Detonation and Pre-Ignition

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Engine Basics: Detonation and Pre-Ignition
by Allen W. Cline
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This article was originally published in the January-February 2000 (Volume 0 !umber "
edition of Contact( maga#ine$ This maga#ine is published bi-monthly by the Aeronautics
%ducation %nterprises (A%%"& an Ari#ona nonprofit organi#ation$ Contact( maga#ine has
granted us permission to reproduce it here$ For subscription information& please see the last
page of this article$
All high output engines are prone to destructi'e tendencies as a result of o'er boost&
misfueling& mis-tuning and inade(uate cooling$ The engine community pushes e'er nearer to
the limits of power output$ As they often learn cylinder chamber combustion processes can
(uic)ly gra'itate to engine failure$ This article defines two types of engine failures& detonation
and pre-ignition& that are as insidious in nature to users as they are hard to recogni#e and
detect$ This discussion is intended only as a primer about these combustion processes since
whole boo)s ha'e been de'oted to the sub*ect$
First& let us re'iew normal combustion$ +t is the burning of a fuel and air mi,ture charge in the
combustion chamber$ +t should burn in a steady& e'en fashion across the chamber& originating
at the spar) plug and progressing across the chamber in a three dimensional fashion$ -imilar
to a pebble in a glass smooth pond with the ripples spreading out& the flame front should
progress in an orderly fashion$ The burn mo'es all the way across the chamber and & (uenches
(cools" against the walls and the piston crown$ The burn should be complete with no remaining
fuel-air mi,ture$ !ote that the mi,ture does not .e,plode. but burns in an orderly fashion$
There is another factor that engineers loo) for to (uantify combustion$ +t is called .location of
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pea) pressure (/00"$. +t is measured by an in-cylinder pressure transducer$ +deally& the /00
should occur at 1 degrees after top dead center$ 2epending on the chamber design and the
burn rate& if one would initiate the spar) at its optimum timing (20 degrees 3T24& for
e,ample" the burn would progress through the chamber and reach /00& or pea) pressure at 1
degrees after top dead center$ /00 is a mechanical factor *ust as an engine is a mechanical
de'ice$ The piston can only go up and down so fast$ +f you pea) the pressure too soon or too
late in the cycle& you won5t ha'e optimum wor)$ Therefore& /00 is always 1 degrees AT24 for
any engine$
+ introduce /00 now to illustrate the idea that there is a characteristic pressure buildup
(compression and combustion" and decay (piston downward mo'ement and e,haust 'al'e
opening" during the combustion process that can be considered .normal. if it is smooth&
controlled and its pea) occurs at 1 degrees AT24$
6ur enlarged definition of normal combustion now says that the charge7bum is initiated with
the spar) plug& a nice e'en burn mo'es across the chamber& combustion is completed and
pea) pressure occurs at at 1 AT24$
4onfusion and a lot of (uestions e,ist as to detonation and pre)ignition$ -ometimes you
hear mista)en terms li)e .pre-detonation.$ 2etonation is one phenomenon that is abnormal
combustion$ 0re-ignition is another phenomenon that is abnormal combustion$ The two& as we
will tal) about& are somewhat related but are two distinctly different phenomenon and can
induce distinctly different failure modes$
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by Allen W. Cline
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-e. Definitions
Detonation
2etonation is the spontaneous combustion of the end-gas (remaining fuel7air mi,ture"
in the chamber$ +t always occurs after normal combustion is initiated by the spar)
plug$ The initial combustion at the spar) plug is followed by a normal combustion
burn$ For some reason& li)ely heat and pressure& the end gas in the chamber
spontaneously combusts$ The )ey point here is that detonation occurs after you ha'e
initiated the normal combustion with the spar) plug$
Pre)ignition
0re-ignition is defined as the ignition of the mi,ture prior to the spar) plug firing$
Anytime something causes the mi,ture in the chamber to ignite prior to the spar)
plug e'ent it is classified as pre-ignition$ The two are completely different and
abnormal phenomenon$
Detonation
;nburned end gas& under increasing pressure and heat (from the normal progressi'e burning
process and hot combustion chamber metals" spontaneously combusts& ignited solely by the
