Question about Ignition Systems ; The Amount of Contact Breaker Points inside the distributor

Question

The distributor in Lamborghini Espada has 4 contact breaker points. Why is that? Couldnt a single point handle all 12 cylinders? I ve also heard they used twin points inside the distributors of some old American Muscle car engines like in the 426 Hemi if i recall correctly. What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of using multiple amount of contact breaker points inside the distributor compared to a single point?

Solar Mike · Accepted Answer

The duplication, or more, of points in distributors was to avoid contact bounce.
The coil really needs a single change of state “closed to open” to generate the spark and as rpm rises the number of contacts needed causes the contacts to bounce open as they close changing the current flow through the coil.
Having 2 sets halves the number of close/open each set of points has to do and reduces the onset of bounce.
I swapped out the contacts in my v8 for an optronic ignition system and it made such a difference - used to get muddled and loose power at about 5500 to 6000rpm, after the change it would go easily to 7000rpm but even though it could I rarely did so.

Question about Ignition Systems ; The Amount of Contact Breaker Points inside the distributor

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