Finding the best spark plug leads

[blue terra]

Hey stav, i've got magnecor leads on mine.. pretty sure thats what they are. Like everyone been told they were good but not sure on the resistance thing you's are talking about. They cost me $115 and have been real good.

[aussiblue]

The EH Holden that I inherited from my father and was originally my grandfather's came with thick multistrand copper wire HT leads. Virtually no resistance and they last for eaons but no way to have a radio in the car and keep these leads. And yes in the old days 5 k ohm resistors were inserted in such leads to stop AM radio interference.

[mik]

Originally Posted by aussiblue

The EH Holden that I inherited from my father and was originally my grandfather's came with thick multistrand copper wire HT leads. Virtually no resistance and they last for eaons but no way to have a radio in the car and keep these leads. And yes in the old days 5 k ohm resistors were inserted in such leads to stop AM radio interference.

i had the copper core core leads myself years ago unbeatable, as aussieblue has indicated without resistors the radio noise is amazing, you can also put noise suppression on the radio but it doesnt cut it out completley from memory, the stuff used to come off a roll a dollar a foot and put the connections on yourself, the spark energy is grouse , a mate played a trick on me one day while i was working on my cd cortina(1600 crossflow) he pulled the coil lead out (coil end) unbeknown to me i started the car up with no problems, the huge spark out of the coil jumped to the lead hanging down and the was idling as normal the look on his face was priceless, i`m not sure you can still buy the stuff but i guess stationery engines and lawn mowers may still use it, don`t know how it will effect ecu though.

[Stav]

As an installer to cars ..the one thing I can say is that electical interference is normally eliminated by good earths.If companies did get interference then maybe it was easier to spin the bull on this issue instead of blaming their car or car radio quality.

[Mechan1k]

Stav .... drop into Joes and do some testing .... he has the Bosch Super Sport leads there (I was there yesterday) ... and he has packs of his QLD Ignition leads there as well. ... so you can test them side by side for a better comparison.

[Stav]

I will see my good mate Joe from Crescent motorsports. Will be in the near future as my business has been on steroids lately and the wagon is getting a workout.

[LOWAU]

Originally Posted by AUTickford

Funny that i tested my brand new topgun leads and they also had considerably more resistace than my shitty old split and broken down leads that they replaced.Kind of makes you wonder when the idea is the least resistance to flow????? :jab:also the topgun leads varied greatly when i tested them

I tested my Topgun 8.8mm leads when I installed them and they were much lower then the old motorcraft ones, don't remember the values now.

The reason why you got different values is because they leads are different lenghts.

[Stav]

Originally Posted by Stav

Today I bought myself some topgun leads for the au.Sure enough I pulled out my multimeter. Resistance per lead was 3.5kohms.

Hmm...how does this compare? I went into my shed and found some old leads and checked their resistance.They measured at 1.9 to 2.3 kohms. This means that my brand new topgun leads had more resistance than my old wires. This has given me a new mission..which are the best leads for performance without interfering with the ecu?

The results are startling.What does this mean? Well higher resistance mean less spark at the other end..I will go through all of the brands of leads and post all of my findings here.
I think the topguns will go back for a refund!!!

Tonight I decided to check my topgun leads on my car.I checked their resistance and guess what ??They were all 9.5 killohms!!Nearly 3 times the resistance of the new topguns!! 1 was actually severed and on its last legs!!

So I took the plunge and installed the new 3.5 kohm leads.This means more power to the cylinder. Seems like the topguns from then are definately different to the new ones!!

[james22]

So the question is, are they any good?

[ronwest]

This topic is of current (excuse the pun) interest to me.

I looked at Hurricanes website but no "contact us" (a ph # though) for info regarding the resistance of their leads but NGK say:-

"Excellent Conductivity
The lower resistance (8k ohms/m compared to 16 ohms/m for common leads) offers superior conductivity."

Auto electrics is far from my strong suit but don't NGK's figures seem a long way from the figures being mentioned so far, in here (when they are talking "excellent conductivity)?
Or, are we not talking apples and apples?

[Stav]

Originally Posted by james22

So the question is, are they any good?

I got 166 rwkws with them today so I guess they work!!

[JC]

Originally Posted by ronwest

This topic is of current (excuse the pun) interest to me.

I looked at Hurricanes website but no "contact us" (a ph # though) for info regarding the resistance of their leads but NGK say:-

"Excellent Conductivity
The lower resistance (8k ohms/m compared to 16 ohms/m for common leads) offers superior conductivity."

