Page 1 of 1

spark plug wires

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 5:37 am
by neon angel
what is better for the neon? 7.5 or 8.0mm

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 9:11 am
by racer12306
doesnt matter at all. you will gain no performance from a bigger wire.

we are restricted to 8mm wire on our race car...



it runs low 10s.

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:38 am
by dblsg
i would assume that an 8 mm would have less resistance and give you a better spark

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:04 am
by racer12306
but it shouldnt make a difference performance wise.

if 8mm is enough for a 500hp alcohol burning v-8 (alky is harder to ignite than gas) then i would think a much smaller wire would be plenty for a 132hp gas 4 cylinder. so whatever is off the shelf would be sufficient.

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 12:00 pm
by dblsg
^ makes sense :D

Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 2:00 pm
by 3Bar_Mopar
racer12306 wrote:but it shouldnt make a difference performance wise.

if 8mm is enough for a 500hp alcohol burning v-8 (alky is harder to ignite than gas) then i would think a much smaller wire would be plenty for a 132hp gas 4 cylinder. so whatever is off the shelf would be sufficient.
Yeah...I wouldn't think that stock Neon ignition would be strong enough to need anything bigger than what you can find at Napa.

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 7:28 pm
by ewetho
Really resistance and diameter of the wires are not that directly related. The size of the wire is usually just how much silicone jacket around the wire and the other stuff for strength. You can get some fantastic wires tat are 8.

Yeah you may need physically bigger wires for say top fuel but anyone running basically a starter motor as a generator to fire the primary side of the coil is just crazy anyway.

For the regular aftermarket performance wires it really does not make a big difference. Just buy some name brand wires and be happy.

MSD, Magnecor, Crane, Accel, Moper Performance, whatever.

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 8:43 pm
by fixitmattman
IMO wires are more a show mod than anything. A set of stock wires in good condition is more than fine for just about anything you can throw at that engine. If for some reason you need new wires already, go to NAPA and get a set of quality replacement wires (Which are also 8mm).

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 9:46 pm
by ewetho
The fancy ones tend to last longer but no real performance benefits.

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:08 pm
by fixitmattman
12 Years isn't long enough?