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DENSO to Release Fuel-saving Nickel Alloy Spark Plug in Japanese Market

DENSO Corporation will launch a fuel-efficient spark plug in the Japanese market on 6 January 2010. DENSO’s 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.

“Twin Tip” sold in North America applies platinum for the ground electrode. In other regions, both center and ground electrodes are made with the newly developed nickel alloy.

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.

DENSO’s goal is to expand the sales of its high-performance nickel spark plug as a replacement to the conventional nickel spark plug. The company currently is considering to sell this spark plug in other countries and regions after carefully studying individual market needs.

Comments

ToppaTom

Wow ! A plug that was field tested in a country with a lot of high performance cars and that will allow leaner F/A ratios, higher boost, higher compression?

No.

"distributed at first stage through retail and wholesale chains in the Russian market"
" has been sold under the product name “Twin Tip” in North America and Europe (including Russia), "

Aparently they assume our cars occasionally miss - or maybe they assume the size of the forest fire depends on the match - or maybe we are supposed to assume one of these.

SJC

There have been announcements of advanced plugs in the past. Kawasaki and others had a radial gap plug, where the center electrode could spark 360 degrees around the center. I have not heard much of that since, but it seemed like a good design.

Others are trying to combine a radial gap plug with fuel injector. This has only been tested in a few applications, but is one of the designs that is gaining interest. It is like they said about fuel cells, it depends on the existing alternatives not making much further progress and there always seems to be some more progress every day on internal combustion engines.

Henry Gibson

Diesel is the answer to efficiency and spark plug problems. Especially if incorporated into Plug-In-Hybrids. Sufficient particle filters and catalysts have been invented. ..HG..

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