If it's not too cold out I might replace the plugs and wires. Just wondering what the benifit is of having 8.5mm wires over the stock 8mm? I have the stock ignition (coil seperate from distributor). Am I better off just getting the 8.5's for if I do upgrade distributors? Is there and gain with the stock setup at all? Any big difference in 8.5mm wires like heli-cores, etc?

As far as plugs, just stick with copper?

 

I've never noticed a difference between 8 and 8.5 wires. There is supposed to be some gain, but not that I've seen.

As for the plugs, my opinion is the bosch platinum +2. Everyone has thier own opinion though. It gives me about 1-2 mpg and a little difference in throttle response.

 

Thanks for the responce Doc. I bought autolite copper plugs because Advance only had 7 ACDelco plugs :-\ I know the platinums are rated for longer use but I barely drive my Bird so I didn't see it making a huge difference. Sucks that I only could get one plug in before dark though! I never realized how much of a pain in the @$$ it was to access anything in the engine due to the emissions stuff until today.

Nobody had 8.0mm or larger wires in stock so I have to order them. It sounds like there is no real gain by going larger than 8.00mm in wire size then? Anyone have any other experiences?

 

I've changed several times between a 8 and an 8.5mm wireset on my 406. Noticed nothing, even under a few dyno sessions. Really the only thing I look at when I buy my wires is resistance. I would suppose the lower "EMI" would be nice, but with all the high end wiresets out there, low EMI and low resistance seem to go hand in hand.

 

I heard about some pretty trick 4mm wires... I think they come on some marine engines. My point is, the mm's don't matter. It's all about the quality of the wires.

 

Stock f-body wires are 7mm, not 8mm. But you can get a stock set of 8mm plug wires for an 87-95 Chevy TBI truck. These Borg Warner Select spark plug wires will fit exactly and will be an upgrade over your stock wires. They're also a lot cheaper than aftermarket wires and have low-resistance.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean stock just that it's what's on the car now.
I searched for 1988 Chevy K1500 5.0L on Advance Auto's website and I found these wires, is this what you were telling me about and is that truck a TBI?
http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/Pro...e=5004&PTSet=A

Could the wires I buy now such as those be used when I upgrade the ignition system to HEI?

 

This is the one I am talking about, part number CH8833:

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/Pro...e=5004&PTSet=A

Its only $40.00 while your set is $73.00.

 

Hmmm...the ones I posted showed $53 when I looked it up but still yours are cheaper and seem to be of good quality. Would they work for both my stock setup and HEI with an ignition upgrade?

 

Yes.

 

One other thing I forgot to mention. The CH8833 plug wires have all 90 degree boots, perfect for use with headers. The stock f-body ones have two straight boots that will not work with headers.