Auto electrics is far from my strong suit but don't NGK's figures seem a long way from the figures being mentioned so far, in here (when they are talking "excellent conductivity)?
Or, are we not talking apples and apples?

They are both apples. 8 kohm is not bad; IIRC, the max recommended for the I6 is 12, with 6 being ideal. The V8s range from 2 to 6. Topguns will do the job for you every time.

Stavm - 166rwkw. Holy cr@p. Wanna port my head???

[Stav]

Originally Posted by james22

So the question is, are they any good?

Now a month later and I can say that my topgun leads are now arcing/misfiring.I can hear the spark jump the gap to earth. They will be going in the bin.No more topgun for me.

[mik]

there was an ignition test done in a mag a while ago (sorry cant remember....i`m old) and standard factory stuff got a good rap with some after market brands looking good on paper but in the test broke down at high revs if i find the mag i`ll give the results

[howesy]

You all got me off my A**e and I went out and checked the top guns on my 5.6 and sure enough they were ranging between 3200ohms to 5700ohms which was 2 to 3 times more resistance than the old eagles I took off it before so the eagles are back on and i will be giving the top guns a wide birth. Didn't check the guns when new so don't know if they just garbage or deteriorate quickly.

[Stav]

Don't get me wrong the topguns gave me awesome power for an automatic i6 but the arcing has got me stumped. 166 rwkws out of an auto i6 I havent heard of .

[The Mighty Red]

I have been running the $90 Jim Mock leads with no problems , they have done 60,000 k's and are still going strong. Whats the norm Km's for changing out leads?
I am doing an overdue service on the XR6 this week ,plugs oil filters etc along with a new windscreen and rear tyres,
i am going to leave the leads in and see how they go ( if it anit broken dont fix it kinda thing., and although the engine is still very strong and is showing no signs of wear it has done 200k+ so its not like its a new engine anymore ,
I am going to put Penrite HPR 40 -70 oil in her and see how that goes.the engine has been running /idling a bit rough lately but i think it could be the 02 sensor, i have purchased one from ebay , hasnt arrived yet....

[JC]

Originally Posted by Our Blue XR6

I have been running the $90 Jim Mock leads with no problems , they have done 60,000 k's and are still going strong. Whats the norm Km's for changing out leads?
I am doing an overdue service on the XR6 this week ,plugs oil filters etc along with a new windscreen and rear tyres,
i am going to leave the leads in and see how they go ( if it anit broken dont fix it kinda thing., and although the engine is still very strong and is showing no signs of wear it has done 200k+ so its not like its a new engine anymore ,
I am going to put Penrite HPR 40 -70 oil in her and see how that goes.the engine has been running /idling a bit rough lately but i think it could be the 02 sensor, i have purchased one from ebay , hasnt arrived yet....

HPR 40/70 - so you don't want any cold starting protection for your engine? You should use a 10/50 or at worst a 15/50.

Leads should be replaced once they are shagged - this may be 60,000km, or 120,000km - depends on so many things, it's not funny. You should check at every service and replace when faulty.

[JC]

Originally Posted by Stav

Now a month later and I can say that my topgun leads are now arcing/misfiring.I can hear the spark jump the gap to earth. They will be going in the bin.No more topgun for me.

Are you sure? They may just be loose. Check them at night with no lights on and see if they are actually arcing to the block etc. Any corona effect is normal (leads glowing), but arcing you will notice for sure.

[FS5]

i have the topgun lpg leads on mine,they seemed to go ok.i noticed a difference after i put them on.but this could be due to the old one's being shagged.

[The Monty]

I took the Monty to the drags the day I changed to top Guns, and I thought I could feel some kind of difference. It got the Monty down the 1/4 in 15.88, with only a cat back zorst and a K&N filter and tickford intake, so they done something right. I think the fairmonts ran like 16.7 stock, and mine has 200000k's on it, so somethings going right.

[The Mighty Red]

Originally Posted by JC

HPR 40/70 - so you don't want any cold starting protection for your engine? You should use a 10/50 or at worst a 15/50.
.

It doesnt really get cold enough here in Qld to worry about cold starts,

To be Honest this 5 litres of penrite HPR 40-70 was given to me and i thought i would put it to good use in the XR6 , it does state that it is a high performance engine oil, although it is also used for engines that are burning oil

[Mechan1k]

I might test mine and see what I get ... just when i get myself some time ... and a multimeter as well.

