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Which Ignitor?
Retro Rockets is an authorized PerTronix dealer.

Recommended Usage

Type Usage
 Standard Ignitor or
Lobe Sensor Ignitor

Normal driving  w/stock or mildly modified engines.  Good performance potential - customer cars run the 1/4 mile in the 11s with Standard Ignitors.

Ignitor II High performance street and racing.
Ignitor III

High performance street and racing where multi-spark and a rev limiter are of benefit.  In addition to high RPM benefits, multi-spark will also enhance low RPM performance on engines with big cams.

 

Standard Ignitor
(Click above for more information)

     The standard Ignitor is recommended for basically stock or mildly modified engines.  Teamed up with a PerTronix 40,000 V Flame-Thrower Coil, the Ignitor will provide more than enough spark energy for almost all applications.  We have customers running in the 11s and 12s in the quarter mile with this combination. The Ignitor can be used with OEM type coils.
     Caution - some aftermarket coils have lower primary resistance than an OEM or the PerTronix Coil.  Using one of these could damage the Ignitor.  Rule of thumb - for 8 cylinder applications the primary resistance in the coil circuit must be 1.5 ohms minimum.  For normal performance 6 cylinder and 4 cylinder applications the primary resistance should be 3 ohms minimum.  Primary resistance is measured across the negative and positive terminals of the coil with all other wires removed.  If you have a ballast resistor in series with the coil, its resistance is added to the coil resistance.
     Many older vehicles have resistor wires feeding power to the coil when the engine is running.  The resistor wires are bypassed when the engine is being started and full battery voltage is fed to the coil to facilitate start-up.  These wires were intended to reduce the voltage to the coil once the engine was running in order to extend the life of points.  Most of the time an Ignitor will work well with the resistor wire left in the circuit.  However, in some cases the resistor wire, or its connections, may have deteriorated over time resulting in an excessive voltage drop at the coil.  This could adversely affect Ignitor performance, especially at higher RPM, resulting in misfires.  The resistor wire may be bypassed and a full 12 volts can be
fed to the coil as long as the coil resistance requirements mentioned above are met.

Lobe Sensor Ignitor
(Click above for more information)

     The remarkable electronics in the Lobe Sensor Ignitors can sense the lobes on the distributor shaft points cam as they go by without physically touching them and trigger the coil circuit accordingly.  With the Lobe Sensor Ignitors there is no need to pull the distributor for installation on GM installations.  Lobe Sensors are also used on some distributors other than GMs for ease of installation.  In applications where the magnet sleeve with a standard Ignitor is easily installed over the points cam, there is no need for a Lobe Sensor.

Ignitor II
(Click above for more information)

     The Ignitor II is designed for those who want to get every last ounce of potential out of their factory high performance or modified engines.  It has a variable dwell feature as found on HEI distributors to give increased coil charge time at higher RPM.  When combined with a PerTronix 45,000 V Flame-Thrower Coil II or one of the Flame-Thrower HV/HC Coils, the Ignitor II develops an average of 4 times the spark energy of a points system between 3000 and 5000 RPM.  At 6500 RPM the Ignitor II/Coil II combo is still providing twice the spark energy of a points system.  
     The Ignitor II has a built-in safety feature that switches off the unit if it is wired improperly or if the key is left in the "on" position without the engine running.  This prevents the possible overheating of the Ignitor II/Coil circuit.  Many customers choose an Ignitor II, even for a stock engine, just for this automatic shut-off feature.  To reset the circuit simply turn the key off, then restart.
     We tested the Ignitor II/Coil II versus the Lobe Sensor Ignitor and points at the track.  Click here for a summary.

Ignitor III
(Click above for more information)

     This is the ultimate in electronic ignition conversions for GM, Ford, Mopar and Mallory 8 cylinder distributors.  It's an ignition box without the box - everything is contained inside your existing distributor.  The Ignitor III has all the features of the Ignitor II (variable dwell, automatic shut-off protection, increased spark energy available), plus multi spark throughout the RPM range, and a +/- 50 RPM adjustable rev limiter.  Imagine all these features inside your distributor at a fraction of the cost of an ignition box - talk about a stealth system!

Contact Information

Postal address:
Retro Rockets, P.O. Box 200, Norfolk, CT 06058
Electronic mail:
retrorockets@snet.net