Only 2 ignition coils?

[maxchao]

I have a Protege5. Awhile back while I was changing the ignition coils it came to me that...How can there be only 2 ignition coils?

Since this is a 4 cylinder engine, each cylinder should be fired 180 degree apart. If two spark plugs are controlled by the same ignition coil, then it should be fired together? That means although this is a 4 cylinder engine, we really only have a 2 cylinder engine in terms of balance and smoothness.

Actually even the service manual says that "Note
No.1 and No.4 cylinders and No.2 and No.3
cylinder are ignited simultaneously."

This is so stupid...how can Mazda design something like this? That's why we have such soft engine mounts and still the engine is shaky and loud...

 

[tweety2300]

So that would make my Buick I uses to have a 1 cyl as it only had one coil pack. Hondas do the same thing Toyota matrix is 2 coil packs. Yes 2 cylinders spark at the same time as wel as with most or all other 4cylinder engines not just Mazda. If you would take 2 seconds to research this via google you would have known this faster than you could have posted this thread

Btw ford designed the motor Mazda improved it.The motor mounts are soft to reduce vibrations it doesn't make power because it was designed for fuel economy. It wasn't meant to be a car for young people to race but simply get from point a to b

 

[njaremka]

it's called a 'waste spark' system. firing a 'waste spark' during the exhaust cycle helps to clean up the unburnt fuel.

oh, and ford had nothing to do with the FS engine.

 

[tweety2300]

Then why was it in probes 626 and a couple other ford cars

 

[Cleverfrog]

Then why was it in probes 626 and a couple other ford cars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Probe

 

[njaremka]

Then why was it in probes 626 and a couple other ford cars

the 626 is a mazda. so is the probe, in essence. ford probe was a reskinned MX6, which was based on the 626, which was all mazda.

 

[maxchao]

(scratch scratch...)

To the point of getting from point A to point B...then why does Mazda put camber adjustment around the wheels. I know Civic doesn't have those, not even Si. There is also a strut tower bar, which most people don't drive hard enough to know any difference. Anyway it's strange, but I still like Mazda...messed up me.

Oh and I didn't know about the waste spark. First time I heard it. Interesting though. Maybe that's why the coil packs fail so early...They are being used twice as much and one pack has to drive two plugs.

 

[maxchao]

and 2003 civics have 4 coil packs...Looks like google does help.

 

[maxchao]

ohhhhhhhh njaremka I got you! Waste Spark! I googled and found out what it is. So each cylinder still go through its own cycle but when one spark fires at the end of compression cycle the other one fires to clean up the exhaust cycle. That is smart! Learned something today! I wonder if it really does anything though.

The engine still vibrates a lot though...maybe I'm just need to get used to it lol.

Edit: Then I went through the Wikipedia talking about waste spark...It does not say it helps with emission but only to save component costs. It also talks about how firing the addition spark does not really affect the component life. Anyway it's good to know.

 

[njaremka]

 

[rick3478]

Waste spark happens during the overlap between exhaust and intake and has little effect on emissions. Triggering off the crankshaft as opposed to cam helps with more precise ignition timing. And no it's not hard on the coils, they are designed for it.

 

[maxchao]

Cool!

In any case all I know is my last set of coil pack failed at around 22k miles. I drive the car pretty hard but not rediculous...it's still a daily driver. Maybe it's the cheap packs I got from O'Reilly. Whatever they take 5 minutes to change and at this rate I might just carry a spare set in the glove box.

So do our engines do vibrate more than the competitor? I know my friend's civic has a harmonic balancer he had to take off when changing the timing belt, but when I did my timing belt I didn't see any harmonic balancer. Maybe that's the reason? I still don't know why there should be a harmonic balancer if there is already crankshaft counterweight...and still that seems like a cheap part to skip during design.