Best plug wires?
08-18-05, 10:54 AM
#2
There are no "best" wires. They are all pretty much decent. NGK are the stock wires so anything else will be considered aftermarket. There are a lot of good reports on all of them: Taylor, MSD, Magnecor, etc...
I personally ran the Magnecor 10mm for several years without problems.
I personally ran the Magnecor 10mm for several years without problems.
08-18-05, 11:25 AM
#6
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I use the stock NGK's. They fit perfectly and work perfectly.
The Truth about ignition wire conductors
The Truth about ignition wire conductors
08-18-05, 11:26 AM
#7
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i put nology hot wires on my car, and had a great difference in driveability. either my ngk were bad or the hot wires were real good, or both.
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08-19-05, 08:21 AM
#17
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Originally Posted by DamonB
At 8000 rpm, a rotary plug/wire conducts the sparks at a rate of 133.3 Hz per second. (8000 / 60) = 133.3. this is far from being even close to what is considered RF frequency and only about twice as much as the household 60Hz current.
Microwave signals that use waveguides (surface affect conductors) are in the gigahertz range.
So that Magnacore article about the spark being on the surface is more advertising bull ****.
08-19-05, 08:49 AM
#18
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^There's more to skin effect than frequency. Things like plug wires that operate at tens of thousands of volts exhibit skin effect like qualities. I can't think of the proper term right now.
The frequency at which the plug is fired by the ignition system and the frequency of the current within the plug wire are two distinct and completely unrelated things. The a/c in my home operates at 60hz. I can operate the light switch at 5 hz or 5000 hz and yet the current flowing through the wires whenever I turn the switch on will always be 60hz. The speed at which I choose to operate the switch has nothing to do with the frequency of the current within the conductors.
The energy in plug wires is in fact at very high frequency due to the method in which that voltage is generated. This is the reason your plug wires are capable of terrible EMI because they are in fact passing high frequency signals through them. If they were not there would be no need for EMI suppression...
The jist of the article is that plug wires are high resistance for a reason and that a "low resistance" plug wire is really a misnomer.
The frequency at which the plug is fired by the ignition system and the frequency of the current within the plug wire are two distinct and completely unrelated things. The a/c in my home operates at 60hz. I can operate the light switch at 5 hz or 5000 hz and yet the current flowing through the wires whenever I turn the switch on will always be 60hz. The speed at which I choose to operate the switch has nothing to do with the frequency of the current within the conductors.
The energy in plug wires is in fact at very high frequency due to the method in which that voltage is generated. This is the reason your plug wires are capable of terrible EMI because they are in fact passing high frequency signals through them. If they were not there would be no need for EMI suppression...
The jist of the article is that plug wires are high resistance for a reason and that a "low resistance" plug wire is really a misnomer.
Last edited by DamonB; 08-19-05 at 09:08 AM.
08-19-05, 08:54 AM
#19
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That being said, I have used both the stock NGK purchase from Gotham and the Magnecor wires (also new). I hate trying to get the Magnecore wires to make a solid connection with the spark plug. I feel like the damn thing is never on properly and pulls off quite easily. The NGKs on the other hand snug right on and you physically feel them making good contact with the sprark plug. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy... 
08-19-05, 11:01 AM
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The Magnicor wires boots have to be "burped". Use an unfolded paper clip - insert it into the boot and push the boot on the plug, then remove the clip. It allows the trapped air to escape also allowing you to completely push the boot on. The spark can jump from the wire end over the plug insulator to the plug metal hex. A tight boot can reduce this tendancy.
Damon has it right - a spark "voltage" is a pulse which contains a whole range of frequencies. If you do the math (I had to once in school) you will see the higher frequencies fill out the waveform to a square wave, and even more of them are in the huge pulse at the beginning of the square wave.
