"It's not a heap, dad. It's a classic." That's harder to justify when your classic muscle car won't start. Nothing like a high-compression V8 combined with a battery that hasn't seen a charge for a ...

Ignition timing is like seasoning: some is good, but too much ruins the results. Bumping up the ignition timing on pushrod 5.0s is a time-honored trick to wake up the under-hood lump. The EFI system ...

The Advance CurveAll engines require an ignition curve based both on the requirements of engine rpm and cylinder filling (volumetric efficiency). This means that at 3,000 rpm with the throttle open ...

Without a solid spark your gasoline car will feel lazy, and your wallet will be empty. Optimizing your ignition is an easy and rewarding task that is not being taught to late model enthusiasts, so let ...

Editor's Note: Way back in March of 1998, GMHTP ran "Opti-Spark" by Ray Bohacz, an engineering-level dissection of GM's Opti-Spark distributor. This evolutionary ignition component was a bridge ...

There's a tiny silver can on the side of most distributors that is easily the most misunderstood component of any distributor-based ignition system. Feared by many, and ignored by many more, the ...

Older vehicles with distributor-based ignition systems need their timing checked on a regular basis, otherwise you can have a host of problems. Starting becomes difficult, idling will be rough, ...

The ignition control module is a crucial component of a vehicle's ignition system. It is a control unit responsible for regulating the ignition timing and generating sparks to ignite the fuel-air ...

Q: A question from your August 2007 issue got me thinking. A guy with a Kia Sportage asked where the spark plugs and spark plug wires on this car were, and was told that this car did not have a ...

DEAR CAR TALK: I have a 1982 El Camino. Two years ago, because it didn't pass the California smog test, I had to take it to a designated repair shop. As part of the repair, the tech told me: "Some ...