Igniting Creativity - WeaponX’s all new 32v Ignition Coil Upgrade

April 10, 2008 | Press Releases

Igniting Creativity - WeaponX’s all new 32v Ignition Coil Upgrade

The creation of a high quality ignition system has been a challenging process for OEMS that has taken many years in research and development. Recently, technology has introduced to the automotive market the next generation of high performance ignition coils which offer the latest in ignition technology for improved spark output and engine reliability. WeaponX has integrated this new technology and pioneered new technology that takes the Ford modular ignition to the next level.

The Coil On Plug ignition is the latest development in precisely controlling spark intensity and timing for optimum power, fuel economy, and low emissions. Most ‘coil on plug’ (one coil for each spark plug) systems are actually ‘coil near plug’ because a short mechanical connector or spark plug wire connects the coil to the plug. True coil on plug systems, with the coil mounted directly to the plug, are now being introduced on both domestic and foreign engines. One such example is our XCOP ignition coil for the Ford modular engines.

A strong spark requires high voltage. In order to maintain the high voltage we must ensure energy output is not compromised. One such method WeaponX has accomplished this is through circuit compression on the Ford ignition system.

CIRCUIT COMPRESSION
High-voltage circuits always risk degradation at any connection point between two parts. High voltage also will escape from its intended circuit whenever it finds an easier path to ground because of component failure or insulation breakdown. With coil on plug, there is no high-tension lead between the spark plug and the ignition coil. The system ‘compresses’ the secondary ignition to the minimum number of components and reduces the distance high-voltage circuit must travel.

To understand circuit compression we must understand that ignition coils use an internal device called a power inductor. A power inductor is essentially a coil of wire wrapped around a ferrite core. (Hence the term ignition coil) This wrapping of wire around a ferrite core creates a magnetic field once power is running through it.

When energy passes through this and creates a magnetic field what happens is the coil now stores energy commonly referred to as Henrie’s in Engineering. This energy is released in the form of a spark in an ignition circuit.

hen·ry (plural hen·ries)

noun
Definition: unit of inductance: the SI unit of electrical inductance, equal to an electrical potential of one volt induced in a closed circuit by a current varying uniformly by one ampere per second.
Symbol H

Henrie’s definition - Dictionary - MSN Encarta

There are many types of power inductors such as toroidal, and axial. Above you can see how the energy in the XCOP is transferred more effectively than in the OEM style ignition coils. Remember the winding is where the ignition energy is stored. By compressing the ignition coil circuit the stored energy does not need to travel as far as the OEM design increasing, reliability, power output and efficiency through circuit compression.

ADVANTAGE WEAPONX XCOP
The XCOP coil or power inductor, sits on top of the spark plug. True Coil On Plug technology.

The OEM power inductor or coil for OEM units does not sit on the spark plug. OEM units need a mechanical interconnect from the coil to the spark plug which is referred to as Coil Near Plug technology

Taking an existing coil and tweaking the internals for reproduction offers these things.

COPY OEM COIL NEAR PLUG (CNP) DESIGN

* Cost savings, since there is zero development time in re-designing the packaging.
* Zero improvements on packaging, weight.
* Position, design and principals for the new ignition coils remains the same as OEM CNP units.
* Internals can be revised.

Creating a new ignition coil from scratch offered these things.
CREATING A NEW COIL ON PLUG (COP) DESIGN

* Improved ignition coil position for improved energy transfers.
* The cylindrical coil can be installed in the plug hole, which was previously a “dead space”.
* Improved ignition coil position for reduced RFI/EMI.
* Improved packaging.
* Very expensive due to custom re-modeling, testing, prototyping and re-engineering components to fit.
* Improved efficiency reduces transmission length of high voltage to the spark plug.
* Improved efficiency in reducing problem prone connection points.

MATERIAL SELECTION AND MATERIAL CROSS SECTIONAL AREA.

Simply, the larger cross section of material present, the more current carrying capability and higher voltage the material can conduct.

The connection to the spark plug is where all this spark energy is output. The XCOP uses a thick cross section of the material that connects directly to the spark plug. (LARGER = MORE EFFICIENCY, MORE CURRENT CARRYING CAPABILITY)
WeaponX also CNC profiles the XCOP connection points to accurately match the spark plug terminal. This allows for much tighter tolerances and a more accurate connection to the spark plug over any other alternative on the market.

WeaponX uses a blend of Copper and Zinc metals optimized to create a brass material that conducts over 35 times more effectively than stainless steel. In a harsh environment, brass can resist corrosion but still offer exceptional electrical conduction. Keep in mind reading zero ohms on an electrical meter does not truly mean a material is an excellent current or power conduction. Regular meters only measure physical connections, not the true conduction of a material. In order to truly measure resistance of a material you need an expensive device referred to as an Eddy current meter.

