Want to pick some brains here for a second.

The multi-spark ignition system in my car is sort of a hybrid system that utilizes a capacitive discharge box in conjunction with the stock inductive system. The primary spark is still provided by the inductive ignition (Turn-key Davis Unified HEI) and the second, capacitive spark is then provided by the CD box. This way you get both the benefits of an inductive spark at low RPM and a capacitive spark at high RPM. Multiple sparks are provided throughout the entire RPM range this way and do not drop off to a single spark after a certain RPM. Also, if the box ever fails, the ignition is still able to fall back onto the stock system.

Anyways, million dollar question time. My CD box offers a CAO (Crank angle offset) feature that allows you to adjust exactly how many degrees after the primary spark that the second capacitive spark is fired. It is adjustable in 2* increments from 2-18* AFTER the primary spark. With my timing tables already optimized at 36* total, common sense dictates that I'd want the secondary spark to be as close as possible to the primary spark with either a 2* or 4* setting. However, can too close be too much?

 

Unless you have a dyno to play on, you're just guessing if it will do any good or harm.

 

I'm not really looking to gain performance with the setup. I'm a firm believer that two sparks aren't really better than one in the performance department.

My primary intent is to make the ignition system more robust and fail-safe.