MattSlay

Would one ever just replace ignition wires simply because they have no idea how old they are, so it could just be a good thing to do to keep her at optimum performance? I've had my 1990 for 2 years now, and I'm about to change out the spark plugs for this very reason, so I wondered the same about the wires. Car has 100K miles on it. Heck, could these possible even be the original wires?

(Posted on FB 944S2 group also.)

ElRicardo

Spark plug wires are wear items, and quite often neglected until wear and defects are obvious. The good news is that failure isn’t like the timing belt, and they are a lot easier to replace. So if you have the funds and don’t know how old they are, it can’t hurt, assuming you put a quality set it! You may want to do plugs at the same time.

MattSlay

I'm seeing about $200 at Paragon Products web site. A little more cost than I wanted squeeze out of my wallet right now, but I do want to keep my girl running her best.

Any other recommendations on brand or suppliers?

tempest411

$200.00 over 30+ years is a pretty good value I'd say.

jeyjey

Do the "dark test". Fire it up on a humid evening with no lights around and open the hood. If you can see arcs coming off the wires then replace them.

However, I don't know how definitive the negative of this test is. That is, if it remains perfectly dark does that mean they're fine, or might they still be dodgy?

thomasmryan

see if your ends are still at 2000 ohms, if so you can probably get beru or bremi leads cheaper. (i would recommend regular copper core non-resistor plugs and not fu-fu plugs)

fail points are going to be where the ends thread and on the 968, the guide clamps. look for white dust.

40k coils and multiple discharge setups can make one jump a bit if you run your fingers down the wire. do the dark test or mist them with water.

ElRicardo

I’d recommend Magnacor. They are on both my cars. But what I really like about them is them is that when I accidentally damaged one of my wires I was able to call the plant and tell them my sob story and they made me the one length I needed for free. So they have my business.

Tom Pultz

If you don't already have a set of plugs I recommend the Denso Iridium, IW22. You can get them at Amazon. I've used these in my 944 S2 for the last 11 years. They really work well with the 4- valve configuration. Not sure what Paragon sells now but I bought a set of Kingsborne wires from them in 2003 and they still work great as my car is running better than ever.

While you are doing this you might also check the distributor rotor and cap. I've found those wear out much more rapidly than wires.

88Silver924S

I know bulk wire of different lengths is fairly cheap and I suspect the fancy socket end at the spark plug is driving up the cost of a set of wires specific to our cars. You'll notice that the socket ends (mine are Beru brand) that pop onto the spark plug simply screws onto the wire; the wire end has a small brass ferrule with a threaded-stud end. If the sockets are still good is there somewhere to buy bulk wire of various lengths with that brass ferrule screw end? If so replacing wires wouldn't be such an expense.

Update: Has anyone tried these: Ignition Wire Connector - Beru 0001591438 to see if they work on the fancy sockets that we have? Or: Porsche PN: 911-609-310-00 "Ignition Cable Screw (Threaded Sleeve) M3 - BERU"
Has anyone bought the sockets individually? Are they these?: "Spark Plug Connector Beru ZLE263".

931guru

https://www.clewett.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=114

Have had these on my S2 for about 10 years with no problems. Perfect fit, price is 50 percent of Beru.

Otto Mechanic

I used Beru wires and have been happy with them, I think I paid about $150 for the set. It's my understanding Beru were the OEM for those wires, but I didn't research it carefully. I can say they work well and were very well labled by cylinder, making them a breeze to install.

And I agree on the "dark test" method, it doesn't take any special tools so it's a cheap diagnostic, but I'm not sure it's all that definitive? I believe high voltage wires always arc just a little, so you have to have some experience with new cables before you can judge your own old ones?