DDK - Die Deutschen Klassiker

I am have acute problems with getting my Clewett ignition system to work on my twin plug 3.2 engine.

If all fails i will have to revert to the 6 cylinder distributor/coil/Hall effect ignition system, totally reliable in the past.
My question is wit the high compression engine pistons and their apex domes one plug will be less efficient than 2.

however, the engine will run.

With the stock pistons and this distributor the engine gave 262 bhp

any thoughts on what the modified engine would give with just a single plug?

Is not the purpose of twin plugging to allow for higher compression, which in turn requires higher octane fuel.Therefore,twin plugging per se, will not increase/change HP.if the engine build is the same.From conversations,Our fuel octane is high enough to use High compression ratios, without the need for twin plugging.Is that what your asking.I could be wrong though,and talking total boll ocks.

The high compression pistons 'divide the hemi head chamber in 2 at TDC.
The one plus would fire the mixture but would also take time to spread into the other side of the chanber.
The twin or second plug fires the same time as the first one thus the combustion is faster and more complete.

With just one plug firing the speed of combustion would be slower, maybe less power and my question is about how much might be lost.

911hillclimber wrote:The high compression pistons 'divide the hemi head chamber in 2 at TDC.
The one plus would fire the mixture but would also take time to spread into the other side of the chanber.
The twin or second plug fires the same time as the first one thus the combustion is faster and more complete.

With just one plug firing the speed of combustion would be slower, maybe less power and my question is about how much might be lost.

your missing the aspect of ignition timing and detonation. Faster burn with twin plug etc gives you options on timing advance safely. Efficient burn with as much advcane as tyou can is hp. just upping compression and hoping for the best with traditional single plug isnt going to end well unless your dynoing. I was told I could safely run upto about 10:1 compression on single plug , but the motor had to be tuned for that and on good fuel

Can't comment on what the power fall with one plug might be, but intrigued as to why you can't get the twin plug setup working. Shout if you want any help - I've been designing electronic systems for about 30 years.

Chris, please can you take a look at the engine thread?

I can't tell you how much horsepower you will lose versus the prior engine but it will be significant. The further the unswept space is from spherical the more difficult it is for the flame to propagate.

When compared with the potential of your current engine you will lose even more. Worse, you may not even be able to make use of those extra rpm as the higher the revs, the more dependent the engine becomes upon fast flame propagation.

Worse still, setup with single spark will require more advance, forcing you to walk a difficult tightrope between maximum power and not blowing up your engine. There would be a hair's breadth between your maximum power timing setup, and a hot day with a few glowing carbon embers inside the cylinder, where 400 explosions per second go off before top dead centre and start to push the engine in reverse, breaking con rods and cracking open the case.

Stay on target. You'll get there and when you're powering up those hills these tribulations will seem like a distant memory.

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