The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Sometimes the simplest things.....

I think every Stovebolter wants to get the most out of our little 6 cylinder engines! Not necessarily trying to make them fast, or faster...just trying to get them to be dependable and trouble free. Dress'um up a little and add our own personal touch to these "gems in the rough".

I've been tinkering with a pass. side sparkplug wire loom....3/8 tubing....running the 7mm wires through the loom to clean up the "look". I'd removed the ends from a set of relatively new carbon core wires, but found they were still just too short. I needed some longer wires and I used to use the solid core prior to all the "electronics" stuff.

None from Az or Adv..."nobody uses solid core anymore!" So it was off to NAPA.....who had it in the bulk...12' plus the ends....$8.00 plus change!!!!

Finished up the loom, plugged in the new wires and off to our Wednesday night truck gathering.
Right away I noticed a different tone to my tired ole 56-235 exhaust. Crisper!!! Hummm, had to set the idle down a bit...amazing, smoother, and quicker.

Is there a point to my story? Instead of replacing your carbon core with more carbon core, you might try making up a set, using the steel core. Of course, an HEI and steel core wires don't mix or if have a radio you will have RFI interference. But if you get your jollies listening to a split exhaust sing through a couple cherry bombs, running a set of solid steel core wires might just be your cup of tea!

Dave

Think I'll give it a try. Have no radio. Will they work with a Pertronoix module? Can't see why not.

Just a little side note if you don't mind. RFI from your plug wires should not be a problem if you are using one of them new fangle FM radios. FM stands for frequency modulation. On the old radios where AM or ampitude modulation was used it will be a problem. As for your pacemaker, well "No guts...no glory!"

Nix on using them with the Pertronoix system! They are not compatible with electronic ignitions.....or "at least that's the word on the street."

Don't know the exact science behind that....but I'd hate to have you cook your setup. Maybe someone else will chime in with some techical info.

Dave

I believe it's a current thing. When you plug the values into:
P=IxE
where P is watts, I is current and E is voltage. It is easy to see that to increase wattage (fatter spark) with E=12 volts, the only thing to do is increase current (which is the real killer in most circuits).

Thanks beltfed! I am still amazed at how MUCH difference was felt right in the "seat of the pants." I would have expected an improvement if my plug wires had been old or man-handled...but these were out-of-the-box not 6 months ago....vehicle specific and by no means, cheapies.

The Belden 440's were standard fare on our competition engines back when MobyDick was a minnow! Someone mentioned that the modern FM radios were oblivious to the RFI generated by steel core wires and the $8.00 cash outlay makes it attractive to at least, give it a shot.

If you want additional info do a "Google" search for "Solid core plug wires" and you'll see that sometimes modern technology and materials, might not always be the "best" way to go.

Dave

I like solid core wires myself, that is all you see on tractors etc. Closest thing I have found in a resistor wire is Spiro-pro wires by Taylor. Amazing the difference, I had new Belden suppression wires on my '64(has HEI), installed the Taylors & saw the same difference Dave found using the solid core-smoother idle, better response & increased fuel mileage. I shortened one or two & the found the Taylors are kinda solid core, only wound in a spiral to keep out interference. They run around $75, which is pretty close to the same $$ as a good set of V8 wires these days,,pretty sure Summit also sells it by the foot also. Brian

i heard they were illegal years ago. the caused problems with dyno. blasting or something along roadsides. i also heard they worked better too. i don't know if that is true, may be misinformation. i think you could still get them for tractors.

Dave,

Thanks for the useful tip.

Do you have a part number for that bulk wire - I can't find it listed on the NAPA web site. I should like to see if I can get this up here in the frozen wasteland of Canada.

Thanks,


Stewart

In the S.W. desert here where summer time temps run over 115 deg. the under hood temps can really reduce a coils output. Solid core wires are a great help here. I have used Accel #4038, a 8-cyl. solid core universal set when I can't find the bulk wire. It has the molded plug ends & it has the parts supplied for you cut & make up the coil ends.
With all due respect, I think it's actually volts to the plug that we're trying to increase here, thats what more of is needed to jump the gap & fire a plug in lean or high load conditions. At least thats what an ignition analyzer machine checks for.
Doug

The lacquer coated solid core wires are still offered by one of the more popular vendors, minus the plug caps, for Stovebolt engines. I got a set hoping that they would be a little longer. No dice...so I've got some more dust collectors for my "almost treasures" shelf.

I've also heard something about interference problems with blasting....will keep an eye in the rearview to see if I'm spreading mayhem across the land!!!!! Have a friend with a pacemaker....may give him a test ride!!!! NOT!


Think maybe that the spiral wound wires, or for that matter the conventional carbon core wires, require a little more delicate handling. Pulling on the insulator can create small gaps in the core material...the spiral helps prevent that from occuring.

Regardless, I'm happy with the end result and for the smaller out-of-pocket expense. I think I'm getting more "bang" for my buck. Time will tell!!

Dave

hoggyrubber, I had heard they were illegal because of interference w/police radio. My computer speakers pick up the neighbor's tractor interference, I am guessing it has solid wires. Brian

Sure thing Stewart...the wires are #734803 @$.34/ft and terminal ends are #727005 @ $.34 each. The code was #4. The wire is on a bulk roll.

Note: The terminal ends have a locking "C" clip that has to be removed at JUST the cap end. This will let them seat all the way down in the distributor cap. Squeeze, use a small screwdriver to pop off the clips. I cut back the insulation 1/2", bent the wire back and crimped the end.

I used 12' for my extended wires, and had enough for all plugs and the coil wire.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks a bunch!


Stewart

Desertdog..you are correct for one part of the problem. Voltage at the sparkplug will indeed increase if you lower the resistance of the plug wires. E=I/R, so decreasing R by using lower resistance wire will give you more voltage at the plug. But, I think there was more than one question and one was about using other distributors like the Pertronoix.