Abstract
Keywords - spark plug, high ignitability, low cost, fuel consumption improvement, emission reduction
Ever since the creation of the spark plug, improvements have continually been made to achieve high ignitability and long life. To fulfil these requirements, "Iridium Spark Plug" was introduced in 1997 with fine-wire center electrode technology to promote ignitability and long life. Then in 2003 "Super Ignition Spark Plug" was developed which uses fine-wire precious metal alloys on both the center and ground electrodes to achieve supreme ignitability and long life.
Currently, the global technology trend is focusing more and more on the regulation of emissions and fuel consumption. This is driven by increased awareness for environmental conservation. These regulations are becoming stricter, which leads to a higher demand for spark plug ignitability from all kinds of vehicles ranging from luxury cars through compact sized cars. Particularly in the small vehicle category, both ignitability and low cost are a requirement. Currently the high ignitability spark plug does not meet the second requirement since they contain precious metals like Platinum and Iridium on their electrodes. These materials significantly affect material cost. On the other hand, a conventional electrode material like Nickel is not able to achieve high ignitability since its wear due to engine usage is much higher than precious metals when used in a fine-wire design.
Considering these circumstances mentioned above, we have developed a superior wear resistive material to achieve a fine-wired electrode design without the use of precious metals. Based on this development, we have introduced a new Super Ignition Spark Plug that achieves both high ignitability and low cost.