intense heat and pressure$ The remaining fuel in the end gas simply lac)s sufficient octane
rating to withstand this combination of heat and pressure$
2etonation causes a 'ery high& 'ery sharp pressure spi)e in the combustion chamber but it is
of a 'ery short duration$ +f you loo) at a pressure trace of the combustion chamber process&
you would see the normal burn as a normal pressure rise& then all of a sudden you would see
a 'ery sharp spi)e when the detonation occurred$ That spi)e always occurs after the spar)
plug fires$ The sharp spi)e in pressure creates a force in the combustion chamber$ +t causes
the structure of the engine to ring& or resonate& much as if it were hit by a hammer$
<esonance& which is characteristic of combustion detonation& occurs at about =100 >ert#$ -o
the pinging you hear is actually the structure of the engine reacting to the pressure spi)es$
This noise of detonation is commonly called spar) )noc)$ This noise changes only slightly
between iron and aluminum$ This noise or 'ibration is what a )noc) sensor pic)s up$ The
)noc) sensors are tuned to =100 hert# and they will pic) up that spar) )noc)$ +ncidentally& the
)noc)ing or pinging sound is not the result of .two flame fronts meeting. as is often stated$
Although this clash does generate a spi)e the noise you sense comes from the 'ibration of the
engine structure reacting to the pressure spi)e$
6ne thing to understand is that detonation is not necessarily destructi'e$ ?any engines run
under light le'els of detonation& e'en moderate le'els$ -ome engines can sustain 'ery long
periods of hea'y detonation without incurring any damage$ +f you5'e dri'en a car that has a lot
of spar) ad'ance on the freeway& you5ll hear it pinging$ +t can run that way for thousands and
thousands of miles$ 2etonation is not necessarily destructi'e$ +t5s not an optimum situation
but it is not a guaranteed instant failure$ The higher the specific output (>07in@" of the engine&
the greater the sensiti'ity to detonation$ An engine that is ma)ing 0$: >07in@ or less can
sustain moderate le'els of detonation without any damageA but an engine that is ma)ing $:
>07in@& if it detonates& it will probably be damaged fairly (uic)ly& here + mean within minutes$
2etonation causes three types of failureB
$ ?echanical damage (bro)en ring lands"
2$ Abrasion (pitting of the piston crown"
@$ 6'erheating (scuffed piston s)irts due to e,cess heat input or high coolant
temperatures"
The high impact nature of the spi)e can cause fracturesA it can brea) the spar) plug
electrodes& the porcelain around the plug& cause a clean fracture of the ring land and can
actually cause fracture of 'al'es-inta)e or e,haust$ The piston ring land& either top or second
depending on the piston design& is susceptible to fracture type failures$ +f + were to loo) at a
piston with a second bro)en ring land& my immediate suspicion would be detonation$
Another thing detonation can cause is a sandblasted appearance to the top of the piston$ The
piston near the perimeter will typically ha'e that )ind of loo) if detonation occurs$ +t is a
swiss-cheesy loo) on a microscopic basis$ The detonation& the mechanical pounding& actually
mechanically erodes or fatigues material out of the piston$ Cou can typically e,pect to see that
sanded loo) in the part of the chamber most distant from the spar) plug& because if you thin)
about it& you would ignite the flame front at the plug& it would tra'el across the chamber
before it got to the farthest reaches of the chamber where the end gas spontaneously
combusted$ That5s where you will see the effects of the detonationA you might see it at the
hottest part of the chamber in some engines& possibly by the e,haust 'al'es$ +n that case the
end gas was heated to detonation by the residual heat in the 'al'e$
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by Allen W. Cline
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+n a four 'al'e engine with a pent roof chamber with a spar) plug in the center& the chamber is
fairly uniform in distance around the spar) plug$ 3ut one may still may see detonation by the
e,haust 'al'es because that area is usually the hottest part of the chamber$ Dhere the end
gas is going to be hottest is where the damage& if any& will occur$
3ecause this pressure spi)e is 'ery se'ere and of 'ery short duration& it can actually shoc) the
boundary layer of gas that surrounds the piston$ 4ombustion temperatures e,ceed 800
degrees$ +f you sub*ected an aluminum piston to that temperature& it would *ust melt$ The
reason it doesn5t melt is because of thermal inertia and because there is a boundary layer of a
