getting tuneup next weekend and wanna know some opinions on some better plugs and wires
currently running stock 7mm wires and bosch +4 plat plugs (dont buy these unless u like dropping mad cash every month on them!)
other mods in sig

 

I have Bosch +4s & Bosch wires in my 95 Blazer. didn't notice any power increase, but did get about a increase of about 3-5 mpg on my road trips in it. That alone made the price of the plugs/wires pay for themselves in gas money. Up the wire size to 8mm min, good quality cap/rotor. TomP will sneek in his tune up .

Keep the plugs, unless you intend to put in an ignition box, then get some rapid fires.

 

Plugs...the general consensus seems to be AC Delco Rapidfires. I ran Rapidfires on my Camaro before I sold it..they worked fine, although the standard Bosch platinums made the car run way better for the first week. Past that though it got worse and worse..I yanked them out after about 3 weeks.

Plugwires....people recommend all across the board. The top ones tend to be Accel 8.8's, although some claim bad experiences with the Accel, and also MSD's, but those are very expensive.. I had Taylor 8mm plugwires and they seemed to work just fine..I had no reason to complain about them, although I only had them for a month or two.

 

I use Accel plug wires & Bosch Plat plugs (not the "4" things).
I RECENTLY GOT MY FREE REPLACEMENT OF ACCEL PLUG WIRES.
I sent in 8 MM & GOT BACK BRAND NEW 8.8!!!
I run the 8.8s on my Blazer & my Firebird.
I also have 300+ plug wires on my Corvette.
I do like Accel stuff plus they do honor the lifetime warranty.
I also index the plugs for maybe an extra bit of power.
I just know this receipe works great, for many miles. Power is superb, also.
Worth it big time.
My 1967 Camaro will also run Accel (an Accel electronic distributor + the 8.8 wires). Wife's 6 cylinder 1968 Camaro is "stock" until I blow up or sell her 6!
Forgot to add
Coils Accel (Blazer, Firebird, Corvette & 1967 Camaro).
Been using Accel for 20+ years.
DON'T FORGET TO GET DIELECTRIC GREASE and use it in plug wire installation.
What ya do is
take a dab of the grease, a toothpick, smear the grease inside the plug end. Slip over the plug. SUPPOSED to aid in plug wire removal, also. That detail I know not yet. I twist plug wire end before I remove the plug wire to break the seal. That tip HELPS

 

LOL, no, my tuneup post has already been reposted; I won't spout off on my tuneup rant again! I run the MSD's... basically any plug wire other than stock will be a good choice. Stock resistance per foot is 15,000 ohms... as comparison, my MSD's are 50 ohms/foot. Accel Super Sports are (I think!) 8000 ohms/foot... or is it 3000? I forget. Anyway, less ohms per foot = more spark to your plugs. Thicker insulation = less jumping of spark "out" of the cable to the metal of the engine compartment (aka "spark leak"). Try to install your wires with clean hands; oil and grease breaks down plug wire insulation, and you can get spark leak.

You can see spark leak by opening your hood on a dark night, starting the engine, and watching for blue sparks jumping out of the wires. A slight blue glow around the spark plug where it goes into the motor is normal.

 

Although basically ANY 8mm+ aftermarket wires are going to work better than stockers or replacement 7mm's, an article I read described the resistance tests as misleading.. I'm no electricity or plugwire expert here, I'm just stating what I read.. What it said is that the resistance of the plugwire is measured from a current that runs directly through the wire core I believe.....but the zap from the coil is so intense and rapid that instead of traveling through the core, it actually travels AROUND the core, in a sort of 'sleeve'. Seeing as the resistance tests measure the resistance through the core, supposedly they're void.

Check out Magnecor (sp?) race wires...while their resistance isn't as good as MSD or some of the other top brands, they remain used in many hardcore race vehicles and come highly recommended. Their website is: http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/main.htm , and under the FAQ section, they cover the resistance topic mentioning a display stand set up by MSD placed in nearly all auto parts stores.

 

I was reading the post, and I'm just curious what the problems with the bosch 4+ plugs have been

 

Well from what I've heard, the electrodes can't withstand the temperatures from our ignitions..apparently even the stock coil is too hot for the plugs. Although you'll see this question greatly debated across Thirdgen. Half the people here use them and have no problems, and the other half fouled them out in a few weeks. My personal experience was that the car ran like **** with the old Platinum +4's it had in for nearly a year...they didn't LOOK too bad, but the idle was nasty and acceleration felt rough. Putting in new single tipped Platinums solved the problem and the car ran the best EVER for the next week..then it got worse and worse and worse. I could feel it getting rougher by the day. So I put in the AC Delco Rapidfires. Car ran decent with those..never did run as good as it did the first week with the platinums...but the performance didn't fall off like they did.

 

I challange anyone to go to your local parts store and compare the electrodes of Autolite plugs to the electrodes of any other company's plugs- especially their Platinum plugs. Their electrodes are alot larger and will last longer- Autolites are workhorses. Everyone over looks them because they are "Ford".

 

And I will continue to overlook them.. even in my fords

Seriously, though, Autolite Plats are pretty cost effective, and *do* have a much nicer electrode than the Bosch plats.. The tiny electrode Bosch uses is definitely not going to last long without fouling out in an engine with the oil consumption characteristics most of our thirdgens exhibit.. I don't think I'll ever run Bosch plats again... rapidfires, here I come.

 

I took the challenge and put autolites in my 86. Those six pieces of **** are coming out in place of some Rapidfires

 

I just wanted to point out that it can be sort of counter productive to put dielectric grease between a spark plug wire and a spark plug. That's like putting anti seize under your ignition module. Counter productive. Dielectrics are insulators. You don't need to make things so complicated...it's not that difficult to pull your plug wires off if you change your plugs semi-regularly.


Edit. I'm not saying it's going to hurt anything.. just don't go overboard with the stuff

 

Or don't do what I did and hear the word 'dielectric', and think the stuff FACILITATES spark transfer, thus putting the stuff on your plug and the connecting terminal INSTEAD of on the boot material only... That didn't exactly make my day...

 

I am very curious to know why you say they are bad? How long were they in there? What color were they when you took them out? IS your ignition stock or upgraded at all?

Mine are a nice choclate brown in color and clean as can be. I run a 53,000 volt coil and taylor 10.4mm wires. I have tried the Bosch +4's for about 2 weeks and put my used Autolites back in and produced much more noticable powerover the Bosch +4's- you could really tell the difference. Also the +4 electrodes were already burnt up in that short of time- no color to them yet and they where clean still.

 

They aren't necessarily fouled -- I got the nice chocolate brown color too. Ignition is tip top shape (new distributor, coil, module, wires, etc) and plugs were properly gapped. Wires are Taylor 8MM spiro core. Fuel system is fine as well. Were in the car for two weeks. Went out to start and the car cranks, starts, and dies. Also had TB cleaned, IAC replaced etc. No codes. Needless to say for a measely $24 for six rapidfires, I'll be back on the road. I've run the rapidfires in every car I owned from a '78 Aspen to my wifes 93 metro and have always been pleased with the results.