Eddy current instruments are nondestructive testing (NDT) devices that induce detectable eddy currents in conductive materials. They are used to detect flaws, determine thickness, inspect welds, measure conductivity, and sort alloys. Using these methods we can distinctively see the superiority of brass as a conductive connector over stainless or spring steel.

Electrical Conductivity of Metals (Higher = better)

Copper 100 (70% XCOP)
Zinc 28.2 (30%XCOP)
Nickel 12-16 (STAINLESS)
Steel 3-15 (STAINLESS)
Titanium 5 (STAINLESS)
Vanadium 6.6 (STAINLESS)

Copper is the second best electrical conductor in existence. With our material selection, higher cross sectional area of material and reduced length from the power inductor (or coil) to the spark plug, conduction of the electricity to the spark plug is superior to any alternative. It is also noted that our combination of materials is used extensively in electronics applications due to the nature of the metals ability to resist corrosion and transfer electricity exceptionally well. Stainless steel is almost never used in any quality electrical circuit due to its carbon content and low electrical conductivity

EMI and RFI development

EMI and RFI control are serious factors to take into consideration when designing part of an ignition system. If they are not accounted for properly, fuel injection, computer calculations and radio devices could be thrown off and cause automobiles all sorts of grief. Anything and everything that is connected to a computer in your vehicle can be affected by EMI/RFI. To understand the inherent issues of EMI and RFI read the excerpts taken from the two websites below.

NGK website
“When a spark plug fires, it creates a great deal of radio frequency interference (RFI) and electromagnetic interference (EMI). Uncontrolled, this can show up as static in the radio or other electronic devices, or much more seriously, in electronic ignitions, fuel injection, and engine management systems. This interference with EFI and engine management systems can cause “cross talk” between wiring harnesses resulting in poor running, misfiring and decreased performance.”

Wikipedia explains EMI and RFI as such
“Electromagnetic interference (also called EMI, Radio Frequency Interference, and RFI) is electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by electrical circuits carrying rapidly changing signals, as a by-product of their normal operation, and which causes unwanted signals (interference or noise) to be induced in other circuits. This interrupts, obstructs, or otherwise degrades or limits the effective performance of those other circuits. It can be induced intentionally, as in some forms of electronic warfare, or unintentionally, as a result of spurious emissions and responses.”

EMI became a critical point in development for WeaponX. This is another reason we developed a true C.O.P. unit. Basically any wires after an ignition coil can become emitters or antennas that send RFI and EMI signals to your vehicles electronics. A true C.O.P. unit does not have these wires or any emissions antenna. Other units have an emissions wire from the coil to the spark plug. These wires can and do act as RFI or EMI transmitters.

Fords design of the OEM ’spring’ interconnect, is not really a spring. In an electrical engineers eyes it is an intelligent design made to reduce RFI and EMI transmissions in the system.

Here is a picture of an electrical magnet.

Wrap some wire tightly around an iron nail and place a battery on the electrical conductor. This will create a magnet. The magnetic field in essence protects against RFI and EMI transmission. A little more in depth. Once the magnetic field is established it acts somewhat of a forward power source. When this magnetic field is around the wire in question it prevents electricity or frequencies of different magnitude from entering the wire. The magnetic field wants to keep electron flow going in the same direction at the same magnitude preventing EMI or RFI issues. The more the windings, the greater the magnetic field, the greater the protection.

The OEM ’spring’ is also wrapped around an iron or ferromagnetic core creating a magnetic suppression field!
It is an intelligent design that everybody already knows about it they just don’t understand the application. See below.

Presented is a picture of a typical “spiral wire” or “mag wire” and the stock ’spring’ interconnect. Spiral and Mag wire are short for spiral core (spring) wire or magnetic suppression wire. Same thing as the OEM spring!

In the picture you can see a wire wrapped around a ferrite core which is the same as the OEM spring/ferrite core combination. They both produce EMI and RFI filtering effects. Both the OEM and standard spark plug wire are covered in a protective silicon boot. The only difference is that in the OEM C.N.P. configuration you can see the guts of a high performance ignition wire! The disadvantage of this is added system impedance, yet it is required to prevent EMI and RFI emissions

Many people have asked. Why not use a solid piece of copper wire? Individuals with carbureted engines are free to use such wires since there are no electronics in the vehicle. High end spark plug wire manufacturers and many OEM’s do not use a solid piece of copper ignition wire on an electronically controlled vehicle. The reason is because in doing so excessive EMI and RFI is emitted by the copper wire and would end up interfering with vehicle electronics. The Ford ’spring’ or what I see as a high performance ignition wire is meant to suppress noise just like high end racing ignition wires.