few molecules thic) ne,t to the piston top$ This thin layer isolates the flame and causes it to
be (uenched as the flame approaches this relati'ely cold material$ That combination of actions
normally protects the piston and chamber from absorbing that much heat$ >owe'er& under
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e,treme conditions the shoc) wa'e from the detonation spi)e can cause that boundary layer
to brea)down which then lets a lot of heat transfer into those surfaces$
%ngines that are detonating will tend to o'erheat& because the boundary layer of gas gets
interrupted against the cylinder head and heat gets transferred from the combustion chamber
into the cylinder head and into the coolant$ -o it starts to o'erheat$ The more it o'erheats& the
hotter the engine& the hotter the end gas& the more it wants to detonate& the more it wants to
o'erheat$ +t5s a snowball effect$ That5s why an o'erheating engine wants to detonate and
that5s why engine detonation tends to cause o'erheating$
?any times you will see a piston that is scuffed at the .four corners.$ +f you loo) at the bottom
side of a piston you see the piston pin boss$ +f you loo) across each pin boss it5s solid
aluminum with no fle,ibility$ +t e,pands directly into the cylinder wall$ >owe'er& the s)irt of a
piston is relati'ely fle,ible$ +f it gets hot& it can deflect$ The crown of the piston is actually
slightly smaller in diameter on purpose so it doesn5t contact the cylinder walls$ -o if the piston
soa)s up a lot of heat& because of detonation for instance& the piston e,pands and dri'es the
piston structure into the cylinder wall causing it to scuff in four places directly across each
boss$ +t5s another dead gi'e-a-way sign of detonation$ ?any times detonation damage is *ust
limited to this$
-ome engines& such as li(uid cooled 2-stro)e engines found in snowmobiles& watercraft and
motorcycles& ha'e a 'ery common detonation failure mode$ Dhat typically happens is that
when detonation occurs the piston e,pands e,cessi'ely& scurfs in the bore along those four
spots and wipes material into the ring groo'es$ The rings sei#e so that they can5t conform to
the cylinder walls$ %ngine compression is lost and the engine either stops running& or you start
getting blow-by past the rings$ That torches out an area$ Then the engine (uits$
+n the shop someone loo)s at the melted result and says& .pre-ignition damage.$ !o& it5s
detonation damage$ 2etonation caused the piston to scuff and this snowballed into loss of
compression and hot gas escaping by the rings that caused the melting$ 6nce again&
detonation is a source of confusion and it is 'ery difficult& sometimes& to pin down what
happened& but in terms of damage caused by detonation& this is another typical sign$
Dhile some of these e,amples may seem rather tedious + mention them because a .scuffed
piston. is often blamed on other factors and detonation as the problem is o'erloo)ed$ A
scuffed piston may be an indicator of a much more serious problem which may manifest itself
the ne,t time with more serious results$
+n the same 'ein& an engine running at full throttle may be happy due to a rich D6T air7fuel
ratio$ Throttling bac) to part throttle the mi,ture may be leaner and detonation may now
occur$ 3ingo& the piston o'erheats and scuffs& the engine fails but the postmortem doesn5t
consider detonation because the the failure didn5t happen at D6T$
+ want to reinforce the fact that the detonation pressure spi)e is 'ery brief and that it occurs
after the spar) plug normally fires$ +n most cases that will be well after AT24& when the piston
is mo'ing down$ Cou ha'e high pressure in the chamber anyway with the burn$ The pressure is
pushing the piston li)e it5s supposed to& and superimposed on that you get a brief spi)e that
rings the engine$
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by Allen W. Cline
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Causes
2etonation is influenced by chamber design (shape& si#e& geometry& plug location"&
compression ratio& engine timing& mi,ture temperature& cylinder pressure and fuel octane
rating$ Too much spar) ad'ance ignites the burn too soon so that it increases the pressure too
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greatly and the end gas spontaneously combusts$ 3ac)ing off the spar) timing will stop the
detonation$ The octane rating of the fuel is really nothing magic$ 6ctane is the ability to resist
detonation$ +t is determined empirically in a special running test engine where you run the
fuel& determine the compression ratio that it detonates at and compare that to a standard fuel&
