splitfire plugs?

[Raymond]

merry christmas everyone. have any of you had positive results with splitfire plugs in a 911? i have a 1970 911t with S barrels, cylinders and cams. i got a set of splitfires for xmas that have a lifetime guarantee. they're supposed to be the last plugs i ever put into my 2.2... anyone?

[Superman]

They're worth a try. There is no plug that lasts forever. I personally do not believe in exotic spark plugs. They don't out-perform plain old copper-core single-electrode units. I like NGK and Bosch. I don't think all those electrodes hurt anything, but they're certainly not going to last forever. Testing or replacing your cap and rotor are just as important.

It so happens I also believe one spark does the trick. Ignition happens or it doesn't. Not sure why multiple sparks (MSD) are needed. Single-spark systems that are running properly do not misfire.

[H20911]

so let me get this .......If I put two electrodes on the plug. The spark will ignore the laws of Electricity and go to both equally....Wow! Does that mean that the current is split in half because you have created two paths for it to flow....or does it just go to the closer one and ignore the other.

standard plugs are fine but since you have them give them a wack and feel the power increase they claim (I mean why else should they charge 4-5 bucks a plug when it is worth a buck). Please report back if you notice a big change.

I am not trying to giving you a hard time but if they were significantly better then any other plug then all new cars would leave the factory with them.

don't buy into the hype! No real proof!

[911nut]

Bosch just came out with a 4 electrode plug that they developed for racing so maybe there's something to it after all. H2O, you should install your Christmas present and tell us what you think.

[a3holerman]

Hi,

Well in aircoled aircraft engines there is a very noticable difference with running on one as opposed to two plugs. Also the exhaust temp is higher on one plug. There is a noticable increase in power also with both plugs firing. I don't think its a matter of incomplete combustion on one plug more a matter of more even combution........sorta..

Happy Holodays to all

Tom

Cape Cod

[wckrause]

Don't compare multi electrode plugs to the benifits of twin plugging. They have nothing in common. A twin plugged engine will have two sources of ignition and will generate two sparks. A multi-electrode plug will only generate one spark. The only benefit that I can see is that if one electrode gets fouled the spark will use a different route.

I used splitfire plugs for a couple of years. I didn't notice any difference in performance (other than the normal increase when putting in clean plugs), but the plugs ran fine and never fouled. I switched to NGK's, because they're cheaper.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

If there is any advantage to multiple-electrode plugs, it's simply that they might last longer. When you first install the plug with "equal" gaps between all four electrodes and the center post, the current seeks the easiest path, to the electrode that is microscopically closer to the post or otherwise presents the least resistance. When it burns the gap between that electrode and post slightly wider, it seeks the "new" path of least resistance, etc. etc. etc. So it's theoretically like having a plug that lasts four times as long because it goes through four life cycles compared to a single-electrode plug.

And the previous poster is quite correct: multiple-electrode plugs have nothing in common with two plugs each with single electrodes. In the former, you get one spark per Otto cycle. In the latter, you get two.

Stephan

[john walker's workshop]

just another marketing flash in the pan. duralube, tuneup in a can, etc.

[H20911]

twin plugs are used in small A/C because if you foul a plug you have another source for combustion (dual Mag Ignitions also that do not need batteries to fire) this is a safety issue because you can't pull over to a cloud and jump out and change them. A side note is that the plugs fire from separate points in the cylinder and because of that the total fuel mix burns in less time and all the power that is generated is applied to the piston when it is at a higher point in the barrel where it can generate more power.
Since the twin plugs can burn it in less time, less heat is generated over time and the engine can run cooler.

yes the laws of electricity include following the path of least resistance. The mult electrodes just mean more places to choose to go. Yes, they will probably last longer. I doubt that they will last 4 times longer (Because they cost 4 times longer) though.

I change my plugs in my toyota ever 100K miles whether they need it or not (It has 367K miles on it) It cost me 4 bucks and I am off again.

racers will often indicate the plugs so that the electrode will be facing a wall and the open gap faces the chamber so not to block the spark with the electrode.

don't get sucked in to the more is better deal it is all crap in my book......BTW I once was looking at a pic (in a mag) that had a split fire plug that showed the plug firing. The tip was completely (both electrodes) lit as well as shooting the flame up though them...........really looked cool and powerful. the small print said "for illustrative purposes only" makes you wonder why they could not get a real picture of it doing it.

hope everyone had a nice day yesterday.

steve

[pbs911]

I tired them in my 78SC. I though what the hay! Took them out and replaced with NGKs. No noticable difference, except in my wallet. My .02.

[Dantilla]

An uncle of mine put Split Fire plugs in his Ford pick-up and claimed quite a noticable difference in power, so I put them in my Chevy. No change.

[Joe Bob]

The nickname around these parts is $hitfires.....snake oil....waste of $$$.....pick one.

