Ignited

Okada Projects has gained popularity among automotive performance tuners across the globe with their highly effective Plasma Direct ignition system. The Plasma Direct system improves spark energy over factory coilover plug applications and has been proven successful in numerous vehicles campaigned in time attack and Super Lap Battle race events throughout Japan. One example is the ultra-competitive M-Speed R34 GT-R, which battled against Japan's elite tuner cars at the season finale time attack in December. The M-Speed Skyline, equipped with the Okada Project Plasma Ignition, dominated the circuit and took the title of '07 Tsukuba Time Attack champ as the canary yellow GT-R blasted an amazing 54.4 seconds at the Tsukuba circuit.

At a time and age when horsepower rules the street, the demands of delivering sufficient fuel and spark becomes a critical factor when looking to increase horsepower and torque beyond the factory ignition's status quo. The most common occurrences among high-horsepower vehicles are typically intermittent misfires, which are almost always caused by a weak spark or conditions of a lean fuel mixture. Ignoring these telltale symptoms can lead to a loss in horsepower and erratic performance, but in the long term can ultimately send your engine spiraling toward engine detonation and a costly rebuild if not addressed properly. With most factory ignition systems, we find the ignition energy to decline rapidly as dwell time falls below optimal levels. The drop in dwell time causes an inadequate time between sparks to fully recharge the coil and ignite the air/fuel mixture to fire that cylinder, generating a miss.

Using an oscilloscope, we tested factory coil versus the Okada Project unit to measure the variance for both voltage and current.

Plasma Direct is a factory replacement ignition coil system that uses a high-power amplifier built into the unit to increase secondary spark current by 100 percent-two times as much as OEM. The system produces four times more spark energy for the initial spark discharge than the average stock coils while also generating a highly effective multi-spark discharge of 10 sparks throughout the powerband. Compared to the factory coil that delivers a single-spark discharge, the Plasma Direct's multi-spark discharge and improved spark energy yields improved ignition and greater combustion efficiency, all of which is beneficial for those driving high-horsepower vehicles. Using an oscilloscope, we hooked up a factory coil pack to monitor its performance. The factory secondary ignition spark reached a maximum of 60mA before quickly leveling out. Whereas testing the same vehicle with an Okada Plasma coil pack revealed the secondary spark current reaching 140mA and showed a wave pattern present in the multi-spark oscillation that improves combustion and increases ignition spark. Okada Projects representative Akira Sato says the main importance with the Plasma Direct ignition is the change in current capacity and that voltage isn't important when looking to create an increase in energy spark. The oscilloscope shows the Okada Plasma Booster Direct goes from a range of 10 amps to -10 amps, which is twice that of the factory unit. The secondary current also reaches 100mA, which is twice that of the factory 50mA current, while also making an AC discharge not possible on the factory setup.

Primary voltage on factory coil is anything but efficient for a high-performance vehicle, showing only one spark.

The primary voltage on Plasma Direct ignition systems displays multiple sparks continuing to spark from low to high rpm.

Using an oscilloscope, we can see a factory secondary ignition spark reaching a maximum of 60mA before falling flat on its face.