High end race teams use a mag or spiral core ignition wire. Ford and others knows this as well. The interconnect on the OEM C.N.P coils is not merely a spring. It is an intelligent, high performance ignition wire meant to suppress dangerous EMI and RFI signals. In certain circumstances (used in electronic warfare) EMI can actually destroy or damage electronics.

Using a C.O.P. design WeaponX has totally eliminated the wire needed so that there is ZERO antenna for RFI and EMI transmissions and reduced electrical system impedance for a higher quality spark output.

UNDERSTANDING EMI CROSSTALK

Computers use sensors to retrieve data from the engine. In this example (FIGURE 1 and 2) the sensor is picking up a magnet on the crankshaft. When the sensor sees the magnet it sends a small signal to the computer usually a small voltage signal such as 5volts for the time it sees the magnet.
When the magnet passes the sensor the voltage signal goes away until the magnet comes back around and the sensor re-sends the 5 volt signal. This is the drawn red line. The square portions are the 5 volt pulses when the sensor reads the magnet. When the line is down it is 0 volts.

In a high voltage or frequency device if EMI is not checked, it can be emitted from the air and through wires via cross-talk. Cross talk is when 2 wires are close in proximity and the EMI signal actually gets transferred to another wire or alternate signal wire through it’s own resulting magnetic field

In this example some cross talk in the ignition wire made it’s way into the crank trigger sensor wire (black jagged portion on the red crank trigger pulse line. This is where the computer gets confused. It sees this cross talk as a signal (just as if the magnet passed the sensor when it did not) and the computer then makes calculations based on the false signal. This causes mis-firing and poor performance in the electronic circuits.

This is a small example of the issues EMI and RFI can cause. It can also directly effect computer processors etc. This phenomenon is known as EMI or RFI and can occur in any electrical circuit. If EMI is unregulated it can cause all sorts of electronic issues.

Also. If left unchecked a large enough EMI spike can actually damage electrical circuits. Example. The trigger pulses in this example are called 5 volt square waves. The computer is expecting 5 volts as well. If a large enough EMI pulse is introduced in a circuit that is designed for 5 volts it could potentially damage the circuit through over voltage.

Ford uses EMI protection in the style of wire it used in it’s C.N.P. units. We also used high grade EMI suppressors in our COP units. A solid wire is an EMI producer in a high voltage circuit and is the core reason all race teams use a spiral core suppressor style wire to prevent EMI and ENSURE reliable running.

PATENT PENDING EMI AND RFI CONTROL
Review of ignition wires.

Distributed Resistance Carbon Core wire.
This type of wire has a fiberglass/carbon core impregnated with latex graphite. It provides the maximum amount of radio frequency interference (RFI) and electro magnetic interference (EMI) suppression. RFI/EMI occurs when high voltage passes through the plug wires. Creating a controlled amount of resistance in the wire (3,000 to 12,000 ohms per foot) suppresses RFI/EMI and prevents sensitive on board electronics from picking up false signals that could cause drive ability problems.

One of the drawbacks of carbon core suppression wires is that internal resistance creates internal heat and power reduction. Over time heat also ages the carbon core, causing increased resistance. As resistance goes up, so does the chance for misfire and performance drops further.

Many vehicles were equipped with carbon core suppression wires. But concerns over emissions and long-term reliability led many OEM’s to switch to “mag”-style spark plug wires for increased performance and reliability.

Inductance (mag) Wire
This type of wire has a spiral wound core of copper/nickel alloy wire. EMI/RFI is suppressed primarily by the magnetic field formed by the loops of wire wrapped around the core rather than the resistance of the carbon core wire itself. Mag wire has less total resistance (only about 500 ohms/foot) than a carbon core suppression wire, so it reduces the current needed to fire the plugs. But its main advantage is improved durability and increased performance over the carbon core wire.

Mag-style spark plug wires are being used on almost all high performance vehicles today.

Internal to all resistor spark plugs is a carbon core suppressor (resistor) of a high resistance value, typically anywhere from 5000 - 10,000 ohms.

Internal to the OEM setup and spark plug is what is called a pill resistor designed for use in spark plugs as suppressors. Plug Pills are manufactured from a carefully selected mixture of clays, alumina and carbon. After blending, the material is pressed to the required shape and then fired, in a controlled atmosphere, at high temperature.

These pills are not very effective conductors of heat or electricity and cause a reduction in power output. OEM’s use them because it is an effective means in suppressing dangerous EMI and it is a cheap method of accomplishing it.

The carbon also has a tendency to break down over a long period of time reducing power output further. The higher the ignition coil output the faster the degradation of the carbon conductor.

WeaponX has removed the carbon resistor from the spark plug and placed a magnetic suppression device to control EMI at the connection point of the XCOP EMIP. This was another advantage to using a TRUE COP design. We were able to place racing league technology in an area not normally used in the OEM coil near plug setup. This allowed for high power output all while reducing EMI/RFI. This is why we supply suppressorless spark plugs with the XCOP EMIP.