[Steve W]

I used the spitfires for a few years. Not sure if I notice any difference. I just replaced them with standard Bosch Platinums, and used index washers so the electrode does not block the path of spark/explosion toward the combustion chamber. However, if you look in the latest version of Excellence, you will see a Bosch ad showing Platinums with two electrodes claiming that it is a better performer than the standard Platinum, and another one with four electrodes, claiming that it provides the greatest power.
Now, as an engineer by training, we all know electricity travels the path of least resistance, and four electrodes would block the spark/explosion even more. So what gives?

http://www.boschusa.com/AutoParts/SparkPlugs/PlatinumPlus4/

[tobluforu]

I have the bosch supers in my 72. These have 3 electrodes, so 3 times as much power-right?. Once i had 180 hp now I have 3 times that. Yee haaa. Actually, I use to foul plugs years ago when i was learning how to adjust the mfi. Went to these plugs and now no more fouling. I just got hooked on them. Since there 5 bucks a piece, they must be better! Yea right! Going to try the ngk's the next time to see if anything changes.
Slap those babies in, I'm sure they can't do any harm.

[pjv911]

H2O, set a camera`s shutter speed to 1 sec exposure and take a snapshot of the splitfire firing 200 times per second and there you go cool picture with sparks on both electrodes and well lit up.
Splitfires are a waste of money except for the patent holder $$$.
While in aviation school I saw spark plugs designed to have the center electrode fire directly to the piston. It looks like a plug with no second electrode. I had wondered if that would cause damage to the crown of the piston.

[speeder]

What I have heard is that splitfire is not even a manufacturer, just a marketing company that has any one of several lowest bidders actually make these great plugs. Bosch and NGK aren't in the running here. Think Slick50, K&N, cool-collar, etc. When it comes to something as crucial and inexpensive as spark plugs, I do not mess around. I want the best, more specifically I want the ones that are recomended for my car, I have had nothing but good luck with this formula. For my 911 that would be the correct Bosch plug, although many people have had great luck with NGKs on 911's for years.

BTW, if any of splitfire's,(or slick50's etc.), claims were true, every race car on earth would be running them. These are people who will spend $ for .10 of seconds faster. And they're not.

[Oldporsche]

I personally think that split fires are not worth any difference in price. Yes, there are racing plugs made with multiple ground side electrodes. We used some in the old racing days that were true side gap electrodes from autolite.

Multiple spark ignition systems work well at low speeds to completely burn all of the combustible mixture in the cylinder. These systems work very well for rich idle mixtures. I know that the engine idles much cleaner especially for carbed motors.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[Tyson Schmidt]

Steve W. The Bosch plugs with the multiple electrodes do not shroud the mixture at all. The ground electrodes aim at the sides of the center electrode, leaving the tip wide open and facing the oncoming piston.

Porsche uses 3 ground electrodes as standard equipment on the newer cars. (FR5DTC) I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing.

The Splitfires are a joke.

MSD works because the air/fuel ratio that is directly surrounding the plug can change through the 20 deg. of crank rotation that MSD sparks through. (Low RPM) This is due to the turbulence of the entering and exiting gases. (swirl effect) A richer mixture is easier to ignite.

This is how Honda's CVCC head design works. They have a pre-chamber which houses the plug, and feed it a ratio of around 8/1. This ensures easy ignition. The main combustion chamber is fed a mixture of around 24/1. This alone would be difficult-to-impossible to ignite, however, the pre-chamber is already lit so it all gets burned. The resulting average of the two mixtures equals a lean-burn engine which is very efficient.

[Early_S_Man]

The multi-ground electrode plugs have been aroound since the 1930's in British racing aircraft engines ... what was developed for racing in the '30's was used in military aircraft in the '40's in a rather critical arena! In the 1950's some of that manufacturing capacity was used to capitalize on a growing USA market for cars and performance was a key issue. British-made multi-electrode plugs (with SIX ground electrodes) were sold by J.C. Whitney under the name 'Fire Injectors' ... for around $2.98 -- an astronomical price in 1957 dollars when regular spark plugs cost $0.49-$0.69, and had a lifetime guarantee! Does that gimmick sound a bit familiar to anyone??? I wonder if Split-Fire is a J.C. Whitney trademark?

[Roland Kunz]

Hello

Maybe we have to enroll the history from spark plugs and why Porsche always had to push that technology as noone would have accept to use warm up spark plugs.....

The first 4 electrode spark plugs standard in aotomotive use where the Golden Lodge ( Alfa GTA´s ). In the same time Porsche changed over to use the Silberelectrode Boschs or the first Platin spark plugs ( Champion N2 G ) to catch the same problem.

The split electrode design is used in some BMW Engines since the mid 70´s and can be bought from NGK.

Today the sprk system is more optimized to fail safety ( catalyt ) and lonlivety for longer maintance.

I think the Subaru SVX is still the lowest maintance engine with a 60 000 mls intervall. And you can change them faster then in a 964/993.

Grüsse