A PLUG FOR PERFORMANCE

[Music] [Music] [Laughter] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] consider the spark plug those little uh gadgets that make things go it's the heart of a tune-up isn't that romantic so some guy got the idea of sticking a couple of wires close together and jumping a spark across and that's how it all happened [Music] so uh miss phillips i want to uh i'm tilly schmanski from the typing pool miss phillips is getting married today and i'm taking her place she is i mean you are well sit down sit down uh we of the engineering department feel that we must offer our narration suggestions for the merchandising department's new testing film so take this down please now we recommend that the film we recommend that the film open with heavy emphasis on the importance of the significant little design changes that have contributed to improved spark plug performance over the years [Music] oh that's better though the principle of the spark plug has changed little in the last 50 years champion spark plug development has been a procession of important product developments detailed refinements in configuration and technology in metallurgy in ceramic engineering [Music] did you get that down miss uh miss shimansky oh yes and i thought you put it beautifully well we just can't emphasize too much that in spark plug design important attention must be given to little things [Music] little things little things little things oh here we are at the famous riverside international raceway where we're running competitive tests with 30 taxicabs yes taxi cabs this is a fuel economy test with 32 chevy powered checker cabs the cabs were taken right off the street and given complete champion tune-ups [Music] then a lot of special test equipment was installed including a special fuel container an automatic throttle control and a photoelectric cell fuel for each test run was precisely measured up so every run with every cab would be uniform [Music] as each cab past the start line a light hitting the photoelectric cell triggered the measured fuel supply into the carburetor automatically and also started a pre-programmed tape control that regulated the automatic throttle actually the drivers only steered the fifth wheel measured the exact distance traveled before the test fuel ran out [Music] three tests were made on each cab with new plugs of the original equipment type [Music] then the plugs were changed to new champion am i boring you miss schmansky oh no i just love spark plugs they're so interesting three identical test runs were made with the new champions did you get that down with the new champions got it sir the champion plugs averaged better mileage than the competitive plugs this confirmed a similar comparison test made on a larger scale by the checker taxicab company i'd like to read all of that well in an eight months comparison with 300 cabs they saved four thousand gallons of gas and traveled fifteen thousand miles farther with champion fifteen thousand miles farther farther than what than the original equipment plugs recommended by the manufacturer then the original well that means champions one huh yes champions with a unique product difference called turbo action with a unique product difference called what action turbo action oh terrible action you know what turbo action uh no should i everybody should it's a small but vitally important product difference now the idea is quite simple quite simple the standard spark plug design or conventional type has the insulator nose raised inside the shell firing end board the projected core nose or turbo action type has the firing end projected deeper into the combustion chamber what's the problem uh would you mind reading from the idea is quite simple take this down our engineers have found that most engines burn fuel more efficiently if the insulator tip is made longer so the spark fires deeper in the combustion chamber this also gives the tip more exposure to the cooling effect of the intake charge more protection against overheating at high speeds which makes it possible to design in better fouling protection at low speeds better fouling protection at low speeds no that's clear isn't it oh yes and you stated it beautifully uh that means they're better doesn't it we've proved they're better first in our engineering research and testing laboratories the world's largest facility for designing and testing spark plugs just spark plugs yes that's all we make engineering a spark plug is the meticulous process of bringing together all the little things that together make the big difference in engine performance before a new design development leaves here our engineers know what it can do then we take it to the racetrack to the racetrack but why if you already know because some people find our engineering data and reports too technical and frankly boring so we have to dramatize the results so the public can easily understand what those critical little improvements mean in easier starting more power and greater fuel economy so people like me can understand yes ms for instance we've known for several years that champions other design features are the best but we have to keep sending our technical service people out to prove it with demonstration tests that are accurate and dramatic now these scenes are at the world famous sebring racecourse in florida where acceleration tests supervised by the united states auto club are proving that when compared with competitive plugs champions unique design produced quicker acceleration in 59 out of 62 popular european and american cars tested in champions acceleration tests solenoids are mounted on the engines and connected to the throttle linkage to automatically control acceleration uniform and repeatable acceleration to eliminate any variations a driver might cause in these tests an observer handles the control switches which energize the solenoids which move the accelerators this electro mechanical driver's foot has another advantage it lets the man behind the wheel concentrate on steering a straight course photoelectric cells start and stop electronic timers which clock each run to one one thousandth of a second