Outfit called Direct Hits. Peak capacitor overlays for spark plugs to increase size and intensity of spark kernel. Before you call bs, take a look at their research and the dyno tests from the Harley rebuilder shop. the company homepage is http://www.directhits.com/default.asp

They seem to have data to backup their claims.

http://www.tbyrnemotorsports.com/ (forum vendor) sells the kit.

Interesting...

 

Under what area do you see this product listed for sale? I looked under ignition for c4 and c5 and found nothing ???? Let me know

Looks like it has a good idea..... ;)

 

Looks like TByrne only lists it for the F body's, but the Direct Hit site ordering applet shows it for Corvettes...

 

I just saw it under new products listed for c5's only...........I fired off an email to see if they make a model for the lt1 and what the part number is.


Kitt

 

They do, if you look it up on the direct hit homepage it was like $269. Might be discounted through a forum vendor though...

I read one of their PDF tech docs and they seem to know what they're doing. If I didn't have a new set of plug wires already installed I'd be more willing to tackle it as a mod but the thought of doing plug wires = :U


[Modified by Lone Ranger, 9:27 PM 3/28/2003]

 

For an LT1/4, there's no HP to be had with an aftermarket ignition box. Kludging in those boxes just lowers relability and lightens your wallet. To date, nobody has ever shown any improvement at the strip with back to back interleaved runs.

Save your money and invest in fresh plugs and wires.

Eric

 

Its not an new ignition. It uses peaking capacitors over each plug which causes a great increase in efficiency and makes the spark kernel both much larger and more powerful. It appears to achieve what the currently popular coil-on-plug design achieves, but allows to existing conventional ignition systems to remain in place while the engine benefits from the advantages a coil-on-plug ignition system provides. They appear to have dyno results to prove their claims.


[Modified by Lone Ranger, 9:56 AM 3/29/2003]

 

I know Honda is using a similar system on their cars now. I dont know of the benefits of this system, but it's on our 2001 Civic EX.

 

Years ago, there used to be sparkplug "intisifiers" on the market. They would fire an oil fouled spark plug. Turned out that the "intesfier was nothing more than an extra spark gap. It worked as long as the ignition system was good and healthy. The game was that the coil discharge would build up to a higher voltage before firing. The "kernal" was now hotter and the plug would actually fire across tip. These things killed high rpm performance though.
Is the C5 Corvette ignition that inadequate?? I seriously doubt that the General sees it this way. The more times change, the more they remain the same. Maybe high tech spark gaps are better capacitors though. :crazy:

 

If you want to see if your car can get anything from more spark, Go to the drags with your stock ignition system in good condition and make a few runs, or go to a dyno.
Then change your resistor wires and plugs for some non resistor units. Make a few more runs.
I'm betting you won't see anything gained, except radio noise. The stock ignition is plenty good for the stock engine. Start to boost compression or run very high rpm and you might need an improvement.
All you need to do is start the fire in the cylinder. If the fire starts you don't get anything by starting it "hotter". If the engine isn't missing you wont gain anything with a hotter spark.

 

OK, so now I went and read their literature. I'm not impressed. In the literature, they talk about a peaking capacitor in parallel with the spark plug, yet their circuit diagram shows the peaking capacitor in series with the spark plug! :confused:
They may good with equations that describe mathmatically, the energy transfer, so what, you could do the same thing for your current ignition system and impress the heck out of a lot of people. Never ever ever ever let anyone play upon your credulity.
Save your money. If you must spend moeny, get a good tuneup or a multiple discharge ignition sytem.

 

All they have done is created a Capacitive Discharge System....which is EXACTLY what an MSD is. Yes, you get more peak current to the plug than you do with a conventional transistorized ignition system, but the spark duration is MUCH shorter. Take a look at the fourth page in their "Product Info" slide show. They graph the peak spark currents for you...and mention nothing of the fact that it's dramatically shortening the spark duration. This won't be a problem at higher RPM's, and thus the issues with it won't show up on a dyno readout, but it's the whole reason that MSD (MULTIPLE Spark Discharge) ignitions spark multiple times below 3200 RPM. When the initial spark hits, there may not necessarily be a suitable air/fuel mixture at the spark plug right away...thus sometimes there is a delay in kernel formation as a suitable air/fuel mixture has to reach the spark to begin combustion. If you look at their plots, if that mixture is ~5 milliseconds late reaching the plug, that cylinder will NOT fire with this system. That's not going to happen at high RPM is the engine is healthy, but it could at lower RPM, which is the reason MSD fires 7 or 8 times at low RPMs, to make sure that there is spark there when it's needed. This system does not appear to do that. Especially given the cost comparison, if you want an ignition system that does what this one does, buy an MSD. It does the same thing but does it better.

Oh, and BTW, it's a REALLY bad idea to put capacitors next to a heat source as hot as the EXHAUST! Wow, I can't believe they're doing that. The heat from the exhaust will wear out those capacitors long before an MSD-type ignition box (which again, is a capacitive discharge ignition) will fail.

 

Educated by the forum once again. Its why I ask questions :yesnod:

 

I learn something new about corvettes, engine theory or suspension EVERY day I spend on the forum. What a wonderfull little place we all have here :cheers:

 

:seeya One way to look at it.... If the major race teams don't use it, then it probably isn't worth while. You know they spend millions on research and development every year.

:chevy

 

Sounds to me like to old trusted NOLOGY system.....I had NOLOGY capacitor spark plug wires with a hot coil on my 90 inch Harley turbo stroker engine which was in mybike before I installed the S&S 113" engine ......they were on ther for over 15,000 miles........finally took them off.....extensive dyno testing showed absolutely no advantage ...... they did not help.....actually they made things worse on my bike and slightly retarded the ingnition because of the capacitor triggering........I was able to compensate this issue with my CompCams ignition.hooks to my laptop and I can program anything I want........the engine ran smoother and made the same power without them..........I don't believe in them...........they are a waste of money.... :yesnod:


[Modified by Alex D, 7:46 PM 3/29/2003]

 

I will add this much, however. If you're trying to run an L98-based motor over 6000 rpm or so, you had better have some form of CDI (Capacitive Discharge Ignition), like MSD or the like. The HEI is a transistorized ignition, and above 6000 rpm (roughly) doesn't have enough time to recharge the primary coil....in other words your available spark energy starts decreasing rapidly in an HEI system above ~6000 rpm. When buying a CDI system, however, make sure it fires multiple sparks at low rpms.

 

So what kind of system is the Accel?

(trying to learn)