another new sparkplug...

[ryan34]

http://www.densott.com/

Supposedly has 2 electrodes. Not sure how 2 electrodes are supposed to help. Anyone here anything about this?

[Bananasaboutcars]

It sounds like another goofy spark plug gimick. If their idea is having 2 very durable electrodes why wouldn't they make both electrodes out of platinum or iridium? why use a lesser material (titanium) on one of the electrodes and platinum on the other? It makes no sense to me, unless its made up by the marketing department to get us to buy a new set of plugs.

If they spent the time they used marketing new super sparkplugs on something useful, we might all be in flying cars right now.

I'm sticking with my bosch platinum plugs, anyway they are a nightmare to change.



Red 92 camaro rs with a 305 TBI 4spd auto 2.73:1 rear with Spohn sway bars, hotchkis LCAs and panhard bar, Spohn wonderbar, and edelbrock strut tower brace, msd 6A box, coil and wires. BFG g-force supersport tires. 77K miles.

http://bananasaboutcars.com/projectcars-camaro1.html

[3800_Firebird]

It does sound like a gimmick to me. It seems to me that modifying the spark wouldn't do that much unless the rest of engine combustion chamber were redesigned and reoutfitted to take advantage of it. Otherwise, it would just be excess that would be wasted on a stocker. I can't imagine a generic spark plug could give specific advantages to the engine like that. Results may vary?

[Injuneer]

Did you look at the photos on that link? It has the same number of electrodes as any other spark plug.... very small diameter center electrode with a platinum alloy piece on it to minimize electrode wear, and a single L-shaped ground strap with a larger diameter puck on it made out of what they call an alloy containing titanium, also said to minimize electrode erosion.

Not a whole lot different than a "double" platinum plug with a small platinum puck on each electrode.

The "gimmick" here is a very small diameter center electrode, similar to the approach they used with the irridium plugs. The ground strap puck is also unusual because rather than being a small "dot" of material like the typical platinum puck, its a cylindrical extended puck. The result is a much more "open" spark, unencumbered by shielding from the ground strap. In theory, it should light things off a bit better. The multiple ground strap plugs, like the Bosch +2 and +4 probably do more to hurt performance by shielding the spark with all that metal.

They have some very crude data that suggests that there is a tiny improvement in fuel efficiency, and even less data to support their position that is also increases power by some unstated amount.

Denso is not a schlock outfit like Split-Fire.... they are a serious plug manufacturer. Whether it really does anything would need to be tested. But I wouldn't write it off as "goofy" without some additional examination.

[Joe 1320]

Unshrouding the spark does show gains in HP and a boost in fuel mileage. Most times this is done with a clipped ground for a quick burst down the quarter. Unfortunately this makes the plug life very short and puts alot of strain on the ignition system so you can't run like that all the time.

I would imagine that there may be some initial gains, my guess is that the effeciency gains up front would become losses down the road. Most times the center electrode wears faster than the ground, since there are two pucks I could see where the gap could widen at a faster rate. Much would depend on the quality of the metal.

[Bananasaboutcars]

If they made both electrode pucks out of platinum, I would say its an interesting idea. But they made one platinum, and one out of some alloy, that requires the puck to be larger than the platinum. I infer from that- the alloy is poorer than platinum. platinum is super expensive, so they went with some cheaper metal, which (based on their own data) gave them marginal improvement, over plain old plugs. They compromised their own design and marketed it as something new and great. Smells (to me) like marketing not engineering. I could be wrong.



Red 92 camaro rs with a 305 TBI 4spd auto 2.73:1 rear with Spohn sway bars, hotchkis LCAs and panhard bar, Spohn wonderbar, and edelbrock strut tower brace, msd 6A box, coil and wires. BFG g-force supersport tires. 77K miles.

http://bananasaboutcars.com/projectcars-camaro1.html

[ChevelleSSLS6]

The result is a much more "open" spark, unencumbered by shielding from the ground strap. In theory, it should light things off a bit better. The multiple ground strap plugs, like the Bosch +2 and +4 probably do more to hurt performance by shielding the spark with all that metal.

For unshrouding the spark... I've always liked the AC Rapidfire plugs. Ran them in the 3400 (2000 Grand Am) and the little Saturn twincam coupe I used to pick on the ricers with in high school. I noticed a smoother idle in both, and slightly better throttle response. Performance gain? Not really noticeable.