New Plug Wires...What A Difference!
damn i need to change my plugs and wires..i have 83K on the stock ones...A local dealer wants $165 for the OE AC delco wires...does anybody know where i can find them for a more reasonable cost?
Launching!
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 232
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From: New Jersey
Originally Posted by Travis99LS1
damn i need to change my plugs and wires..i have 83K on the stock ones...A local dealer wants $165 for the OE AC delco wires...does anybody know where i can find them for a more reasonable cost?
Originally Posted by quiksilver9531
I recommend you get msd wires on summit, the msd wires are like 50, better than OEM and they are the exact length as the old ones.
ok I will answer some questions for you guys. First off I am an electronics tech for then Navy. His new wires are NOT .850 ohms. He would have to have a meter that would cost three times his car to be able to accurately read something that low! His anything atround 5 to 15 ohms would be very good.
The more resistance you have in the wires the less voltage will be felt at the plug. Also resistance and heat are directly related. IE higher resistance=higher heat. That means lower resistance would mean longer lasting. (in theory that is)
that being said I have MSD wires which cost me around 50 bucks. They read around 7 to 10 ohms a piece. The old stockers read anywhere from 300 ohms to 800 ohms.
The more resistance you have in the wires the less voltage will be felt at the plug. Also resistance and heat are directly related. IE higher resistance=higher heat. That means lower resistance would mean longer lasting. (in theory that is)
that being said I have MSD wires which cost me around 50 bucks. They read around 7 to 10 ohms a piece. The old stockers read anywhere from 300 ohms to 800 ohms.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 143
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From: NY
Originally Posted by 2K2WS6TA
You might want to pop the ohm meter on them before you buy them, in somecases the autozone ones have a good amount of resistance from the start
I'm getting package 1A. While its out getting refurbed, I have my new OEM flywheel, clutch, PP, slave, and master to pop in. So, I have my work cut out for me. Sheesh!!!
Originally Posted by quiksilver9531
I recommend you get msd wires on summit, the msd wires are like 50, better than OEM and they are the exact length as the old ones.
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Originally Posted by NightRider_13
I had MSD's, had some go bad after 15,000 miles. Had alot higher resistance than my new OEM wires. Dont really think that the MSD's are better, most plug wires for these cars are about the same.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Just This Side of Damnation
Originally Posted by curtisad
ok I will answer some questions for you guys. First off I am an electronics tech for then Navy. His new wires are NOT .850 ohms. He would have to have a meter that would cost three times his car to be able to accurately read something that low! His anything atround 5 to 15 ohms would be very good.
My meter is a self-ranging meter from Sears and it's a pretty darned good meter for anything I'll ever do.
The reading was 0.850 Kohm vs 345 ohm. Does that mean 850 ohms? Then why is my car detectibly smoother now?
Since I'm no electech, please tell us what that is. I'm not being a butt, I just am not an electric kind of guy and presumed a bit.
Thanks.
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2006
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Originally Posted by Mr Incredible
Let me be clear, I am NOT an electech with the Navy.
My meter is a self-ranging meter from Sears and it's a pretty darned good meter for anything I'll ever do.
The reading was 0.850 Kohm vs 345 ohm. Does that mean 850 ohms? Then why is my car detectibly smoother now?
Since I'm no electech, please tell us what that is. I'm not being a butt, I just am not an electric kind of guy and presumed a bit.
Thanks.
My meter is a self-ranging meter from Sears and it's a pretty darned good meter for anything I'll ever do.
The reading was 0.850 Kohm vs 345 ohm. Does that mean 850 ohms? Then why is my car detectibly smoother now?
Since I'm no electech, please tell us what that is. I'm not being a butt, I just am not an electric kind of guy and presumed a bit.
Thanks.
if ur meter was readin .850Kohms then yeh that would be 850ohms
and sry i have no idea y it would be runnin smoother maybe cause ya put new plugs in cause ur new wires if that was ur reading is higher then ur old ones. went to college for electrical for 3 years just so ya kno Thread Starter
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Joined: Apr 2005
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From: Just This Side of Damnation
Hmmmm...I rounded down in the wrong direction. Phooey. I hate it when I make mistakes. That's what I get for bein' in a hurry. At least I didn't cut myself this time.
