Reg

Hi members.

Which kind of plug wires do you use?

I want to buy a set and was given two options from one source, first being standard set with the proper ends, or a fyrebraid set for extra cost.

Are the later type better for insulation, or better for performance? And what abiout the sets they have at pelican?

The wire sets are not cheap , so I want to be sure I get the good kind!

As some of you know , I am having problems getting my car to run nicely, so i am replacing things like the wires and cap, rotor as I have no real idea on how long they have been in the car.

I found out that my car was only firing on 4 cylinders , then frigged with the wires and they all ran afterwards.

I must say that the wires are especially tricky to install on these cars too. I suppose I will get the hang of them sooner or later!

Dial 911

Reg,
There is a lot of nonsense in the marketplace surrounding ignition wires. You won't gain a single horsepower by using some fraudulent wire that's 3/4" thick or something like that.

The quality OEM wire sets are a bit costly, not available in a neon color, and don't make an "extra" 50,000 Volts out of thin air. They will, however, give all the performance your motor came with from the Factory. That's good enough for most of us.

Bill Gregory

Hi Reg,

I agree with Dial911, stick with OEM. I installed Porsche wires when I replaced my own. If you feel, however, that you need to try something else, look at Magnecore wires - they are pricey, probably overkill for a stock engine, are sometimes too short in length for our application, but seem good for high performance applications. Their web link is www.magnecore.com.

Reg

thanks.

most sets (including pelicans I think) do not specify that they are Porsche OEM though..should one stay away from these?

BER

Reg,

I installed Magnecor 8.5MM wires on my '84 Carrera about 2 years ago. I paid about $150 for the 7 wire set (including Beru connectors). The fit was fine, although a couple of the wires were a tad longer than OEM. I guess longer is better than to short.

Overall I have been very pleased and will probably use Magnecor wires on my 911S when the OEM wires wear out (i.e. soon).

Bruce

AES

I've used oem braided(expensive), Accel 7mm ss conductor, silicon/fg sheath(as good as the braided but cheaper), and Magnecor withequally good results. The ends are where the troble usually starts.

Reg

I ended up buying the cheap kind. May well regret it but they are assembled in USA to OEM specs supposedly , and were half the cost of some other 8mm sort. These are the 7mm but have the proper boots and caps to them I was told and are made up in a set for early 911's. Should do for my T. Hope so anyways!

J-RAD

The biggest thing is to have the Beru OEM connectors. Based on my experience they are the only ones that fit correctly. The wires themselves can be aftermarket (for example, Performance Products sells an aftermarket heavy duty wire with OEM connectors that I think works just fine). You will see stuff like the Jacobs wires but they do not fit good at all. Like Dial911 said, you don't need to go with the gimmicky stuff for everyday driving.

Turbo Dave

Sport Compact Car just did a really good article that relates to my (unmentionable) Japanese sports car-they actually dyno tested ignition wires to see if they did anything. Several hurt peak power, most were exactly the same, and only one (I think Magnecore, I'll see if I can find the article) added 1 or 2 hp. Seems like a good vote for stock-

Reg

I got the new wires today. They are Kingsborne and have the beru connectors.

I have a couple questions , and maybe one of the members who have these type of wires can help me out.

The stems are different than what was on the car, and do not seem to want to unscrew so you can feed the individual wires through the rubber grommets that go inbetween the carbs that keep the wires from touching the hot surface. Also there are two three holed clips that snap into the fan shroud to keep the wires from touching eachother as well as keeping them neat. How do I get these back on if I cannot unscrew the stems?

Maybe I do not need these rubber pieces? I thought i would. I didnt look , but now wonder if the unscrew at the distributor end, mayeb that is it?

I'd hate to bugger these new wires up! I already broke one of my old ends fooling with it.

Even with a loose plug, the plug ends do not want to pop onto a plug either...too tight!

Thanks so much!

Dial 911

Sounds like they may be crap, Reg.
I'd send 'em back, and buy a genuine Beru wire set. After a while in this hobby, you'll see you get exactly what you pay for. Sometimes.

911 Guy

You may want to try getting some plug wire grease. It looks like vasiline, but isnt, and will make instalation and removal of the plug boots much easyer. Just coat the plug a bit before you put the wire on. You can get it at any auto parts store, no particular brand.
Good Luck

Steve, 914 guy

I got a set of magnacor wires for my volvo, and they came with a little envelope of silicone grease, it helped installation.
If not, a little squirt of WD40 will help.

I don't know if the wires added any HP, but it sure runs better without the bad wire on #1

Reg

UPDATE

I called teh guys where I bought thewires, and they told me they did not fit onto the plugs , as I am supposed to unscrew the ends of each sparkplug and remove the end as these connectors connect to that screw, rather than the nub that is typically onto the screw. The ends say BERU on them.

As far as the ends themselves unscrewing from teh wires to attach the rubber grommets between the carbs, well they do not unscrew. They told me to lubricate the cap ends which are smaller and stretch them over the ends of the wires, so i am going to try that.

Funny, the sales rep was on commision, and had he told me this info prior to my purchase , I would have bought the more expensive wires.

Jeff Curtis

Three words, MAG NE CORE, okay, maybe it's only one?? Have always used them on my Porsches (4), use them now, will always use them.

They are good people too (Magnecore) I thought I was having a problem w/my supercharged SC w/MSD ignition and sent the wires in to get them checked...they said there wasn't any problem with them but replaced the connectors/boots and siliconed them in REAL nice...free of charge, and a letter that basically said, "thanks for using Magnecore products" - thought that was pretty cool.

I don't believe in paying the outlandish prices for factory wires, it's crazy! There truly are companies out there that make a better product, for much less. Price a set of Magnecore or other good aftermarket wire against a set of factory, steel braided (shielded) wires and you'll see the difference.

Someone, please someone, tell me why you think you need a shielded ignition wire?? It does suppress some radio noise, supposedly, but after changing over to a set of Fyrebraids, then later to Magnecore, I NEVER noticed a difference...and had a 600 Watt stereo system to boot.