That5s the octane rating of the fuel$ A fuel can ha'e a 'ariety of additi'es or ha'e higher
octane (uality$ For instance& alcohol as fuel has a much better octane rating *ust because it
cools the mi,ture significantly due to the e,tra amount of li(uid being used$ +f the fuel you got
was of a lower octane rating than that demanded by the engine5s compression ratio and spar)
ad'ance detonation could result and cause the types of failures pre'iously discussed$
0roduction engines are optimi#ed for the type or grade of fuel that the mar)etplace desires or
offers$ %ngine designers use the term called ?3T ( ?inimum spar) for 3est Tor(ue" for
efficiency and ma,imum powerA it is desirable to operate at ?3T at all times$ For e,ample&
let5s pic) a specific engine operating point& 1000 <0?& D6T& E8 )0a ?A0$ At that operating
point with the engine on the dynamometer and using non-)noc)ing fuel& we ad*ust the spar)
ad'ance$ There is going to be a point where the power is the greatest$ /ess spar) than that&
the power falls off& more spar) ad'ance than that& you don5t get any additional power$
!ow our engine was initially designed for premium fuel and was calibrated for 20 degrees of
spar) ad'ance$ -uppose we put regular fuel in the engine and it spar) )noc)s at 20 degreesF
De bac) off the timing down to 0 degrees to get the detonation to stop$ +t doesn5t detonate
any more& but with 0 degrees of spar) retard& the engine is not optimi#ed anymore$ The
engine now suffers about a :-= percent loss in tor(ue output$ That5s an unacceptable
situation$ To optimi#e for regular fuel engine designers will lower the compression ratio to
allow an increase in the spar) ad'ance to ?3T$ The result& typically& is only a -2 percent
tor(ue loss by lowering the compression$ This is a better trade-off$ %ngine test data
determines how much compression an engine can ha'e and run at the optimum spar)
ad'ance$
For emphasis& the design compression ratio is ad*usted to ma,imi#e efficiency7power on the
a'ailable fuel$ ?any times in the aftermar)et the opposite occurs$ A compression ratio is
.pic)ed. and the end user tries to find good enough fuel and7or retards the spar) to li'e with
the situation$$$or suffers engine damage due to detonation$
Another thing you can do is increase the burn rate of the combustion chamber$ That is why
with modem engines you hear about fast burn chambers or (uic) burn chambers$ The goal is
the faster you can ma)e the chamber burn& the more tolerant to detonation it is$ +t is a 'ery
simple phenomenon& the faster it burns& the (uic)er the burn is completed& the less time the
end gas has to detonate$ +f it can5t sit there and soa) up heat and ha'e the pressure act upon
it& it can5t detonate$
+f& howe'er& you ha'e a chamber design that burns 'ery slowly& li)e a mid-=0s engine& you
need to ad'ance the spar) and fire at @8 degrees 3T24$ 3ecause the optimum 1 degrees
after top dead center (/00" hasn5t changed the chamber has far more opportunity to detonate
as it is being acted upon by heat and pressure$ +f we ha'e a fast burn chamber& with :
degrees of spar) ad'ance& we5'e reduced our window for detonation to occur considerably$ +t5s
a mechanical phenomenon$ That5s one of the goals of ha'ing a fast burn chamber because it is
resistant to detonation$
There are other ad'antages too& because the faster the chamber burns& the less spar)
ad'ance you need$ The less time pistons ha'e to act against the pressure build up& the air
pump becomes more efficient$ 0umping losses are minimi#ed$ +n other words& as the piston
mo'es towards top dead center compression of the fuel7air mi,ture increases$ +f you light the
fire at @8 degrees before top dead center& the piston acts against that pressure for @8 degrees$
+f you light the spar) 20 degrees before top dead center& it5s only acting against it for 20$ The
engine becomes more mechanically efficient$
There are a lot of reasons forfast burn chambers but one nice thing about them is that they
become more resistant to detonation$ A real world e,ample is the !orthstar engine from EEE
to 2000$ The EEE engine was a 0$@B compression ratio$ +t was a premium fuel engine$ For
the 2000 model year& we re'ised the combustion chamber& achie'ed faster bum$ De designed
it to operate on regular fuel and we only had to lower the compression ratio $@ to only 0B to
ma)e it wor)$ !ormally& on a gi'en engine (if you didn5t change the combustion chamber
design" to go from premium to regular fuel& it will typically drop one point in compression
ratioB Dith our e,ample& you would e,pect a !orthstar engine at 0$@B compression ratio&
