After my car is painted, I'm going to be driving it every day. I want to make it as reliable as possible, and I don't mind replacing some parts as preventative maintenance.

I'm looking at a starter, cap, rotor, wires, plugs, ignition module, and a coil.

what brands should I be looking for? Delco? taylor? If I'm not into speed and performance, is there anything worth of a high performance coil, or are those just a waste of time and money?

anything also I'm missing? the alternator is new already, but when I go to summit, the options make my head spin

I'd like to get a red cap and wires if that makes any difference. (just because I like the way they look) Taylor has them, but I'm not sure what thickness of wire to get. is thicker always better?

 

For cap and rotor, I used the cheap one from AdvancedAuto, They are made in the USA. Brand on the box says "BWD". Also while I was at Advanced I picked up MSD StreetFire wires, They are also USA made and 8MM. Delco Plugs have worked the best for me, they are also cheap. ( May be non-USA made though) Dont buy the new Accel wire kits, they are made in china.

For red parts, I think MSD makes a cap for our motors, not 100% sure though. Also I was running the red JEGS wires for about 5Kmiles and they started to ark though the connectors, but that could have been my fault.

 

what's the advantage/disadvantge of a high powered coil?

 

For a non-performance oriented car, high output coil basically means thinner wallet - any standard auto parts store has what you need, nothing wrong with stock parts for a stock car. Save the cash.

Also, if the starter ain't broke, don't fix it - you'll gain nothing there except a $80 hole in your wallet. Stick to plugs, wires, cap, rotor. Ignition module maybe, but don't install it, just put it in the console along with whatever tools you need to replace, and save it for when you need it. (and make sure you get the dieelectric grease for it too).

 

well, my car had a problem last week that could be an intermittent starter problem, but I also changed the clutch switch too. I have no idea how old the starter is. I could pull it off to check the brushes, but if I have it that far I hate to throw a used one back on, ya know?

 

my duralast starter was only $45 insted of $55 because autozone messed up and never ordered my cheap one. its alot better than my old original ac delco

 

that's a good price. it's hardly worth overhauling them myself to get one with a lifetime warranty

 

I rebuilt my distributor with BWD components. I had a new style distributor in my project car so I just replaced the pick up coil , o-ring, and ignition module. Set me back about 60 bucks. But for a little more you can get a new distributor. I've put about 100 miles on my car since I put it in and haven't had any issues. I'm converting over to DIS soon though

 

forget the starter factory starter > *ALL REMANS

so much infact that when the stud broke off mine i went way out of my way to fix it before i would put a pos reman unit from the arts store on it

 

first of all, I doubt it still has the factory starter on it, and second,aren't remans exactly that, factory starters that have been overhauled with new brushes, bushings, and contact points?

I could rebuild the one I have here, i'm just not sure it's worth it

 

i was gonna have mine rebuilt and it was gonna cost me $40 till they found that my coil was bad in it lol the price went up to $75 so i got one from zone. rebuilt parts arent bad really atleast you know they go with your car, and mark, you may never know. it could be the factory starter. everything in my car was original down to the battery lol, factory starter,alternator, battery. so you may be suprised.

 

the quality of the rebuild components suck i dont know how many starters ,alts ive had burn out after 1 or 2 weeks some lasted 6 months

the reman stuff from pepboys autozone advance auto etc flat out sucks
ur better off getting a jy starter or alt if u ever need one,or find a reputable shop to rebuild the stuff u have

 

what is it about the rebuilts that don't work? There's only so many things you can rebuild on these things, and what would a local shop do that the people who rebuild them professionally wouldn't do?

 

the reman units u buy at most parts stores just use low quality rebuild parts, they use the cheapest parts they can find, arent always assembled right or within spec.

sometimes u get lucky and get one that might last 2 or 3 years,hell my alt on my v6 car i got stranded and had no choice to buy a reman from pepboys to get home, the first one lasted 2 days , the next a week, the third was doa ,and finally the 4th has been on the car the last 2 years.

funny thing is the doa one showed that it worked when it was on there tester, i had to argure with them and get them to come outside and chek it on my car before they would warrenty it out

 

wow, I've never had that kind of bad luck with rebuilt starters and alternators. I've been shopping at Autozone, and western auto before that, (and chiefs auto parts for those of you with a long memory) and I don't think I've ever gotten a part that didn't last years.

I might consider rebuilding mine, I'll pull it off the car and see what it looks like. can't hurt to look

 

By the way, tonight I bought taylor plug wires and delco plugs. I got them for a great price from amazon, about $50 for the set of 6 combined at checkout, including shipping

looks like to get a red cap I'll have to order it from summit or jegs

 

bah wish I had seen this thread sooner, a pretty much new MSD coil, cap, and rotor im trying to get rid of with some AC rapidfire plugs, it all saw all of like 2 weeks driving...

 

I havent bought those yet. Sent more info on all of those parts. The only reason I want a red cap is just because my car has a grey and red theme

 

Not sure what you mean by that, and I wanted all red parts as well, lol, my wires are taylor but I can recycle those for DIS so I am keeping them.

 

send me parts numbers or something to make sure what you have will work with my stuff. dont need the wires, bought them last night

pics would be fine if you don't have links for the parts

 

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...1455646871____

http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...1100178071____

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MSD-8430/

Had them on the car for like 2 weeks, but then the fuel pump went and I took it off the road, now I'm swapping to 3.4 plenum and DIS. I'd take $40 for it all plus shipping.

 

that sounds great, i'll take them.

I'll pm you for the rest of the transaction

 

got the parts today, they look great! thanks!

 

Ok good, sorry I was not able to reply to your PM, long story short I had to get new internet, and kinda got screwed out of being able to get it on/working cause I had no internet(internet phone and no car FTL). Hope the packaging wasn't too much trouble, I don't take any chances on car parts, lol.

Edit: no currently drivable car..