It’s easy to understand the automotive aftermarket with a simple aphorism: it exists because the OEM parts fail.
In April 2019, Standard Motor Products (SMP) celebrated its centennial, and one of its aftermarket lines—Blue Streak®—is soon approaching 90 years.
“We take the long view,” says John Herc, Director of Product Management at Standard Motor Products, equating the success of both SMP and Blue Streak® to their attention to quality.
"We’ve always maintained an unyielding commitment to quality. It’s what drives our relationships with our customers—we want to look people in the eye, shake their hand and assure them that what’s in our box will work right.”
Herc describes the opportunity to make a better part as something SMP and Blue Streak® have long embraced. SMP doesn’t just produce aftermarket parts and components—it strives to understand why a part fails in the first place and how it can manufacture a better product.
Making a Better Ignition Coil
At the heart of the ignition system is the ignition coil. Traditionally, engine platforms would feature one coil and a distributor to deliver electrical energy through eight individual ignition wires to the spark plug. Modern-day engines use an individual coil attached to each spark plug, eliminating the need for a distributor and ignition wire, resulting in higher spark energy and more efficient operation.
Here’s a real-life illustration of how Blue Streak® brand evaluates the shortcomings of the original design and engineers improvements for the Blue Streak® part—copper wire, bobbins, high dielectric epoxy, RF suppression and overall performance.