dropped down to E$@B in order to wor) on regular$ 3ecause of the faster burn chamber& we
only had to drop to 0B$ The 0B compression ratio still has 'ery high compression with
attendant high mechanical efficiency and yet we can operate it at optimum spar) ad'ance on
regular fuel$ That is one e,ample of spar) ad'ance in terms of technology$ A lot of that was
achie'ed through computational fluid dynamics analysis of the combustion chamber to
impro'e the swirl and tumble and the mi,ture motion in the chamber to enhance the bum
rate$
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by Allen W. Cline
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Chamer Design
6ne of the characteristic chambers that people are familiar with is the 4hrysler >emi$ The
engine had a chamber that was li)e a half of a baseball$ >emispherical in nature and in
nomenclature& too$ The two 'al'es were on either side of the chamber with the spar) plug at
the 'ery top$ The charge burned downward across the chamber$ That approach wor)ed fairly
well in passenger car engines but racing 'ersions of the >emi had problems$ 3ecause the
chamber was so big and the bores were so large& the chamber 'olume also was largeA it was
difficult to get the compression ratio high$ <acers put a dome on the piston to increase the
compression ratio$ +f you were to ta)e that solution to the e,treme and had a @B or 1B
compression ratio in the engine pistons had a 'ery tall dome$ The piston dome almost
mimic)ed the shape of the head5s combustion chamber with the piston at top dead center$ 6ne
could call the remaining 'olume .the s)in of the orange$. Dhen ignited the charge burned 'ery
slowly& li)e the ripples in a pond&& co'ering the distance to the bloc) cylinder wall$ Thus& those
engines& as a result of the chamber design& re(uired a tremendous amount of spar) ad'ance&
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about 10-1: degrees$ Dith that much spar) ad'ance detonation was a serious possibility if not
fed high octane fuel$ >emis tended to be 'ery sensiti'e to tuning$ As often happened& one
would )eep ad'ancing the spar)& get more power and all of a sudden the engine would
detonate& 3ecause they were high output engines& turning at high <0?& things would happen
suddenly$
>emi racing engines would typically )noc) the ring land off& get blow by& torch the piston and
fall apart$ !o one then understood why$ De now )now that the >emi design is at the worst
end of the spectrum for a combustion chamber$ A nice compact chamber is bestA that5s why
the four 'al'e pent roof style chambers are so popular$ The flatter the chamber& the smaller
the closed 'olume of the chamber& the less dome you need in the piston$ De can get
inherently high compression ratios with a flat top piston with a 'ery nice bum pattern right in
the combustion chamber& with 'ery short distances& with 'ery good mi,ture motion - a 'ery
efficient chamber$
/oo) at a !orthstar or most of the 1 'al'e type engines - all with flat top pistons& 'ery
compact combustion chambers& 'ery narrow 'al'e angles and there is no need for a dome that
impedes the burn to raise the compression ratio to 0B$
Detonation 2ndicators
The best indication of detonation is the pinging sound that cars& particularly old models& ma)e
at low speeds and under load$ +t is 'ery difficult to hear the sound in well insulated lu,ury
interiors of today5s cars$ An unmuffled engine running straight pipes or a propeller turning can
easily mas) the characteristic ping$ The point is that you honestly don5t )now that detonation
is going on$ +n some cases& the engine may smo)e but not as a rule$ 3ro)en piston ring lands
are the most typical result of detonation but are usually not spotted$ +f the engine has
detonated 'isual signs li)e bro)en spar) plug porcelains or bro)en ground electrodes are dead
gi'eaways and call for further e,amination or engine disassembly$
+t is also 'ery difficult to sense detonation while an engine is running in an remote and
insulated dyno test cell$ 6ne techni(ue seems almost elementary but& belie'e it or not& it is
employed in some of the highest priced dyno cells in the world$ De refer to it as the .Tin %ar.$
Cou might thin) of it as a simple stethoscope applied to the engine bloc)$ De run a ordinary
rubber hose from the dyno operator area ne,t to the engine$ To amplify the engine sounds we
*ust stic) the end of the hose through the bottom of a -tyrofoam cup and listen inG +t is
common for ride test engineers to use this method on de'elopment cars particularly if there is
a suspicion out on the road borderline detonation is occurring$ Try it on your engineA you will
