I'm doing the mpfi swap and I'm broke, but I still wanted to get new spark plugs and wires since it's been a while. I've heard of performance spark plug wires, but are they going to make a difference on a stock 1.5 w/ mpfi? I just got the stock ones because I didn't think it would do much, but I'm curious.

As for the spark plugs, I wanted Bosch and they had the regular (under $2), +2 ($3 each), and +4 ($6 each). I was thinking these would probably make more of a difference since they can affect acceleration and mileage somewhat. So I got the Platinum +4 ones, which costed twice as much as the +2. Was that worth it, since I'm already in debt?

 

PLug wires may help your idle a bit, but as far as seeing real performace gains, I doubt it. I would have just went with stock (OEM, not jobber). As for those +4 plugs, maybe if you were running upgraded ignition, but stock for stock I doubt you'll see a difference. I use stock NGKs in my B16A.

 

Well in case you're wondering, here's what Bosch claims on the back of the box:

*Four Ground Electrodes
*Pure Platinum Technology-
Only Bosch uses a pure platinum center electrode that's heat-fused to reach its self-cleaning temperature faster, for better acceleration, better mileage, and optimum engine performance
*Never Requires Gapping

It also says if you don't feel the difference, Bosch will pay for the plugs.
That won't help me though cause my car's already going to feel different from the mpfi, intake & exhaust.

 

bosch +4's run a bit too hot for a stock honda motor, your probably better off w/ denso or ngk, or some iriduim plugs if you can afford em

 

Get some NGK wires

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 90civichbsi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">bosch +4's run a bit too hot for a stock honda motor, your probably better off w/ denso or ngk, or some iriduim plugs if you can afford em</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh really? If I get NGK or denso, what is the best one offered by each?


Modified by OldSchoolHatch at 5:00 AM 4/28/2003

 

For what this is worth-you have a stock engine-use stock parts. Real simple and just as cost effective as going with aftermarket pieces. You want a great set of aftermarket wires consider either the ACCEL or NGK ones. I've never had a problem with either. Do they make a big difference-no but are worth it for what they do compared to the stock ones. You will find that the stock spark plugs will do just fine as well.

 

I don't think accel has made anything decent since the late 60's early 70's. For wires, go with NGK's.

 

I'm taking the Bosch spark plugs back and getting NGK ones. I just have 2 questions about these, first is the V-power the best one to get from NGK? And for the heat range, should I get 5, 6, or 7?

As for the wires, I have Xact ones because they're the same as stock. Is there any reason to get the NGK wires instead of these?

 

accel wires are great....its the only company i havent had problems with so far. i've had msd's and moroso's too.....and they seemed to want to come apart

 

Got this off a site
The purpose of the ignition wires is to conduct the maximum coil output energy to the spark plugs with a minimum amount of radiated electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI). On most street applications using digital computers for engine management control, excessive EMI and even RFI can interfere with ECUs and cause running problems.

There are 3 basic types of conductors used in automotive applications: Carbon string, solid and spiral wound. Most production engines come equipped with carbon string or spiral wound. The solid core types are used exclusively for racing, mainly with carbureted engines because they offer no EMI or RFI suppression. They generally have a low resistance stainless steel conductor. These types are rapidly losing favor, even in racing circles.

The carbon string type is the most common and work just fine in most stock type applications. The conductor is usually a carbon impregnated fiberglass multistrand. Suppression qualities are fine with resistances in the 5K to 10K ohms per foot. They are cheap and reliable for 2 to 5 years usually, then they may start to break down and should be replaced. High voltage racing ignitions will likely hasten their demise.

The spiral wound type is probably the best type for any application. The better brands offer excellent suppression, relatively low resistance and don't really wear out. Construction quality and choice of material vary widely between brands.

NGK makes low priced wire sets which work well in performance and street applications however the terminal ends tend to be a bit fragile.

Magnecor makes excellent quality spiral types with high suppression qualities. These are reasonably priced for the quality you are getting and proven worldwide over many years under extreme conditions.

Some amount of resistance is required along with proper construction to achieve high suppression levels. Resistance is also important to avoid damaging some types of coils and amplifiers due to flyback and coil harmonics.

Beware of wires claiming to have very low resistance. These CANNOT have good suppression qualities.

