Go Back   986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners > Porsche Boxster & Cayman Forums > Boxster General Discussions

Post Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-10-2018, 02:57 AM   #1
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 59
A bit of 2 stroke history.

In the old days of 2 stroke and points, plugs had a real hard time. At low power settings, the plug electrodes did not get hot enough to burn off the oil/carbon on the electrode. Lawn mowers/bikes ran great. Next time you tryed to start it, nothing. The problem with points is that the spark rise time was slow. So slow that as the voltage rose, it would leak down through the carbon on the electrode and never jump the gap. Now take your neighbour that ran his mower full taps. Ie hot plugs. He never had a problem starting as his plugs were hot enough to burn off the carbon. The correct electrode/porcelain should look white to about 1/3 of its length. Ask any 2 stroke racer and he will tell you.

Now roll on the CDI - Capacitive discharge ignition. The rise time of the spark is very very high. So high that it will relieve its energy where ever it can. Down the electrode carbon as well as the spark gap so now the old fowled plug will still fire and in most cases the motor will run. Once it warms up the situation gets better.

I had a mini may years ago (a real one) and I made a CDI for it. One misty morning I started it and while running I heard this loud Clac Calc. I opened the bonnet. Due to the heavy mist the plugs were wet. No problem for this CDI , it had a nice fat blue spark running down the outside of the plug while the car was still idling perfectly.

TCI Transistor assisted ignition is a bit between the 2. Not sure what Porsche uses.

In most cases a good thrashing of the motor will burn of the carbon and return the plugs to normal.

PS if you always tootle around in your car, you need a hotter plug, if racing a colder one.

The operating temperature of a spark plug is the actual physical temperature at the tip of the spark plug within the running engine, normally between 500 and 800 °C (932 and 1,472 °F).

The heat range of the plug helps keep the tip at the correct temperature and burn of the carbon.
marsheng is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-10-2018, 09:09 AM   #2
Registered User
 
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: CO
Posts: 989
Quote:
Originally Posted by marsheng View Post

In most cases a good thrashing of the motor will burn of the carbon and return the plugs to normal.
Which is one reason a Porsche motor (any really) usually runs better after a track day. And illustrates part of the point of not running these motors at low RPMS...
Geof3 is offline   Reply With Quote
Post Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On




All times are GMT -8. The time now is 01:32 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2025 Pelican Parts, LLC - Posts may be archived for display on the Pelican Parts Website -    DMCA Registered Agent Contact Page