Ignition coil packs?

[cleatus12r]

Smoke and mirrors.

Typical secondary ignition voltage required to "fire" the spark plug on most gasoline engines ranges from about 7K volts to 25K volts depending on load and fuel mixture.

Just because companies sell coils capable of 50K volts does not mean that you're getting 50K volts to the spark plug. If it only takes 15K to ionize the air in the plug gap, that's as much voltage as you're going to get....stock or aftermarket.

Now, if you're running super-high compression, forced induction, lean air/fuel ratios, or a really wide plug gap, your voltage requirements WILL increase. At this point, you may run into a voltage problem (MAY). On a stock truck, there's no sense wasting your money on something that will do nothing.

[Slingwing 317]

Thanks guys. I agree that a higher voltage spark could be beneficial to highly modified engine but in my case (Gotts mod w/ drop-in K&N, Magnaflow exhaust) and a Gryphon soon to be ordered, I'm sure the coil packs are not worth the hype. I've heard from a few shade tree motorheads that think it's the first step to an upgrade after intake & exhaust...but opinions are cheap. Thanks again for the input, no coil packs for me.

[Jackpine]

I'll just add that anything that delivers a "fatter, longer duration, hotter spark", as some plugs and coils claim to do are, in my opinion, snake oil too. Either the fuel/air mixture ignites or it doesn't. If it doesn't ignite, you don't run. If it ignites at all, anything more is total overkill, because once the flame front leaves the area of the spark, which happens almost instantaneously, there's nothing left behind to burn. And, once the mixture IS ignited, the burn is self-sustaining, it needs no spark to keep it going.

- Jack