So I need to replace my cap and rotor, my gas mileage is slowly getting worse and I think it's from poor spark because the car is starting to bog a little when first start up and lower rpms. I know people always reccomend OEM spark plug wires, but for cap and rotor, what are acceptable brands or is the 35 dollar oem cap and rotor really worth it over just going to your local auto parts store? Any opinion or facts are greatly valued.

 

I would use all OEM. If your gas mileage is steadily decreasing, you may want to look into buying a new primary O2 sensor. Unburnt gas in the exhaust should be recognized and corrected by the O2...apparently that isn't happening

How do the plugs look?
Does the engine run/rev smoothly or does it have any hesitation/hiccup?

 

I'm having a similar problem right now with my B18C. I just changed the cap and rotor and it still bogs heavily, almost like the spark plug wires are crossed (they're not, I triple checked). Just replaced the fuel filter and still have the same problem. My wires are in great shape and new plugs are on the way, but my gut says its still gonna be screwed up. Maybe the ignitor is bad in the dizzy?

I pulled my old plugs and they had a heavy dark brownish/copper color to them. When the car was running better (but needed a tune) it was almost pure white.

BTW I'd definitely spend the extra cash on OEM parts.

 

Have you replaced the grommets in the valvecover? They tend to leak oil on higher mileage cars and can cause annoying ignition problems. Excessive blowby can also shove nasty oil goo into the intake by way of the evap system...there are many things that can cause these issues, but without further investigation, its hard to narrow it down exactly

 

I do have the blowby issue because I'm always cleaning out my K&N because there's always sludge/oil in the intake tract. The motor was rebuilt around 20k so everything should be good to go, but I'll double check.

Any ideas to get ride of blowby? Maybe an oil catch can?

Edit: I just checked the grommets, they look pretty cracked and fried.