Technical Paper
Performance Improvement from Dual Energy Ignition on a Methanol Injected Cosworth Engine
1994-03-01
940150
Based on testing done on a 4-cylinder Cosworth dual overhead cam engine, running on methanol, a significant performance improvement was achieved with a Dual Energy Distributor-Less Ignition system. Peak power was increased by 2%, with an over-all average power increase of 3% over the entire power curve. Peak torque was increased by 4% and, most significantly, MBT timing advance was decreased by 7 degrees. The system was tested with one ignition coil per cylinder, discharging 2 Joules of energy/firing to 7,200 RPM. The Dual Energy ignition system delivers energy to the spark plug more efficiently by separating the voltage creation device from the current delivery device. This separation improves the impedance matching of the circuit during the SPARK and the ARC modes that occur during the ignition process. It is very simple to implement with the addition of two low-cost components to each ignition coil.