[5L]

last topgun's i brought for my eb, they fell apart. the metal part inside the lead, that pops onto the end of the sparkplug fell off on 3 of them. took them back swapped with bosch+the difference in money. no problems with the bosch leads.

now im trying to find some good ones for the xr8, those ICE leads sound promising, the quote i got from ford for leads was scary.

[FGII-XR6]

true the STD top guns are crap but i have just been told about the top gun max300 leads they are 0.5kohms per metre i have ordered a set and will have them monday I'll let you all know how they go

[jimt3te50]

I did some resistance tests on the Top Gun, Eagle and MSD leads (I have them all) and the MSD's were way way way out in front. 5% of the Top Guns and 7.5% of the Eagles (2840 vs 1922 vs 145 ohms in that order). The Eagles looked nice and had the protective heat boots but the MSD's are way, way better............

This was on lead No.8 (equal longest) of all brands. Not a 6 cylinder Stav, but that wouldn't matter squat........

Top Guns are junk- absolute junk.

[JC]

Originally Posted by jimt3te50

Top Guns are junk- absolute junk.

I don't know how you can say that, when the recommended resistance is between 2 & 6 kOhms for a V8, and the TGs are well inside that. Do you really, really think that the very little difference you are talking about actually affects the spark? Have you worked it out? The voltage that comes from the coil is in the 1000s, so even a 6 kOhm resistance is going to do diddly squat in reucing the effective spark over a 40cm length of HT lead.

Now, I know you've done a lot to your car, and MSD may work fine for you, but don't rubbish other products that actually work very well in most applications. I can tell you that the TG Max300s on my low modded, LPG powered XR8 work a treat. Certainly no backfiring issues since I fitted them, and the car still pulls as hard as ever.

HT Lead specs:

[jimt3te50]

Originally Posted by JC

I don't know how you can say that, when the recommended resistance is between 2 & 6 kOhms for a V8, and the TGs are well inside that. Do you really, really think that the very little difference you are talking about actually affects the spark? Have you worked it out? The voltage that comes from the coil is in the 1000s, so even a 6 kOhm resistance is going to do diddly squat in reucing the effective spark over a 40cm length of HT lead.

Now, I know you've done a lot to your car, and MSD may work fine for you, but don't rubbish other products that actually work very well in most applications. I can tell you that the TG Max300s on my low modded, LPG powered XR8 work a treat. Certainly no backfiring issues since I fitted them, and the car still pulls as hard as ever.

Sorry mate- only said they're junk because they are- two of my leads did this



I don't spend money of my car to buy inferior products and have issues. Leads don't vary all that much in price when you're talking "high-end" stuff- there are better ones available for near on the same money.

i'm sure replacing the leads with new standard ones will reveal a similar improvement in the cars idling and performance characteristics- that's not what this is about, it's about what is better and most things are better than Top Gun leads. Fair enough, standard car most likely little to no difference and no problems- but pretty sure Stav is trying to find the "best spark plug leads" and Top Guns ain't them........

I would not put Top Guns on my car again if I was paid to.

[JC]

Originally Posted by jimt3te50

Sorry mate- only said they're junk because they are- two of my leads did this



I don't spend money of my car to buy inferior products and have issues. Leads don't vary all that much in price when you're talking "high-end" stuff- there are better ones available for near on the same money.

i'm sure replacing the leads with new standard ones will reveal a similar improvement in the cars idling and performance characteristics- that's not what this is about, it's about what is better and most things are better than Top Gun leads. Fair enough, standard car most likely little to no difference and no problems- but pretty sure Stav is trying to find the "best spark plug leads" and Top Guns ain't them........

I would not put Top Guns on my car again if I was paid to.

Fair enough too - I had similar issues with no 6 lead on our I6 (Topgun), but that was with the 8.8mm ones that did just over 12 months service. Replaced them with standard 8mm TGs, and never had an issue since.

I've seen the same breakage on Bosch and Champion leads - so it happens to lots, not just one brand.

But if you're happy not to use TGs, that's OK too. I will in fact try the MSD ones towards the end of this year (assuming I still have the car). Don't suppose you know if MSD make ones for the I6?

[5 FTR 5]

Ive gone MSD since having issues with the standard ford ones.
Recommended by Leon at A1 performance and he has been around ford motors a long time.Best leads i've bought. :

JC; depending who you go to they can custom make them for you thats what they did for me.