An ignition-engine system for internal combustion engines having two-valves per cylinder (100) with a larger intake valve (103) and a smaller exhaust valve (104) in a longitudinal layout with a single camshaft (118) operating bucketed valve stems 103a and 104a that are vertical, with the valves making up essentially the roof of the combustion chamber and having a volume essentially under the intake valve of approximately 35% of the combustion chamber and a volume under the exhaust valve of approximately 65%, and two spark plugs per cylinder with plugs (102a) and (102b) located at the edge of two opposite squish-zones (105) of a compact combustion chamber, wherein the air-flow near TC is channeled between the two large squish-lands (101a) and (101b) wherein the cross-section of the channel is approximately constant of average width “W’, resulting in a relatively more compact combustion chamber having squish-lands take up approximately ⅓ of the projected bore area of the cylinder and the more compact channel to be approximately ⅔ of the bore area, wherein as the piston approaches ignition it provides an approximately orthogonal-to-the-main-flow (109) through the action of the squish walls which have a clearance of only about 0.06 inches with the piston at top center for improving knocking by moving the spark-flame kernel toward the hotter exhaust valve.