How to Choose the Best Ignition Coils

There’s cold weather in this week’s forecast, which means several things for you. One, you need to pull out your heavy jacket that’s been packed away all summer long. Two, you need to pull out your spouse’s heavy jacket, or else yours will mysteriously disappear. And three, you need to set your alarm 30 minutes early because there’s a 75 percent chance your car won’t start in the frigid, cold temperatures. If this sounds like you, you may want to think about upgrading your ignition system with the best ignition coil on the market. But, before you can decide which ignition coil replacement is the best, you should understand how ignition coils work.

What is an Ignition Coil?

An ignition coil is basically a transformer that converts a low voltage into a high voltage to create a spark in the spark plugs. It can boost your battery’s 12 volts to as high as 20,000 volts. The incoming 12 volts of electricity are sent through a primary winding of about 200 turns of copper wire that raise the power to about 250 volts. Inside the distributor, the opening and closing of the points continuously break the low-voltage circuit. Each interruption causes a breakdown in the coil’s electromagnetic field. And, each time the field collapses, a surge of electricity passes to a secondary winding made up of more than a mile of hair-like wire twisted into 25,000 turns. This is where the current is boosted to the high voltage needed for ignition and is then relayed to the rotor.

Popular Ignition Coil Brands

In order to choose the best ignition coil possible, you want to choose from some of the best brands on the market, like Accel. Accel Universal SuperCoils, for example, are custom-designed to add a wicked jolt of juice into your ignition system. In fact, they’re designed to generate an extra 10-15% more power than puny stock coils.

Read up on all the popular ignition system replacement parts right here on our website. You’ll find info on performance spark plug wires, like Pertronix FlameThrower wires. You can also compare popular ignition coils, and even read customer reviews on our site to help you with your buying decision.