Hey guys I am going to be buyign an MSD 6AL box next week and I heard you need to use spiral core wires. Now what is the difference between and solid core and spiral core wire and why are they needed? Also are Accell super stock wire spiral or solid?? And my last question is, What is the cheapest set of spiral core wires in summit? thanks

 

Spiral core cuts down RF interference over a solid core wire. I had great luck with the MSD heli core wires, and the Taylor spiro pro

 

I like the Taylor wires too.

 

My buddy tried some solid core Accel wires with his 6AL and got all kinds of noise through the speakers with alternator whine. I myself run Taylor 8mm, but will never buy again with the set-up I have. The Taylors a great wires, but with the close proximity of the headers and spark plugs, the huge boots these Taylors have for the spark plug end literally burnt away until they clearanced themselves for the headers. There is plenty, and I mean plenty of material that can be burnt off with no worries of cross firing or arcing out. This spring when I install the new motor with the my AFR 210's that are angle plugs, I may not have clearance issues at all then, but for standard heads and headers, the ends are just too big. Most guys, and I may be included with them here in the future, run the Summit brand wires which are made by Taylor. They are only $36/set so if you go through a few sets a year, no biggie.

 

w/o permission from:http://www.sdsefi.com/techcomb.htm

"Ignition Wires

The purpose of the ignition wires is to conduct the maximum coil output energy to the spark plugs with a minimum amount of radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI). On most street applications using digital computers for engine management control, excessive EMI and even RFI can interfere with ECUs and cause running problems.

There are 3 basic types of conductors used in automotive applications: Carbon string, solid and spiral wound. Most production engines come equipped with carbon string or spiral wound. The solid core types are used exclusively for racing, mainly with carbureted engines because they offer no EMI or RFI suppression. They generally have a low resistance stainless steel conductor. These types are rapidly losing favor, even in racing circles.

The carbon string type is the most common and work just fine in most stock type applications. The conductor is usually a carbon impregnated fiberglass multistrand. Suppression qualities are fine with resistances in the 5K to 10K ohms per foot. They are cheap and reliable for 2 to 5 years usually, then they may start to break down and should be replaced. High voltage racing ignitions will likely hasten their demise.

The spiral wound type is probably the best type for any application. The better brands offer excellent suppression, relatively low resistance and don't really wear out. Construction quality and choice of material vary widely between brands.

NGK makes low priced wire sets which work well in performance and street applications however the terminal ends tend to be a bit fragile.

Magnecor makes excellent quality spiral types with high suppression qualities. These are reasonably priced for the quality you are getting and proven worldwide over many years under extreme conditions.

Some amount of resistance is required along with proper construction to achieve high suppression levels. Resistance is also important to avoid damaging some types of coils and amplifiers due to flyback and coil harmonics. Beware of wires claiming to have very low resistance. These CANNOT have good suppression qualities."

Gotta love search engines.

 

Accel plug wires suck. Get some MSD wires.

 

MSD 8.5mm @ 50ohms per foot on my 2000 Impala. No problems, no radio interference, and no computer issues.

BTW: check the 6A instructions. I think I remember it saying not to use solid core wires.

Ron

 

I'm going with a controversial line here.... but :

Accel super stock spiral wires are just fine. I'm running then on a stock 350 with hei, and also a 450hp 383 with the 6al, and in both cases they work great, don't burn off, and don't cause radio interferance. If you're looking for the best possible wire then prepare to pay for it from MSD etc.

The accel wires are cheap and they are a huge jump up from the stock wires and will be just fine on any sane application under 500hp.

To avoid giving accel a bad name, when you install them, make sure that you route the wires correctly away from the headers, using suitable wire separators. Most of the complaints I've seen about accel wires have been due to poor installation. You may need to buy a wire separator kit as the bits that are in the accel box are useless.

The last part of this upgrade should be to make sure your sparkplugs are in good condition and have the correct heat rating/gap.

One last point... You said you have accel superstock wires. If thats is exactly what you have then they are NOT spiral. Accel do several products : "8mm superstock" wires and "8mm superstock spiral". Therefore if your wires don't say the word spiral on them then they are NOT spiral.

Hope the above helps,

Si. :lala:

 

I just looked into Jegs Im going to buy some new wires...I have the same MSD ignition,what wires should I buy in jegs,they list 8.5 conductor spark wires,and they list Heli-Core wires.

Is there a special wire sparator (looms) for a center bolt valve cover.?