Beware of any wires claiming to increase hp. Ignition wires CANNOT increase hp. As long as the wires that you have are allowing the spark to jump the gap properly, installing a set of $400 wires is strictly a waste of money.

Lately, some truly "magic"wires have come onto the market claiming to not only increase power but also to shorten the spark duration from milliseconds to nanoseconds. As we have seen above, spark duration is determined primarily by coil inductance and coil resistance so these wires CANNOT shorten the spark duration by the amount claimed. The wire resistance has a minimal effect on discharge time because of the high voltage involved. We have also seen above that a very short duration spark is in fact detrimental to ignition because of lower probability.

These same wires claim to increase flame front propagation rates and the ability to ignite over- rich mixtures for more power. We have again seen that once ignited, the mixture undergoes the flagregation process and that the progression rate of the flame front is totally independent of the spark. We have also learned above that most gasolines will not ignite nor burn at air fuel ratios richer than 11 to 1, period, and that maximum power is actually achieved at around 12 to 1 AFR so the second claim also has no basis in fact.

These wires use a braided metal shield over the main conductor which is grounded to the chassis. This arrangement offers poor suppression because it does not cover the entire conductor. Any energy leaking out of the main conductor by induction is actually wasted to ground and will not make it to the spark plug. These wires also have very low resistance which as we have seen above, can have a detrimental effect on coils and ignition amplifiers due to severe flyback effects which are normally damped by circuit resistance.

Other claims for these wires include current flows of up to 1000 amps. The current flow in the ignition circuit is determined by the coil construction and drive circuits, not by the ignition wires. Most ignition systems are current limited to between 5 and 15 amps. The most powerful race systems rarely exceed 30 amps. To flow current at 1000 amps, you would require #0 welding cable for the ignition system!

 

I have to go exchange these in a couple hours, so I was hoping someone can answer my questions...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by OldSchoolHatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm taking the Bosch spark plugs back and getting NGK ones. I just have 2 questions about these, first is the V-power the best one to get from NGK? And for the heat range, should I get 5, 6, or 7?

As for the wires, I have Xact ones because they're the same as stock. Is there any reason to get the NGK wires instead of these?</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Just stick with the regular ngk's, they will be just fine. Not sure about the heat range, and about your plug wires. If nothing is wrong with them then keep them.

 

Stock NGK plugs, I get the V's but I don't think it makes any difference.

and get NGK plug wires... and then don't worry about it any more until you need to change you plugs again..

 

Thought you guys might find this interesting... it shows that 8-year-old OEM wires performed better than new NGKs:

NGK vs. OEM Spark Plug Wires

One of the most hotly debated topics in tuning Hondas is the perceived benefits of aftermarket spark-plug cables. These are often marketed with the promise of 'better' and 'more powerful' sparks and thus directly inferring better combustion and a gain in power output. Armchair 'tuning specialists', enthusiasts, and even mechanics alike have discussed about the supposed mediocre sparking qualities of the stock Honda spark-plug cables and, especially at high RPMs typical when revving VTEC Hondas, how the stock cables will be struggling to produce good consistent sparks. Aftermarket cables comes into the picture claiming to produce better, 'larger' and more consistent sparks at high RPMs and therefore higher power output. How true are these claims ?

To clear the mystery and resolve this debate once and for all, TOVA requested Dynojet Far East to perform a spark-plug cables dyno test.

The car used is a JDM Honda Integra XSi with the B16A engine. The stock plug cable has been in use for the better part of 8 years. At this age, many will begin recommending their replacement by aftermarket cables, often citing that they will be worn out and thus not giving good sparks.

The car has been regularly serviced (either 5000km or 3 months whichever expires first) using original Honda oil filter and Mobil-1 synthetic engine oil. At the time of the test, all maintenance items are new; spark plugs, HKS Super-Power-Flow filter element, even gear oil (using Honda recommended oil). The fuel injectors have also been cleaned less than 4 months ago. The car has also just benefited from the fitament of brand new HKS Legal Muffler and HKS Super-Header, with a HKS AFR to re-calibrate the air-fuel ratio to our local atmospheric conditions.