Does this mean you can’t use a standard spark plug? No, you can use whatever you feel fit. The design of the XCOP is such that any spark plug will work better with our ignition coils but it may unnecessarily compromise power output you could otherwise be using.

HEAT DISSIPATION CHARACTERISTICS (shown in blue)

The XCOP design also allows for more complete heat transfer over the OEM carbon pill / coil near plug design. The OEM carbon pill does not transfer heat well. Also, the XCOPs uses a positive retention clip that holds the XCOP in the head allowing for the removal of the stock OEM coil cover. The OEM coil cover holds heat in the coil area reducing performance characteristics of the ignition coil. By creating an ignition coil that has weather seals and stays in the head without alternate means of retention it allows users to keep the ignition coils cooler and operating at a much more efficient level of operation.

ADVANTAGES HERE OF XCOP EMIP

• Reduced system impedance (resistance) of the COP design by removal of connection points and ignition wire which creates a better spark output.
• Reduced system impedance of the COP using WeaponX magnetic suppression techniques rather than the typical carbon pill.
• System impedance reduced by as much as 300% over the OEM coil near plug design. (250% depending on wire / spark plug used)
• Improved heat transfer abilities through the removal of ignition wire and carbon core suppressor resistor.
• Improved heat dissipation through removal of the coil covers.
• Racing League technology for your street machine.

As a note, there are companies that do produce spark plugs with similar technology! They are used in environments where spark output CANNOT be compromised with the internal carbon type spark plug resistor but still require EMI and RFI suppression These types of spark plugs are not yet used in OEM applications because spark plugs using this technology typically cost $150 each. So a set of 8 will run you $1200 on average.

Understand that in a TRUE racing environment the application of $1200 for a spark plug change is cheap and this is part of the pat pending technology used in the XCOP design. We are able to produce this same technology cheaper because it is easy to place a larger less compact design within the ignition coil unit itself. The only way to get away with it was to develop a true COIL ON PLUG setup. We have the pat pending for the Modular Ford COP design and a pat pend for using this technology within or in any proximity external to the ignition coil and external to the spark plug. Within the spark plug the technology has to be shrunk and costs allot money to implement.

This is also the reason OEM’s do not use this technology… yet. This is also how we are able to get that extra kick out of an OEM ignition system. Thinking outside the box and re-inventing the wheel more effectively.

ENGINEERING TO PREVENT SPARK FLASHOVER

Flashover is when the voltage sent to the spark plug does not fire between the center and ground electrodes within the combustion chamber, instead, it shorts outside the combustion chamber between the coil and spark plug causing the engine to misfire. To reduce flashover spark plugs have ribbed corrugations on the top portions of the insulator.

WeaponX has also payed extra attention to detail with the spark plug body and boot of the XCOP to prevent spark flashover. The interior of the boot has corrugated ribs that conforms to popular brands of spark plugs. This extra rounded portion seals into the spark plug ribs further reducing spark flashover. In extreme cases spark can even travel from the ignition coil directly to the cylinder head bypassing the spark plug all together. This is why we have used an external plastic sleeve to prevent any unnecessary spark flashover to the head of the engine.

Measures were taken to encase the ignition coil in a quality high voltage sleeve to prevent spark flashover and potential engine misfires. This is especially useful when used in conjunction with high output ignition amplifiers. The multiple ribbed portion on the lower portion of the XCOP also helps energy from sparking externally to the head.

So what does all this mean? It means all the high power transmitted to the spark plug is used to create a high voltage spark output and is not lost due to spark flashover.

MULTIPLE SPARK DISCHARGE

It is possible to create a multiple spark discharge on an inductive ignition without an ignition source that is not triggering the spark event.

When the Ford inductive style solid state ignition unit (OEM ignition) interrupts power flow to the XCOPS the XCOPS proceed to induce a current flow into the inductive windings of the coil stepping up voltage and spark potential.

Once the spark starts the air between the spark plug electrode and ground electrode becomes ionized. When the air becomes ionized and the spark is bridged the energy needed to keep the spark maintained is much less and the power needed from the XCOPS to maintain spark from the coil drops. When the power requirements drop the ignition coil is allowed to supply supplemental high bursts of spark energy creating a multiple spark discharge event. This event is created in the XCOP by controlling the natural electronic ring in the ignition coil. This multispark event continues at the gap until the energy in the ignition coil has extinguished.

FINAL NOTE

The XCOPS are a combination of many high quality technologies and engineering principals. WeaponX have taken ignition coil technology to the next level through the use of our design and have supplied these documents to educate the public on the benefits of our system. You can be assured that with the purchase of the XCOPs you will receive top notch customer service and quality ignition coils.