Spark Plug Wires

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

I ENDED UP USING MSD SUPER CONDUCTOR WIRES ON MY HEI SET-UP. THEY WERE A LITTLE PRICEY, BUT I USED MY METER TO FIND OUT IMPEDIENCE(REMEMBER OHM'S LAW?)AND THEY RUNG OUT EXACTLY HALF THE( "OMAGE")RESISTANCE OF THE MERCRUISER WIRES! LESS RESISTANCE MORE VOLTAGE/CURRENT.
THE NEXT SEASON I CONVERTED FROM A/C PLUGS TO BOSCH PLATINUM 2'S AND THEY SEEM TO WORK WELL TOGETHER.
NOW IT'S TIME TO RUN A MSD REV LIMITER. OUT IN THE BOSTON HARBOR SOMETIMES I LAUNCH FROM A WAVE I DON'T EVEN SEE AND THE TACH CLIMBS HIGHER THAN I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE...BILL.

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

SORRY, MEANT TO ADD TO THE OTHER PLUG WIRE THREAD...BILL.

[superdave013]

IMPEDIENCE is AC. What you measured with your VOM was the DC resistence.

[Hotcrusader76]

Don't buy Accel 8.8s....
They're junk. I had numbers that jumped all over the place per given foot.
I've found that the MSD 8.5 and Taylor wires to show the most consistant and least amount of resistance per foot available today. The MSDs I checked were about 2 years old and they still ohm'd out just fine as if they were new.
Just my experience.

[cstraub]

I believe it is Packard, but GM had a new wire developed for the late model cars and it is buy far the best. Alot of the cup teams have switched to it. . . not expensive either. . .
Chris

[Dennis Moore]

Many guys use a low resistant spark plug wire and then install resistor spark plugs. The amount of voltage produced by the ignition system is determined by the resistor in the spark plug.
Even installing non resistor plugs will not increase voltage output across the gap. The ignition system will produce just enough voltage to jump the gap and no more.
An aftermarket big wazoo ignition system capable of 50,000 volts will still only produce enough voltage to jump the gap (this could be as little as 11,000 volts) because the spark will jump to ground as soon as it can (it can't wait until it builds to a higher voltage).
High voltage causes RFI (radio frequency interference) and will disrupt radio signals and computer functions. As long as there is adequate voltage to jump the gap (and not much is needed) the engine will not run any better with an ignition system with higher voltage capabilities.
The duration of the spark is where an improvement is found in engine performance. The induction style ignition will produce a longer duration spark than a CD ignition (even a multi-spark ignition). Low resistant wire AND non resistor plugs can increase spark duration slightly (resistor spark plugs and resistor wire chop off the tail end of the spark duration) but the elimination of RFI outweighs the small increase in spark duration.
The amount of resistance in the wires or spark plugs is irrelevant.
Just buy some wires that have insulation that will withstand the heat of the engines hot exhaust ports (and thats not very hot with the watercooled marine exhaust system).
Ignition wires are not a big factor in a marine engine, they last forever.
Sincerely
Dennis Moore