Distributor contacts - tungsten?

[sartac]

Hi all, I'm currently practicing TIG welding and this question came to mind, also being that I'm having ignition issues with one of my cars.

Wouldn't thoriated tungsten cap/rotor contacts hold up much better than standard parts, or are these generally already alloyed to produce the best mix of conductivity and longevity? I sure wouldn't mind sacrificing a bit of conductivity for longevity, myself. Could just run hotter coils. =)

 

[swall]

Tungsten electrical contacts are a very specialized area of metallurgy. Most of these are made via the powder metallurgy process, which allows various mixtures of tungsten, silver and copper to be used, depending on the application. Not much has changed in the last 40 years, except for tweaks to get the cost down. Kind of a moot point nowadays, with the advent of breakerless electronic ignitions.