Ok; calling for input on the pros and cons of different types of ignition wires.

 

The brightly colored ones are pretty.

That's the net gain unless your wires are old and crispy.

 

Interesting Article

http://www.helix13.com/html/products...ew.php?p=6&h=m

Some very good info on spark plug wires.

http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/main.htm

What I gleamed from these articles is there are lots of vendors selling you hype. And the truth will set you free; Or give you the most for your HP/buck anyhow

 

All;

Grassroots Motorsports (www.grmotorsports.com) had an article awhile back that stated they discovered some modest HP increases (1-2 HP) by switching to a racing wire set, like the Kingsbornes......

I found some on sale for approx. $40....they seem to help with the lower RPM "yo-yo" / surging effect on my '05 MCa.....did this the same time as the K&N filter panel and spark plug mods, so don't know how much the wires helped...just my $0.02.....I wouldn't pay $65 (like some WWW's advertise for them), however...

 

Anyone who claims to be able to reliably measure a 1-2HP difference on a rolling-road in-the-car type dyno (as opposed to a bench dyno) is blowing smoke in your letter-slot.

I completely agree with Spunky:
IMHO, Nology grounded plug wires are the biggest piece of hype since the turbonator.

 

Ya, but they look kewl!

I have had the OEM wires (no really I did!), Crane wires, and Nology Hotwires. From a performance standpoint they were indistinguishable to me. The Cranes fit very poorly and I was very dissapointed in them. I would not recommend them. I have been happy with the Nology Hotwires. Find a quality set that you can afford and look nice and move on to the next big mod.

 

Try http://www.Magnecor.com - they are skilled at electrical engineering, rather than at marketing nonsense to Honda owners.

And it's still true that there is no performance in spark plug wires, "unless your wires are old and crispy" - after maybe 8-10 years...

 

I had to laugh when I read the title,... I'm definitely Pro-wires.

Seriously though, I must agree on the hype comments. Wires are wires for the most part. Sure you can get into "purity/resistance" ratios and all that electrojargon....

I think any good set of wires is ample (pun intended) for a street car. The component that I don't see mentioned much which may have a higher performance impact is the Coil. The coil is what makes the spark, maybe the OEM part is good enough, but it used to be one of the first things to upgrade in the olden days.

 

All;

Yeah, I was with y'all about the dubious benefits of hi-perf wires....but those folks at Grassroots race H Stock Coopers, where you try to grab as much HP as you can under the rules....they wouldn't use them if they didn't give them an edge.....they don't say buy Magnecor or Nology, just upgrade to 8 - 8.5 mm hi-perf wires....like I said, I paid around $45 for my Kingsbornes (on sale)...reasonable bang for buck....I wouldn't pay $100 for Nology wires....but that's just my $0.02....

 

All;

Followup on the perf. coil topic thread here: I asked the folks at RSpeed (based here in metro ATL) about putting one in my MC and they stated the perf. coils won't give decent bang for buck on a std. MC....maybe a MCS...

Also, they mentioned instead of putting in a 180 degree thermostat (which is a pain to install), just dilute the antifreeze / water ratio to keep the engine running cooler....apparently, the Cooper runs with a high ratio of A/F....knowledgeable guys...good shop.....I'd trust them....

 

VERY DOUBTFUL. See Kingsborne own FAQ http://www.kingsborne.com/3fs.htm

"Professional installers do not use Kingsborne wire sets to increase engine horsepower; they use them to maintain maximum engine horsepower. Despite claims made by some wire set manufacturers; no wire set made will increase or add additional horsepower to your engine"

No wires make HP. The only thing they can do is get HP back you might be losing from old, worn wires.

But red is pretty

 

I have the NGK wires and NGK (IX) plugs in my car, and they seem to be just fine. The cost of both was quite reasonable, and the wires are touted as an OEM replacement. These wires take the place of my Nology's because the #1 plug (Denso IK-22) had blown out and the Nology wire was severely damaged. The cost of the NGK set was less than the replacement cost of just one Nology hot wire!

 

Chows4us;

Like I said, Class H Mini racers fanatically look for every legal edge they can get....if it don't work, they don't use it.....

Maybe what GRR discovered is that they "recovered" 1-2 HP that was lost by the cheap, skinny factory wires....

FYI A lot of mods are really not about Adding performance but removing restrictions from performance....