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Old 04-20-2024, 10:15 AM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2005
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Point ignition is 100 year old technology developed about 12 miles from my house in Kettering, OH by Charles Kettering. Worked great then and still works just fine now. GM made adjustment of the points, (dwell time), awfully easy with a window in the cap in the late 1950's. A 5 minute check once a year and a possible tiny adjustment with a flexible hex key is all the maintenance required. We have to keep in mind that your ignition requires only the voltage necessary to find ground by jumping the spark plug gap. Usually, no more than 5-7 K volts. a stock point ignition can provide 20K when needed. Even though Petronix, MSD, and dozens of other brands advertise 50-60 K volt capability, the engine won't see this unless needed. Very high compression over 13.5:1, very lean or very rich mixtures, very high cylinder pressure from exotic fuels or power adders would be examples. There is allot to recommend basic point ignition for the average hobby car.

When depending on Chinese electronic components in my hobby cars, I do carry a point distributor in the trunk and a few tools to change it if it dies on a trip. The special features like multiple sparks at lower rpm's, rev limiters, and more spark energy are attractive. But often come at a reliability cost. My MSD 6 has left me stranded off the highway in the rain a couple times.

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