WHAT'S COMING UP?

Avenue of the Giants Weekend Run - Sat. March 23, 2024

Saturday will be a very full day of cruising from Novato up through the Avenue of the Giants and ending at Eel River Brewing in Fortuna. Sun...

Got A Direct Injection Engine? For Now Run The Cool Plugs

Matthew Beecham on just-auto reports on spark plug research.  Of interest to those of you with direct injection engines are these remarks:
Direct injection or GDI (Gasoline Direct Injection) is becoming the fuel delivery system of choice for automakers. With the first commercial introduction in 1996 by Mitsubishi, nearly all automakers currently offer at least one advanced powerplant equipped with these systems - with more platforms scheduled.

However, Louis Camilli, founder and president of Enerpulse Inc believes that there are operating nuances with GDI that continue to prevent wholesale adoption of the process. He told us: “One is that, in some engines, devastating knock occurs during lean operation with no warning. A second is that not all combustion chamber designs are suitable for stratified charge lean operation using GDI. These are engineering issues that will be resolved over time and may be mitigated using the Pulstar high-power discharge ignition. To date the only change to the design of spark plugs has been the migration to a cooler heat range with added thickness to the insulator projecting into the cylinder for added mechanical strength.”