be ama#ed at how well you can hear the different engine noises$
The other techni(ue is a little more subtle but usable if attention is paid to %HT (%,haust Has
Temperature"$ 2etonation will actually cause %HTs to drop$ This beha'ior has fooled a lot of
people because they will watch the %HT and thin) that it is in a low enough range to be safe&
the only reason it is low is because the engine is detonating$
The only way you )now what is actually happening is to be 'ery familiar with your specific
engine %HT readings as calibrations and probe locations 'ary$ +f& for e,ample& you normally
run :00 degrees at a gi'en ?A0 setting and you suddenly see 2: after pic)ing up a fresh
load of fuel you should be alert to possible or incipient detonation$ Any drop from normal %HT
should be reason for concern$ ;sing the .Tin %ar. during the early test stage and watching the
%HT 'ery carefully& other than *ust plain listening with your ear without any augmentation& is
the only way to identify detonation$ The good thing is& most engines will li'e with a fairly high
le'el of detonation for some period of time$ +t is not an instantaneous type failure$
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Pre)2gnition
The definition of pre-ignition is the ignition of the fuel7air charge prior to the spar) plug firing$
0re-ignition caused by some other ignition source such as an o'erheated spar) plug tip&
carbon deposits in the combustion chamber and& rarely& a burned e,haust 'al'eA all act as a
glow plug to ignite the charge$
Ieep in mind the following se(uence when analy#ing pre-ignition$ The charge enters the
combustion chamber as the piston reaches 324 for inta)eA the piston ne,t re'erses direction
and starts to compress the charge$ -ince the spar) 'oltage re(uirements to light the charge
increase in proportion with the amount of charge compressionA almost anything can ignite the
proper fuel7air mi,ture at 324GG 324 or before is the easiest time to light that mi,ture$ +t
becomes progressi'ely more difficult as the pressure starts to build$
A glowing spot somewhere in the chamber is the most li)ely point for pre-ignition to occur$ +t
is 'ery concei'able that if you ha'e something glowing& li)e a spar) plug tip or a carbon
ember& it could ignite the charge while the piston is 'ery early in the compression sto)e$ The
result is understandableA for the entire compression stro)e& or a great portion of it& the engine
is trying to compress a hot mass of e,panded gas$ That ob'iously puts tremendous load on
the engine and adds tremendous heat into its parts$ -ubstantial damage occurs 'ery (uic)ly$
Cou can5t hear it because there is no rapid pressure rise$ This all occurs well before the spar)
plug fires$
<emember& the spar) plug ignites the mi,ture and a sharp pressure spi)e occurs after that&
when the detonation occurs$ That5s what you hear$ Dith pre-ignition& the ignition of the charge
happens far ahead of the spar) plug firing& in my e,ample& 'ery& 'ery far ahead of it when the
compression stro)e *ust starts$ There is no 'ery rapid pressure spi)e li)e with detonation$
+nstead& it is a tremendous amount of pressure which is present for a 'ery long dwell time&
i$e$& the entire compression stro)e$ That5s what puts such large loads on the parts$ There is no
sharp pressure spi)e to resonate the bloc) and the head to cause any noise$ -o you ne'er
hear it& the engine *ust blows upG That5s why pre-ignition is so insidious$ +t is hardly detectable
before it occurs$ Dhen it occurs you only )now about it after the fact$ +t causes a catastrophic
failure 'ery (uic)ly because the heat and pressures are so intense$
An engine can li'e with detonation occurring for considerable periods of time& relati'ely
spea)ing$ There are no engines that will li'e for any period of time when pre-ignition occurs$
Dhen people see bro)en ring lands they mista)enly blame it on pre-ignition and o'erloo) the
hammering from detonation that caused the problem$ A hole in the middle of the piston&
particularly a melted hole in the middle of a piston& is due to the e,treme heat and pressure of
pre-ignition$
6ther signs of pre-ignition are melted spar) plugs showing splattered& melted& fused loo)ing
porcelain$ ?any times a .pre-ignited plug. will melt away the ground electrode$ Dhat5s left will
loo) all spattered and fu##y loo)ing$ The center electrode will be melted and gone and its
porcelain will be spattered and melted$ This is a typical sign of incipient pre-ignition$
The plug may be getting hot& melting and .getting ready. to act as a pre-ignition source$ The
plug can actually melt without pre-ignition occurring$ >owe'er& the melted plug can cause pre-
