Recommended Usage
| Type |
Usage |
Standard Ignitor or
Lobe Sensor Ignitor |
Normal driving w/stock or mildly modified engines.
Good performance potential - customer cars run the 1/4 mile in the 11s
with Standard Ignitors.
|
| Ignitor II |
High performance street and racing. |
| Ignitor III |
High performance street and racing where multi-spark and
a rev limiter are of benefit. In addition to high RPM benefits,
multi-spark will also enhance low RPM performance on engines with big
cams. |
Standard
Ignitor
(Click above for more information)
The
standard Ignitor is recommended for basically stock or mildly modified
engines. Teamed up with a PerTronix 40,000 V Flame-Thrower Coil, the
Ignitor will provide more than enough spark energy for almost all
applications. We have customers running in the 11s and 12s in the quarter
mile with this combination. The Ignitor can be used with OEM type coils.
Caution - some aftermarket coils have lower primary
resistance than an OEM or the PerTronix Coil. Using one of these could
damage the Ignitor. Rule of thumb - for 8 cylinder applications the
primary resistance in the coil circuit must be 1.5 ohms
minimum. For normal performance 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder applications the
primary resistance should be 3 ohms minimum. Primary resistance is measured
across the negative and positive terminals of the coil with all other wires
removed. If you have a ballast resistor in series with the coil, its
resistance is added to the coil resistance.
Many older vehicles have resistor wires feeding power
to the coil when the engine is running. The resistor wires are bypassed
when the engine is being started and full battery voltage is fed to the coil to
facilitate start-up. These wires were intended to reduce the voltage to
the coil once the engine was running in order to extend the life of points. Most of the time an
Ignitor will work well with the resistor wire left in the circuit.
However, in some cases the resistor wire, or its connections, may have
deteriorated over time resulting in an excessive voltage drop at the coil.
This could adversely affect Ignitor performance, especially at higher RPM,
resulting in misfires. The resistor wire may be bypassed and a full 12
volts can be fed to the coil as long as the coil resistance requirements
mentioned above are met.
Lobe
Sensor Ignitor
(Click above for more
information)
The remarkable electronics in the Lobe Sensor Ignitors can sense the lobes on
the distributor shaft points cam as they go by without physically touching them
and trigger the coil circuit accordingly. With the Lobe Sensor
Ignitors there is no need to pull the distributor for installation on GM
installations. Lobe Sensors are also used on some distributors other than
GMs for ease of installation. In applications where the magnet sleeve
with a standard Ignitor is easily installed over the points cam, there is no
need for a Lobe Sensor.
Ignitor
II
(Click above for more
information)
The Ignitor II is designed for those who want to get every last ounce of
potential out of their factory high performance or modified engines. It
has a variable dwell feature as found on HEI distributors to give increased coil
charge time at higher RPM. When combined with a PerTronix 45,000 V Flame-Thrower
Coil II or one of the Flame-Thrower HV/HC
Coils, the Ignitor II develops an average of 4 times the spark energy of a
points system between 3000 and 5000 RPM. At 6500 RPM the Ignitor II/Coil
II combo is still providing twice the spark energy of a points system.
The Ignitor II has a
built-in safety feature that switches off the unit if it is wired improperly or
if the key is left in
the "on" position without the engine running. This prevents the
possible overheating of the Ignitor II/Coil circuit. Many customers choose
an Ignitor II, even for a stock engine, just for this automatic shut-off
feature. To reset the circuit
simply turn the key off, then restart.
We tested the Ignitor II/Coil II versus the Lobe Sensor
Ignitor and points at the track. Click here for a
summary.
Ignitor
III
(Click above for more
information)
This
is the ultimate in electronic ignition conversions for GM, Ford, Mopar and
Mallory 8 cylinder distributors. It's an ignition box without the box -
everything is contained inside your existing distributor. The Ignitor III
has all the features of the Ignitor II (variable dwell, automatic
shut-off protection, increased spark energy available), plus multi spark
throughout the RPM range, and a +/- 50 RPM adjustable rev limiter.
Imagine all these features inside your distributor at a fraction of the cost of
an ignition box - talk about a stealth system!