Flowing? No. They weren't. Now I gotta find out why it runs smoother. I don't think it was the placebo effect, it was just too much of a difference. I made a three hour trip later that day and there really was a difference. Really! And I only changed the wires.
My sincere apologies.
Flowing? No. They weren't. Now I gotta find out why it runs smoother. I don't think it was the placebo effect, it was just too much of a difference. I made a three hour trip later that day and there really was a difference. Really! And I only changed the wires.
My sincere apologies.
Thread Starter
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,231
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From: Just This Side of Damnation
I found a cut and paste of a tech reference of an LS2 motor that cited the factory plug wire resistance of 700 ohms. I would think it wouldn't be any/much different of an LS1 spec. That's pretty high compared to the <100 ohm aftermarket wires cited by others in this thread. The wires I got at the parts store, at 850 ohm, is about 18% higher. That might be considered a lot, but with a high-resistance wire would it really be? Dunno. I obviously have much to learn about LS1 wires, and an entire afternoon of searching didn't lead me very far.
I also found a set of Granateli wires that advertised a gain of up to 15 hp. They were $186 and advertised 0 ohms. That's right, zero ohms. How do you measure that? Super-duper wires, indeed.
I understand the bit about less-resistance-is-more-juice-to-the-plug, but on a stock application which is most relevant....High (as in stock factory design pararmeters) or low (as in aftermarket)?
I suspect, then, my car running better would be a result of simply putting on new wires rather than super-duper wires (as they obviously are not).
But what quantifiable power increase has been had by using low and super-low resistance plug wires on an LS1...stock or otherwise? What is the spec on stock LS1 plug wires and why is it so high?
Trying to understand why the stock wires are designed so high and why everybody sells low resistance wires for our application. Does it really matter?
I also found a set of Granateli wires that advertised a gain of up to 15 hp. They were $186 and advertised 0 ohms. That's right, zero ohms. How do you measure that? Super-duper wires, indeed.
I understand the bit about less-resistance-is-more-juice-to-the-plug, but on a stock application which is most relevant....High (as in stock factory design pararmeters) or low (as in aftermarket)?
I suspect, then, my car running better would be a result of simply putting on new wires rather than super-duper wires (as they obviously are not).
But what quantifiable power increase has been had by using low and super-low resistance plug wires on an LS1...stock or otherwise? What is the spec on stock LS1 plug wires and why is it so high?
Trying to understand why the stock wires are designed so high and why everybody sells low resistance wires for our application. Does it really matter?
One thing we need to remember is that all of those plug wires that say "50 ohms" resistance say 50 ohms resistance per foot so when you measure the whole wire, it's going to have a different reading.
Also, I'm looking at the YearOne catalog, they've got some Taylor wires that say 102,000 volts dielectric strength (they're big ones, 10.4mm), but they don't list a rating for the resistance. List price is $113/set.
wires have higher resistance from the factory to prevent interference(see earlier in this threda where someone mentioned EMI/RFI) with low resistance the wires can cause radio interference and other problems. some super-low resistance wire that are not otherwise shielded can be heard when you have the radio on AM. you can even tune in to it(cant remember what station) so that is all you hear(its a trip, especially with someone else in the car). also it can interfere with emergency radioes. OEMs have to meet certain federal standards for emmitted energy, and the ignition system happens to be a big contributor.
slowpoke thanks for the info. The MSDs claim not to have electronic interference. They claim that the tightness of their wind creates a "choke" on the interference:
"This choke, or suppression capability, keeps the EMI inside the wire where it cannot interfere with other electronics on your vehicle"
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/457235-random-backfire-only-idle.html
If you go to that thread, the guy is saying that the resistance on his only "good" wires is 350 ohms, and that the resistance of his other wires is 1 to 4k and even "2 megs", which is as high as his meter went.
"This choke, or suppression capability, keeps the EMI inside the wire where it cannot interfere with other electronics on your vehicle"
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generation-iii-internal-engine/457235-random-backfire-only-idle.html
If you go to that thread, the guy is saying that the resistance on his only "good" wires is 350 ohms, and that the resistance of his other wires is 1 to 4k and even "2 megs", which is as high as his meter went.