark to find alternate paths to 
ground... like through the distributor cap, less than perfect spark plug 
wire insulation, through the top of the rotor to the distributor shaft, etc. 
There have been a lot of less-than-perfect rotors out there, common problem.

You should be ok at 30 to 35, but don't push it any farther than that with a 
stock distributor and you might want to renew wires, cap, and rotor (with a 
good one, not the cheapest one you can find) before you do.
David Lieb 


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