Spark plug wire manufacturers use different core materials and designs to strike the right balance to achieve their desired goal. Some wires are made to produce minimal resistance. This is referred to as EMI or RFI and can wreak havoc, especially in sensitive radio communications. This can affect engine performance and fuel economy in a negative way.Įlectro-magnetic interference (EMI) or radio frequency interference (RFI): As the higher charges of today’s electronic ignitions are moved through the wires, an electromagnetic field is created around the wire. This field can interfere with sensitive electronic devices and create noise that can be heard through the radio and even affect sensors. Wires with higher ohms-per-foot ratings will allow less current to flow from the spark source to the plugs. Resistance: Rated in ohms-per-foot, resistance is the ignition wire’s tendency to resist the flow of the electric current. To fully comprehend the demands put on your spark plug ignition wires, you need to first understand a couple key terms. It can be a tall order, but those are the qualifications for a good set of spark plug wires. Plus, they have to survive in the high temperatures and extreme environment of the engine compartment. On top of that, the wires must often deal with larger amounts of voltage from modern ignitions and aftermarket ignition coils. The challenge is to get the maximum amount of this charge to the plugs without creating interference (EMI or RFI) for nearby electrical components. The number one job of any spark plug wire is to transfer an electrical charge from your ignition to your spark plugs. We’ll aim to remedy that here by covering the basics of choosing high performance spark wires for your ride. That’s why it’s important to select a good quality set of spark plug ignition wires to deliver juice to your spark plugs.Įven though spark plug wires are simple parts (there are absolutely no moving mechanical parts to them), there’s surprisingly little information on the Internet about choosing the right spark plug wires for a given application. I have to cut and terminate them myself, but at least I know the length will be right.Spark plug wires can’t add horsepower (despite what some may claim), but they can adversely affect your vehicle’s performance. I found the Taylor Spiro-Pro 8mm wires for $50 shipped on ebay. Their Live Wires look nice, but are ~$100/set. Although we would like to see your run our Live Wire Plug Wires-if you don't at least make sure that you run 8mm spiral core plug wires." "Stock wires have way too much resistance to run with any high performance igniton. Here is a quote from Performance Distributors: I am not sure if running stock-type plug wires with the DUI would cause any problems, but you certainly wont be taking full advantage of the hotter, longer spark it provides. The DUI specific coil and module replacement prices are reasonable ($45 and $49, respectively). you can replace the coil or module with stock GM HEI parts (which dont perform quite as well as the DUI parts, but will get you back on the water quick). It replaces the distributor AND coil, simplifying wiring. If I upgrade my motor in the future, the DUI can be re-tuned to the new specs. It ouputs a longer duration spark, improving combustion (HEI = High Energy Ignition). The advance curve is custom tuned, and will be consistent every time (unlike the stock dist). I decided to go with the DUI for a few reasons. The Unilite requires a ballast resistor, not sure about the magnetic version. They are the distributor only, so you still need a seperate coil. While they are probably a better product than the stock distributor converted to EI, I dont think they were 3x better (for 3x the cost). When my EI module quit, I only looked at these briefly, however. If you want to upgrade to a full electronic distributor, the Mallory's from Summit are an option. SkiDIM carries Prestolite and Pertronix conversion kits. If youre sick of dealing with points, you can convert your distributor to electronic for about $100. advance, so wouldn't they potentaily cause problems down the road? This may be a cheaper faster route, but an HEI would be real nice, but is it worth the extra 135 dollars? Thanx again for the good info!!!Īll marine distributors are going to be mechanical advance since the motor is always under load. On a side note, a lot of people talk about mallory distributors, they are like 240 or something from summit with the magnetic pickup- well how much better are they then the stock one? They are still mech. So do you have to use bigger wires with the DUI, or is it "recommended"? What effect would it have if you didn't do it? I am like tjackle, and am just sick of the points and coil and resistor etc. Ok- thanx for the clarification of some things.
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