How important is it to use Honda parts?

I have a 97 accord 2.2L.

I am going to chance valve cover gasket, spark plug wires and spark plugs.

I know I need NGK plugs. But what about the wires and the gasket? Name brand? Buy from Honda dealership?

Heard of felpro valve covers?

Thanks

 

I rarely buy Honda parts from a dealership.
There are however, a few key exceptions.
I always use OEM headgaskets and bearings, other than that I typically shop oreillys or autozone and purchase dealer parts out of necessity.
There's nothing wrong with felpro gaskets.

 

They work , but aftermarket valve cover gaskets are junk for these cars. They don’t have the nubs that hold the gasket in place during installation.

 

Thanks!

What do you all think about NGK wires? I read that other brands can screw up your coil?

 

NGK wires work well.

 

the Felpro VC gasket is almost identical to OE now. only notable difference is the color (gray) and a slightly plumpier cross section (seals better).

I hadn't given them much credit in the past either, but have recently installed them on a few cars for friends and family with good results.

 

unless it happened with a new, quality coil, new plugs and poor quality wires that could easily be a false correlation between the coil failure and wire install.

The trouble I've had with brands other than NGK is separation of the wire from the clip next time the plugs need changing, swelling of the boots in the head/plug tube and lastly (more of a tiddieness issue) the wire insulation diameter isn't the same so they don't fit nicely into the wire clips.

NGK plugs and wires (IMO) are hands down the best you can get for anything short of an all-out, purpose-built race motor.