spark plug wires, what are we using these days?

[revhead347]

I'm willing to bet you that if you put any of those wires, Taylors, Accels, Morosos, whatever on your car, did a dyno pull, and then put the $18 wire set from Autozone on it, it would dyno damn near the exact same number. After struggling with those livewires on the MR2, I took them off and put the factory Toyota wires on it, and it ran better.

Kurt

 

[Dan02gt]

You guys are making me feel like I need to dump my Motorcraft wires for something fancy. JK

 

[96pushrod]

Firecore makes a damn nice wire, but they’re about $125 for the set if I remember correctly.

The summit 50ohm wire can be bought by the 25ft spool, and with terminals and a cheap amazon plug wire crimp tool you can make a whole set exactly in the length you want for about $80, cheaper if you already have a crimp tool. That’s what I do now, and will continue to do from now on.

 

[revhead347]

I've had some custom engines where I had to make the wires for it. Cutting wires honestly isn't that bad. I have some cheap crimp you put in a vice that does the ends.

Kurt

 

[nickyb]

I said it before, msd streetfire wires.Amazon fifty bucks. You get to customize them.

 

[mostsmooth]

hi all,
so the takeaway from this thread seems to be in general that there's various options and they will all work fine.
i think i am coming around to actually making my own wires. i watched some videos and it doesnt seem nearly as difficult as i was expecting.
i think i will be putting together a shopping list and ordering things tomorrow.
will likely go with the summit wire 96pushrod mentioned, or some MSD superconductor 8.5 mm. depends which one i can get here the quickest (which would likely be the MSD from amazon). maybe the streetfires that were mentioned too.

i was considering the $38 used wires from Ebay that were mentioned, but i dont know that i want to wait too long, and making the wires seems fun and rewarding, and i like making stuff.

not sure if I will go with the simple msd crimp tool or a hand held crimper.

any thoughts on double or single crimp connectors?

what about boots, is there a decent boot out there i can get on amazon?

thanks

 

[96pushrod]

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-889202

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-8849

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-3301

Those items are all you need to make plug wires, plug one extra boot and terminal to make the coil wire. It’s a good idea to get an extra two terminals if it’s your first time, allow just in case you mess up.

Double crimp terminals are nice, but not required.

 

[mostsmooth]

thanks 96pushrod
those are the crimpers i put in my cart already as a placeholder, nice.
thanks again

 

[marcelo]

got my Blue Streak Wires yesterday .... like new ...!!

 

[mostsmooth]

got my Blue Streak Wires yesterday .... like new ...!!

how long did it take from order to arrival? just curious.

tell us about the fit and any problems you encounter, if any?

 

[Potomus Pete]

They look like 10 mm

 

[marcelo]

USPS 4 Days shipping to Miami... this are Chevy Wires so the numbers dont match with ford ... but they all fit and no problems ..I had these wires on my other 331 .. but sold them .. next week I gonna install them on my actual engine... they have a heat shield thas why they look so thick and are like 12mm thick..

 

[96pushrod]

I believe the blue streak stuff is 8.5mm, but has a sleeve on them

 

[marcelo]

here installed .. they fit very good ..

 

[mostsmooth]

so i started making the wires. the first and only crimp i made was dog **** i think.
dual crimp style terminals, the conductor is being gripped by the crimp things well i think (not sure what to call them but they are the rolled tong things that you crimp onto the conductor), but the conductor is on an angle. its kinda parallel, but definitely on an angle between the tongs. I was thinking it should be underneath the tongs and the tongs would press it against the terminal. i cant find any real good images or videos of what it should look like.

the thing is the horizontal plane the conductor is on is a little above the plane i want it to be on (so it can sit below the tongs), so i would have to bend it right as it comes out of the sheathing, which i dont know if its a good idea or not.

as far as i can tell from triple checking the part numbers, i have the right terminals for the wire i have.

so, the conductor should be under the crimp, right? or does it not matter much? im thinking i want that conductor laying as flat as possible and with as much metal to conductor contact as possible.

thanks

 

[96pushrod]

so i started making the wires. the first and only crimp i made was dog **** i think.
dual crimp style terminals, the conductor is being gripped by the crimp things well i think (not sure what to call them but they are the rolled tong things that you crimp onto the conductor), but the conductor is on an angle. its kinda parallel, but definitely on an angle between the tongs. I was thinking it should be underneath the tongs and the tongs would press it against the terminal. i cant find any real good images or videos of what it should look like.

the thing is the horizontal plane the conductor is on is a little above the plane i want it to be on (so it can sit below the tongs), so i would have to bend it right as it comes out of the sheathing, which i dont know if its a good idea or not.

as far as i can tell from triple checking the part numbers, i have the right terminals for the wire i have.

so, the conductor should be under the crimp, right? or does it not matter much? im thinking i want that conductor laying as flat as possible and with as much metal to conductor contact as possible.

thanks

there’s really only one way to do a double crimp

 

[96pushrod]

When I do a dual crimp style, I crimp the silicone sleeve, and after I gently push the core with a flat head screw driver (or anything thin a s flag) while crimping the second, just very lightly until the core will stay in the terminal itself. Then I finish the crimp. I like to crimp the silicone sleeve first, because if you do the core first, sometimes it can get strained when going back and crimping the sleeve

That’s why I usually recommend a couple extra terminals if it’s your first time. FYI, the single crimp method is easier, but I like the dual crimp if available.

That’s the most times I’ve ever typed out “crimp”

 

[mostsmooth]

When I do a dual crimp style, I crimp the silicone sleeve, and after I gently push the core with a flat head screw driver (or anything thin a s flag) while crimping the second, just very lightly until the core will stay in the terminal itself. Then I finish the crimp. I like to crimp the silicone sleeve first, because if you do the core first, sometimes it can get strained when going back and crimping the sleeve

That’s why I usually recommend a couple extra terminals if it’s your first time. FYI, the single crimp method is easier, but I like the dual crimp if available.

That’s the most times I’ve ever typed out “crimp”

thanks
right, that method with doing the sleeve first was what i was going to try today and adjust the conductor in place.

i am going to have to get some extra terminals, at least 1 to redo this one i did already. hopefully the rest go much better.

thanks again

 

[mostsmooth]

pics below. how bad am i doing?
im having a bit of trouble getting the big crimps to form properly. i tried to bend in the tabs a bit, no luck yet. i keep getting a weird fold in the crimp. overall it feels really solid though.

it seems like the big crimp is getting too squished, i hope thats just because of the technique isnt good yet

 

[96pushrod]

Your silicone sleeve is pushed way too far forward. Flush it with the end of the tabs and you’ll do better.