in test after test switching champions back and forth with competitive plugs the cars with turbo action champions hit the finish line first champions hit the finish line first they're loading the plane again where are they going next hockenheim gazette no it's in germany at the hockenheim motor drum [Music] this was a comparative demonstration for european television with 17 different makes of foreign cars the procedure was similar to other acceleration tests photoelectric cells activated a mechanized throttle as the cars hit the starting line usac observers rode with every run to monitor speed and distance fifth wheel precisely recorded distance [Music] to dramatize the importance of acceleration the test cars passed a large truck in every test a champion turbo action equipped car was pitted against an identical car with conventional plugs then the plugs were switched and the same test was repeated who won turbo action champions of course and we gathered volumes of test data charts and graphs and all kinds of wonderful statistics are you going to put them all in the movie no i i guess not just put down that we want to mention these complete test reports are all available test reports are all available oh i know you'll be interested in this mishimansky the one lane acceleration course was 365.8 meters long acceleration runs were timed by a 1 100 second photoelectric control timer operated by the united states operator shifting variables in the manual transmission test vehicles the runs were timed from a running start i thought you said spark plugs were interesting miss schmanski oh they are they are go on this was it ring an acceleration run on japanese toyotas we ran acceleration and fuel economy tests on toyotas and datsuns here again champions unique design gave significantly better performance than conventional plugs here's a typical acceleration run the light colored cars have the champion plugs now the plugs have been switched and the red have the champion turbo actions and usac was there too and who sack you sac the united states auto club our tests wouldn't mean much without impartial supervision now this is a test with 20 1969 chevrolets proving that new champions give faster acceleration than original equipment spark plugs this car was using plugs that originally came in chevrolet's it ran out of gas here now the same car gets champions the same amount of gas and runs from the same starting point new champions gave superior fuel economy in 19 out of 20 chevys tested 19 out of 20 chevys you certainly do a lot of testing yes we do but how many times you have to prove it every car every engine has different design problems that have to be worked out tested proved or improved so any new plug design concept has to be redesigned and tested for every application with vitally important refinements in configuration and technology little things mischiemansky but important little things [Music] little things little things little things little things [Music] little where were we little things yes like silman another exclusive champion development it's a dry powder sealing material used between the center electrode and the insulator and between the insulator and the shell these sealant seals are impervious to heat oxidation corrosion electric current or reaction with other parts of the plug the effects of heat and corrosion heat and corrosion present the big problems in plug design in plug design a car stands out in zero weather then you start it up and the firing end is exposed to flame temperatures in excess of 3000 degrees now you take your electrodes take your electrodes where anywhere any plug a lot of years and a lot of design you can't see has gone into our electrodes so they'll stand up under high voltage sparking and corrosive combustion gases and we know our electrodes hold up best our electrodes hold up best in test after test after test carbon and oil deposits on conventional plugs can develop a short circuit from the ignition coil champion's booster gap isolates the ignition coil from the effects of the deposits and the plug will continue to fire under severe falling conditions in many engines plugs with booster gaps perform especially well in cold weather starting gee just that little space can do all that remember it's the little things that make the difference in spark plug design here's another variation this is a resistor type plug resistor what does it resist well conventional plugs and the cables to them carry very high voltages which can cause radio and tv interference resistor plugs help get rid of this interference get rid of this interference now this resistor design virtually eliminates the high frequency part of the spark and you know you really make spark plugs so fascinating oh do you think so well if you'd like to borrow these uh manuals oh don't you want to see the rest of the film take this down miss schmansky spark plug design and application have become a highly specialized science to keep pace with rapid developments in engines ignition systems fuels and lubricants [Music] this requires a continuous design and testing program for all of the many types of internal combustion engines in use today including the development of special test devices such as thermal couple spark plugs used to accurately determine spark plug temperatures during actual engine operation our thermocouple plugs have a minute temperature sensing element embedded in the insulator tip the hottest part of the operating spark plug during each test run it measures spark plug temperatures at wide ranges of speed the most significant indicator of spark plug performance here at michigan international raceway we've been testing to see if a new champion designed for motorcycles will outperform the standard plug and i just bet it did we won't know for quite a while it takes weeks of track runs sometimes even years of careful refining and laboratory testing to get just the right design for instance [Music] our new gold palladium plugs for snowmobiles came as a result of intensive laboratory and service testing our new gold gold gold what palladium it's a new semi-precious alloy champion redesigned the center