The higher frequencies are what interfere with the radio. The job of spark plug wires is to conduct this waveform to the plug without loosing too much energy. You don't loose much from resistance, unless it's greater than about 10K ohms, as the current is not very high and the voltage is. Note that much of the energy does indeed travel on the surface of the conductor, especially the initial pulse at the beginning of the square - and you want most of this to "punch through" any deposits on the plug and to ionize the charge in the combustion chamber as quickly as possible so the spark can then jump through it.
The high frequencies are attenuated "a little" (which is what you want), by making the wire resistive (carbon core such as the NGKs), or by making it inductive (ferrite core such as the Magnicors). I tried making myself a "racing set" using a stranded copper core and compared it with the carbon core type and the Magnicor. I couldn't notice any difference between them - except with the "racing" set on the car the radio was unuseable, as was anyone elses within about a block! I wonder if it does anything to the car computer!
If the cost of wires has you wondering, you can make your own set(s) by buying the inexpensive "generic" V8 set sold in places like "Jegs". I like the "silicone wires" they sell (yellow). Remove your wires (one by one is safest) and copy it length wise when you make the replacement. I like to fold the center wire over the insulation, then crimp on the end, then solder it. The solder helps to reduce corrosion. If you're doing carbon core you can't solder it of course, but you can carefully fold it over the insulation.
I currently use the Magnicor set, as I like the tight fitting boots. I use copper antiseise on the plug threads and silicone dielectric grease on the boots (to prevent them from sticking to the plug insulator over time). My plugs are slippery when I install them!
Damon has it right - a spark "voltage" is a pulse which contains a whole range of frequencies. If you do the math (I had to once in school) you will see the higher frequencies fill out the waveform to a square wave, and even more of them are in the huge pulse at the beginning of the square wave.
The higher frequencies are what interfere with the radio. The job of spark plug wires is to conduct this waveform to the plug without loosing too much energy. You don't loose much from resistance, unless it's greater than about 10K ohms, as the current is not very high and the voltage is. Note that much of the energy does indeed travel on the surface of the conductor, especially the initial pulse at the beginning of the square - and you want most of this to "punch through" any deposits on the plug and to ionize the charge in the combustion chamber as quickly as possible so the spark can then jump through it.
The high frequencies are attenuated "a little" (which is what you want), by making the wire resistive (carbon core such as the NGKs), or by making it inductive (ferrite core such as the Magnicors). I tried making myself a "racing set" using a stranded copper core and compared it with the carbon core type and the Magnicor. I couldn't notice any difference between them - except with the "racing" set on the car the radio was unuseable, as was anyone elses within about a block! I wonder if it does anything to the car computer!
If the cost of wires has you wondering, you can make your own set(s) by buying the inexpensive "generic" V8 set sold in places like "Jegs". I like the "silicone wires" they sell (yellow). Remove your wires (one by one is safest) and copy it length wise when you make the replacement. I like to fold the center wire over the insulation, then crimp on the end, then solder it. The solder helps to reduce corrosion. If you're doing carbon core you can't solder it of course, but you can carefully fold it over the insulation.
I currently use the Magnicor set, as I like the tight fitting boots. I use copper antiseise on the plug threads and silicone dielectric grease on the boots (to prevent them from sticking to the plug insulator over time). My plugs are slippery when I install them!
07-20-06, 06:04 PM
#22
wow a lot of long good posts here... im bringing this back to life . has anyone tried "burping" the magnacores now? does that finally give you the clipping feeling? i have 3 sets of wires in mind now. they would be Racing beats, 10mm magnacores, and the expensive nology hot wires. i have been doing marketing on the nology wires and found them down to 150 and change. i dont mind spending money on good stuff so im just looking for more info here... lets get to work again
. has anyone tried "burping" the magnacores now? does that finally give you the clipping feeling? i have 3 sets of wires in mind now. they would be Racing beats, 10mm magnacores, and the expensive nology hot wires. i have been doing marketing on the nology wires and found them down to 150 and change. i dont mind spending money on good stuff so im just looking for more info here... lets get to work again
