Coil-on-Plug, tech article. Options

[akamiami]

Though the ignition system on the DSM is remarkably robust and has powered many cars into to 10's if not further, some seek to upgrade virtually every aspect of their vehicle and choose not to overlook the opportunity for improvement. The 90-99 dsm's are setup with a wasted spark ignition setup consisting of two coil packs and an external ignitor (unlike the evo8's which had two coil packs with an internal ignitor). The operation of this setup is remarkably simple and effective, firing both cylinders 1 and 4 and the same time regardless of whether they are on the compression or exhaust stroke. Likewise, cylinders 2 and 3 share the same spark event characteristics. In this way the intake and fuel mixture is ensured to be completely combusted when it leaves the combustion chamber and enters the exhaust path, preventing unwanted fuel detonation inside the exhaust manifold and turbine housing where it can potentially damage comonents such as the turbocharger.

The coil-on-plug, or COP, setup typically replaces the two coil packs with twin ignition wires running from each, with an individual coil pack for each cylinder. It is not necessary to run an external ignition amplifier when converting to this setup, though it is often done by enthusiasts in order to maximize the efficiency of the new components.

I'll run through some pictures and specifics on the setup I implemented on my GSX next.