electrode using gold palladium which made it possible to have a smaller electrode that requires less voltage to fire a great development for cold weather starting cold weather at lake of bayes ontario we ran operation snowshoe which included a typical cold start test in sub-zero weather with 60 manual starting snowmobiles all machines were parked outside for two nights previous to the test they were divided into two teams one equipped with regular competitive spark plugs the other equipped with champion's new gold palladium design all the champion equipped snowmobiles were started and away within 40 seconds leaving 15 of the competitive team on the starting line in fact three snowmobiles with competitive plugs never did start [Music] for weeks of normal snowmobile use logs were maintained on snowmobile's starting characteristics and the log showed the new champions gave an average of 17 and a half percent faster starts 17 and a half percent faster starts oh that's very good i'm glad you agree you know we never get a chance to learn all this in the typing pool could that be roger maris the famous baseball player and that's bailey howell of the boston celtics and phil esposito the famous hockey player and paul horning of the green bay packers yes the point we want to make here is that in racing champions have been using champions for years and these champions use champions too they have joined with us to help tell america on television that our important little differences in product make a big difference in engine performance at elkhart lake in wisconsin maris and horning competed in acceleration tests with general motors pickup trucks to prove that new champion plugs outperform new original equipment plugs maris got the champion plugs first and won then they switched plugs and horning one and horning one did you ever think about being a tv announcer sir you do it so beautifully well if i wasn't so dedicated to engineering at sanford maine esposito and howell led competitive teams in an acceleration relay race esposito's team had new champion plugs they started together in buick skylarks with throttles which were mechanically controlled and each car automatically triggered the partner ahead then the pontiac catalinas took off [Music] so [Music] champion kept its lead in chevelles then olds cutlasses [Music] and esposito and champion's unique design one big then the plugs were switched so howell's team got the champions and they were off again howell skylark was leading and the catalina [Music] and his chevelle and howell's team won with champions one with champions i dig champions especially that cute little one in the middle now here we should point out that the constant challenge of our continuous test demonstration program is one of maintaining our high standards of engineering integrity while dramatizing the significant little things so that the public can appreciate product differences that give our plugs a definite performance advantage over competition definite performance advantage over competition well that's our basic message miss shamanski now all we need is a forceful wind-up forceful wine no don't put that down i'm trying to think of an ending why don't you take a nice close-up uh miss schmanski why don't you go type that up and i'll work out the ending yes sir well what's the problem it seems to me that you repeated the importance of little things in spark plug design two or three times and good we can't say that too often it's constant improvements that make champions miss schumanski the little things little things little things [Music] little [Music] basketball champion bailey howell meets hockey champion phil esposito they're going to prove that the brand of spark plug you use can make a difference in performance it's a relay race starting with identical buicks throttles are mechanically controlled esposito's team at left has champion spark plugs howell's has a different brand now it's identical pontiacs the one with champions pulls ahead they trigger matching chevrolets champion equipped team widens the lead the last leg identical osmobiles esposito's in the light car esposito and champions win now we switch the plug so hal's team gets the champions and run the race a second time the last leg owls in the dark car powell and champions win bayley hall and phil esposito found out why over 20 million drivers have switched to champions check it out for yourself champions can make a difference the brand of spark plugs you use can change the mileage you get out of your gas two professional golf champions are going to prove it just watch julius forest and tom weiskopf we drive off in identical chevys with measured amounts of gas the only difference is spark plugs julie's got champions and i've got good old brand x what's matter time run out of gas you know it look i got way past 17. julie here's where i get even this time i've got the champions that's me again by the way tom my throttle was mechanically controlled all i did was steer same here old buddy only this time i'm one up you mean champions are one up take our word for it champions make a difference you'd better believe it that's why over 20 million drivers and two golfers have switched to champions from other brands check it out for yourself champions can make a difference the brand of spark plug you use can make a difference in hill climbing power and right here at road america football great paul horning and home run champion roger maris are going to prove it they'll drive identical new chevy trucks there's just one important difference horning struck the white one has champion spark plugs but maris's truck has a different brand morning's champion equipped truck takes the lead and holds it to win the hill climb now we switch the plugs and run the race again this time marissa's truck the red one gets the champions throttles are mechanically controlled so if maris's truck wins this time the reason has to be a difference in spark plugs maris and champions win roger maris and paul horning found out why over 20 million car and truck owners have switched to champions from other brands check it out for yourself champions can make a difference you