Aftermarket cable number 1 represents the generic 8mm silicon 'high performance' replacement cables. Often these cables are marketed by performing a side-by-side comparison on a special setup where first the stock cable are used to connect a spark-plug to an ignition coil. The sparks produced at the plug will be seen to be weak and dull. Next, replacement of the 8mm silicon cable will be done and now the sparks at the plug can clearly be seen to be bright and strong. From this 'conclusive' demonstration, the benefits to power output will be inferred. I will not be embarrassed to admit that I myself have bought three sets of such cables in my earlier Honda ownership days (when I was driving SOHC engine models), often being conclusively convinced by the demonstration and then actually believing that I felt improvements from the cables. I have owned this cable for about 5 years, using them on and off.

Aftermarket cable number 2 is the famous NGK 'blue' cable, ie NGK Hyper Silicon. Having the same diameter as stock cables (and thus the added advantage of direct replacement), the NGK is a cable that even HKS has recommended over stock. The logic given was often that the NGK will last longer than stock as well as the typical giving 'better' spark benefits. In fact, the box that the NGK comes in has a claim of 130% better sparks - hence more power from the engine. The NGK cables are brand new, and supplied by Dynojet Far East to help settle the debate.

The dyno runs were performed immediately one after the other, with only the minimum of delay necessitated by having to switch off the engine to replace the plug cables. To get straight to the point, the three dyno runs are produced below. The power curves are: green is for the stock cable, red for the generic 8mm silicon, and blue for the NGK blue cable.



The actual power outputs are not crucial and have been removed from the charts to make the comparison more straightforward. The most important point from the charts is that the stock spark-plug cables produced the highest and most consistent power curve. The most significant factor is the smoothness of the stock cable's power curve. Both the 'generic' 8mm silicon cable and the NGK were seen to be misfiring as evidenced by their jagged curves after 5000rpm and especially in the VTEC rpm band. Both 8mm silicon and NGK delivered about the same max power which is about 1ps lower than that produced by the stock cables. Note that the stock cables, although 8 years old, consistently produced better power all across the dynoed rpm band, 3000rpm till the 8000rpm red-line. Especially surprising is the fact that the stock cables did not misfire, thus proving that they produce more consistent sparks even compared to the brand new and supposedly superior NGK blue cables !

The results although probably shocking to many enthusiasts are in fact what have often been recommended by the best tuners. Many enthusiasts naturally are reluctant to accept the fact, no matter how highly they respect those tuners but with this comparison, TOVA hopes that the question have been conclusively answered and the debates are now closed. Stock spark-plug cables are the best !

Copyright Wong KN
Temple of VTEC Asia
Feb 01 1999.

 

Thats an unfair dyno as proof by the wording. And I quote,
"The dyno runs were performed immediately one after the other, with only the minimum of delay necessitated by having to switch off the engine to replace the plug cables."
Anyone ever heard of heat soak? Any plug wires tried after the first ones didn't have a chance. Anyway, my honest opinion. Stock plug wires are great, fitment is awesome, performance is great. NGKs are good because the fit like stock, nice pleasing blue color, and in most cases are cheaper than stock. MSDs suck, they pop off the distributor cap, and are prone to falling apart. Morosos are crap, they fall apart and dont fit the valve cover well. Accells are crap because they fall apart and fit on both ends poorly. Those are the only ones I've had experience with. I'm currently using NGKs on my turbo car along with NGK plugs, nothing fancy, just standard NGK plugs, 2 steps colder.

 

NGK's. nuff said.

You can get them cheaply at http://www.partspalace.com

 

go to importreview.com. They do dyno testing on most performance products. The best plugs for the money were bosch platinums. the iridiums were only a hairline better on the dyno curve and they only cost $2

 

All I know is that Morosso wires suck ***. They fit like **** and dont really make a diff

 

I had NGKs on my D15, and Accel Thundersport or some crap like that that came on my ZC. Just by looking at the two the NGK is much better construction. I will be getting a new set once I'm not broke off my ***.

 

Wires won't matter, get NGK plugs, and NGK wires will do great. Pick them up, I did

 

Well I couldn't find the NGK ones locally, so I'd have to order them and wait. I used the Xact wires that are made to be just like the stock ones.

 

use what ever you can afford. platnium plugs are to improve life not spark. i use NGK's however i blow the **** out of them every few months. they are cheap.