ignition the ne,t time around$
Thetypical pre-ignition indicator& of course& would be the hole in the piston$ This occurs
because in trying to compress the already burned mi,ture the parts soa) up a tremendous
amount of heat 'ery (uic)ly$ The only ones that sur'i'e are the ones that ha'e a high thermal
inertia& li)e the cylinder head or cylinder wall$ The piston& being aluminum& has a low thermal
inertia (aluminum soa)s up the heat 'ery rapidly"$ The crown of the piston is relati'ely thin& it
gets 'ery hot& it can5t re*ect the heat& it has tremendous pressure loads against it and the
result is a hole in the middle of the piston where it is wea)est$
+ want to emphasis that when most people thin) of pre-ignition they generally accept the fact
that the charge was ignited before the spar) plug fires$ >owe'er& + belie'e they limit their
thin)ing to :-0 degrees before the spar) plug fires$ Cou ha'e to really accept that the most
li)ely point for pre-ignition to occur is 80 degrees 3T24& some =0 degrees before the spar)
plug would ha'e fired because that5s the point (if there is a glowing ember in the chamber"
when it5s most li)ely to be ignited$ De are tal)ing some =0-80 degrees of bum being
compressed that would normally be relati'ely cool$ A piston will only ta)e a few re'olutions of
that distress before it fails$ As for detonation& it can get hammered on for seconds& minutes& or
hours depending on the output of the engine and the load& before any damage occurs$ 0re-
ignition damage is almost instantaneous$
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Tech
Stuff
Swap
Stuff

by Allen W. Cline
Page 4 of 8
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Dhen the piston crown temperature rises rapidly it ne'er has time to get to the s)irt and
e,pand and cause it to scuff$ +t *ust melts the center right out of the piston$ That5s the biggest
difference between detonation and pre-ignition when loo)ing at piston failures$ Dithout a high
pressure spi)e to resonate the chamber and bloc)& you would ne'er hear pre-ignition$ The
only sign of pre-ignition is white smo)e pouring out the tailpipe and the engine (uits running$
The engine will not run more than a few seconds with pre-ignition$ The only way to control
pre-ignition is *ust )eep any pre-ignition sources at bay$ -par) plugs should be carefully
matched to the recommended heat range$ <acers use cold spar) plugs and relati'ely rich
mi,tures$ -par) plug heat range is also affected by coolant temperatures$ A marginal heat
range plug can induce pre-ignition because of an o'erheated head (high coolant temperature
or inade(uate flow"$ Also& a loose plug can5t re*ect sufficient heat through its seat$ A marginal
heat range plug running lean (suddenlyF" can cause pre-ignition$
0assenger car engine designers face a dilemma$ -par) plugs must cold start at -10 degrees F$
(which calls for hot plugs that resist fouling" yet be capable of e,tended D6T operation (which
calls for cold plugs and ma,imum heat transfer to the cylinder head"$
>ere is how spar) plug effecti'eness or .pre-ignition. testing is done at D6T$ 0lug tip7gap
temperature is measured with a bloc)ing diode and a small battery supplying current through
a milliamp meter to the spar) plug terminal$ The secondary 'oltage cannot come bac)wards
search
up the wire because the large bloc)ing diode pre'ents it$
As the spar) plug tip heats up& it tends to ioni#e the gap and small le'els of current will flow
from the battery as indicated by the milliamp gauge$ The engine is run under load and the
gauges are closely watched$ Through e,perience techni-cians learn what to e,pect from the
gauges$ Typically& 'ery light acti'ity& *ust a few milliamps of current& is obser'ed across the
spar) plug gap$ +n instances where the spar) plug tip7gap gets hot enough to act as an
ignition source the mil-liamp current flow suddenly *umps off scale$ Dhen that hap-pens&
instant power reduction is necessary to a'oid ma*or en-gine damage$
3ac) in the 80s& running engines that made half a horsepower per cubic inch& we could
artificially and safely induce pre-ignition by using too hot of a plug and leaning out the
mi,ture$ De could determine how close we were by watching the gauges and had plenty of
time (seconds" to power down& before any damage occurred$
Dith the !orthstar ma)ing o'er >0 per cubic inch& at =000 <0?& if the needles mo'e from
nominal& you *ust failed the engine$ +t5s that (uic)G Dhen you disassemble the engine& you5ll
find definite e'idence of damage$ +t might be *ust melted spar) plugs$ 3ut pre-ignition
happens that (uic) in high output engines$ There is 'ery little time to react$
