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Denso Corp will launch a fuel-efficient spark plug in the Japanese market on Wednesday. Denso says its new spark plug improves fuel efficiency by 1.2%, torque by 1.1%, and decreases carbon dioxide emissions by 0.8% in comparison with the company's conventional nickel spark plug.
The new product, which has been sold under the product name "Twin Tip" in North America and Europe (including Russia), uses a tip shape for the ground electrode, in addition to the tip shape of the center electrode for conventional spark plugs. This unique structure results in improved ignition performance for a more powerful and fuel-efficient combustion.
The new spark plug also uses a newly-developed material, a nickel alloy, for the ground and center electrodes. This material enables the center electrode to be made 40% thinner than that of conventional nickel spark plugs. When the spark generated by a spark plug grows during combustion with the air-fuel mixture, it loses heat when it comes into contact with electrodes and ignition performance decreases. Thinner electrodes result in less obstruction of spark growth (quenching), meaning better ignitability.
Spark plugs must also be durable enough to be used in engine combustion chambers and materials such as iridium and platinum have been used to satisfy these conditions. However, due to the high materials cost for these high-performance spark plugs, there has been a gap in both price and performance between these spark plugs and conventional nickel spark plugs. Denso's new spark plugs are positioned in the middle of high-performance spark plugs and conventional nickel spark plug in its price and performance.
© JCN Newswire
5 Comments
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jonobugs
um. yeah.
Kind of hard to get excited over a ~1% increase in efficiency when the cost is most like a heck of a lot more than 1%.
Eizenhauer
1.2% isn't bad if you combine it with all other available fuel saving gadgets, slightly over inflating your tires and use some hypermiling driving techniques. Serious hypermilers rejoice on every possible new gadget that slightly increases mileage...
presto345
This product, which was first marketed in Russia, will become relevant only when car makers start installing them and don't see them as gadgets. If car makers don't offer them as original installments you can be sure you don't need them.
bdiego
1% increase in efficiency is pretty significant for just the spark plug. Not many engineers here I guess.