TechWest Racing
Member
Getting an Edge on Your Competition with an Ignition System
Before starting I would like to first ask a question, the last time you saw a severe lightning storm. What did the nastiest lightning strike look like? If you said a bright Blue/White single strike that blows a 2 foot hole in the ground. This is what focused energy can do for you!
For racing applications we need to look to the Rotor & Sparkplugs for help getting the energy focused. You can start with a new rotor, you will want to measure the width of the tip of the rotor and mark the center. Now you need to measure down each side of the tip of the rotor 3/16ths of an inch and mark the edge. Note: each rotor is different so if you can’t get 3/16ths then go with an equal mark on each side. You are looking to remove enough material to create a point in the center of the rotor tip. If you take a fine line sharpie you can draw a line from the center point to each side mark. These two lines show you what material needs to be removed to make the desired shape of the rotor tip.
Next you take a dremel tool or something similar with a disk stone bit to remove the unwanted material. Once both sides have been cut down, you can take a jewelers file to clean up the
sides of the rotor. You will want to clean up the edge of the rotor tip that faces the Dist sparkplug pickup points. You want a knife edge on this surface, because electrical energy likes to jump from sharp crisp edges.
For the sparkplugs you will want to repeat this process to the ground strap. You will want to start by measuring the width of the ground strap and mark the center point of the tip. Next measure down a 1/16[SUP]th[/SUP] or two (depending on the sparkplugs) along each side of the strap and mark each side. If there’s room you can use a fine line sharpie to run a line from center point to each side mark. If you can’t run a line you can carefully grind away the unwanted material. Again you are looking to create a point with a knife edge. This process does take some practice to get the results wanted. But it is not impossible for anyone willing to give it a try. Now after removing the unwanted material you again want to use jeweler’s files to clean the point up and to make sure you have a knife edge on the end. Now for the sparkplugs you need one additional step to complete the job. You need to hold the sparkplug with the modified ground strap pointed up. The very top of the ground strap tip needs to be rounded off. This is to stop a hot spot on the sparkplug from developing over time and causing unwanted firing issues.
By now you are wondering if all this work is really doing you any good. The answer is yes, you have just now stopped your ignition system from splitting up the energy strikes from 5 to 8 different points. Down to one general area which concentrates the effectiveness of the energy delivered. It also makes sure your ignition coil is reaching Full saturation before dumping its energy to the sparkplugs. Which is nothing more than Balancing & Blueprinting part of the ignition system?
Now there are some things to be heads up about when doing this kind of adjustment. Your sparkplugs and rotor do wear out at a faster rate. But since were talking racing and trying to get everything out of the system. And not try to make things last 30K miles for the street this is a manageable issue. The replacement cycle usually runs 1 to 2 rotors a year. And the sparkplugs should be replaced after about a month of racing. The sparkplugs haven’t worn out yet but they will start to fade if you push them any further than a month. I have posted a picture of a rotor & a sparkplug that have been modified for use as a general reference. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Pat Collins
TechWest Racing Services
MSD®Ignition Upgrade / Repair/ Technical Support
8904 Sutherland Dr
Huntersville,NC. 28078
704-995-4286
techwest@techwestracing.com
www.techwestracing.com
Before starting I would like to first ask a question, the last time you saw a severe lightning storm. What did the nastiest lightning strike look like? If you said a bright Blue/White single strike that blows a 2 foot hole in the ground. This is what focused energy can do for you!
For racing applications we need to look to the Rotor & Sparkplugs for help getting the energy focused. You can start with a new rotor, you will want to measure the width of the tip of the rotor and mark the center. Now you need to measure down each side of the tip of the rotor 3/16ths of an inch and mark the edge. Note: each rotor is different so if you can’t get 3/16ths then go with an equal mark on each side. You are looking to remove enough material to create a point in the center of the rotor tip. If you take a fine line sharpie you can draw a line from the center point to each side mark. These two lines show you what material needs to be removed to make the desired shape of the rotor tip.
Next you take a dremel tool or something similar with a disk stone bit to remove the unwanted material. Once both sides have been cut down, you can take a jewelers file to clean up the
sides of the rotor. You will want to clean up the edge of the rotor tip that faces the Dist sparkplug pickup points. You want a knife edge on this surface, because electrical energy likes to jump from sharp crisp edges.
For the sparkplugs you will want to repeat this process to the ground strap. You will want to start by measuring the width of the ground strap and mark the center point of the tip. Next measure down a 1/16[SUP]th[/SUP] or two (depending on the sparkplugs) along each side of the strap and mark each side. If there’s room you can use a fine line sharpie to run a line from center point to each side mark. If you can’t run a line you can carefully grind away the unwanted material. Again you are looking to create a point with a knife edge. This process does take some practice to get the results wanted. But it is not impossible for anyone willing to give it a try. Now after removing the unwanted material you again want to use jeweler’s files to clean the point up and to make sure you have a knife edge on the end. Now for the sparkplugs you need one additional step to complete the job. You need to hold the sparkplug with the modified ground strap pointed up. The very top of the ground strap tip needs to be rounded off. This is to stop a hot spot on the sparkplug from developing over time and causing unwanted firing issues.
By now you are wondering if all this work is really doing you any good. The answer is yes, you have just now stopped your ignition system from splitting up the energy strikes from 5 to 8 different points. Down to one general area which concentrates the effectiveness of the energy delivered. It also makes sure your ignition coil is reaching Full saturation before dumping its energy to the sparkplugs. Which is nothing more than Balancing & Blueprinting part of the ignition system?
Now there are some things to be heads up about when doing this kind of adjustment. Your sparkplugs and rotor do wear out at a faster rate. But since were talking racing and trying to get everything out of the system. And not try to make things last 30K miles for the street this is a manageable issue. The replacement cycle usually runs 1 to 2 rotors a year. And the sparkplugs should be replaced after about a month of racing. The sparkplugs haven’t worn out yet but they will start to fade if you push them any further than a month. I have posted a picture of a rotor & a sparkplug that have been modified for use as a general reference. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Pat Collins
TechWest Racing Services
MSD®Ignition Upgrade / Repair/ Technical Support
8904 Sutherland Dr
Huntersville,NC. 28078
704-995-4286
techwest@techwestracing.com
www.techwestracing.com