+f cold starts and plug fouling are not a ma*or worry run 'ery cold spar) plugs$ A typical case
of 'ery cold plug application is a !A-4A< type engine$ 3ecause the prime pre-ignition source
is eliminated engine tuners can lean out the mi,ture (some" for ma,imum fuel economy and
add a lot of spar) ad'ance for power and e'en ris) some le'els of detonation$ Those plugs are
terrible for cold starting and emissions and they would foul up while you were idling around
town but for running at full throttle at 8000 <0?& they function fine$ They eliminate a 'ariable
that could induce pre-ignition$
%ngine de'elopers run 'ery cold spar) plugs to a'oid the ris) of getting into pre-ignition during
engine mapping of air7fuel and spar) ad'ance& 0roduction engine calibration re(uires that we
ha'e much hotter spar) plugs for cold startability and fouling resistance$ To a'oid pre-ignition
we then compensate by ma)ing sure the fuel7air calibration is rich enough to )eep the spar)
plugs cool at high loads and at high temperatures& so that they don5t induce pre-ignition$
4onsider the !orthstar engine$ +f you do a full throttle 0-=0 blast& the engine will li)ely run up
to =000 <0? at a $:B or 2B air fuel ratio$ 3ut under sustained load& at about 20 seconds&
that air fuel ratio is richened up by the 04? to about 0B$ That is done to )eep the spar)
plugs cool& as well as the piston crowns cool$ That richness is necessary if you are running
under continuous D6T load$ A slight penalty in horsepower and fuel economy is the result$ To
get the ma,imum acceleration out of the engine& you can actually lean it out& but under full
load& it has to go bac) to rich$ >igher specific output engines are much more sensiti'e to pre-
ignition damage because they are turning more <0?& they are generating a lot more heat and
they are burning more fuel$ 0lugs ha'e a tendency to get hot at that high specific output and
reaction time to damage is minimal$
A carburetor set up for a drag racer would ne'er wor) on a !A-4A< or stoc) car engine
because it would o'erheat and cause pre-ignition$ 3ut on the drag strip for 8 or 0 seconds&
pre-ignition ne'er has time to occur& so dragsters can get away with it$ 2ifferences in tuning
for those two different types of engine applications are dramatic$ That5s why a drag race
engine would ma)e a poor choice for an aircraft engine$
Page 4 of 8
+ pre,ious 8 ne&t '

Tech
Stuff
Swap
Stuff

by Allen W. Cline
Page 5 of 8
+ pre,ious
Mudd. 6ater
There is a situation called detonation induced pre-ignition$ + don5t want to sound li)e double
search
spea) here but it does happen$ +magine an engine under hea'y load starting to detonate$
2etonation continues for a long period of time$ The plug heats up because the pressure spi)es
brea) down the protecti'e boundary layer of gas surrounding the electrodes$ The plug
temperature suddenly starts to ele'ate unnaturally& to the point when it becomes a glow plug
and induces pre-ignition$ Dhen the engine fails& + categon5#e that result as .detonation
induced pre-ignition$. There would not ha'e been any danger of pre-ignition if the detonation
had not occurred$ 2amage attributed to both detonation and pre-ignition would be e'ident$
Typically& that is what we see in passenger car engines$ The engines will typically li'e for long
periods of time under detonation$ +n fact& we actually run a lot of piston tests where we run
the engine at the tor(ue pea)& induce moderate le'els of detonation deliberately$ 3ased on our
resulting production design& the piston should pass those tests without any problemA the
pistons should be robust enough to sur'i'e$ +f& howe'er& under circumstances due to
o'erheating or poor fuel& the spar) plug tip o'erheats and induces pre-ignition& it5s ob'iously
not going to sur'i'e$ +f we see a failure& it probably is a detonation induced pre-ignition
situation$
+ would urge any e,perimenter to be cautious using automoti'e based engines in other
applications$ +n general& engines producing $: >07in@ (typical air-cooled aircraft engines" can
be forgi'ing (as leaning to pea) %HT& etc$"$ 3ut at $0 >07in@ ('ery typical of many high
performance automoti'e con'ersions" the window for calibration induced engine damage is
much less forgi'ing$ -tart out rich& retarded and with cold plugs and watch the %HTsG
>opefully this discussion will ser'e as a thought starter$ + welcome any communication on this
sub*ect$ %'ery application is uni(ue so beware of blan)et statements as many 'ariables affect
these processes$
AD4
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+ pre,ious
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