Tired of Burning Plug Wires

[71chevytruckguy]

would be interesting if this actually work tho. Chris.

[davepl]

Two points of interest: On a BBC Camaro I had with 2 1/8" header tubes, I had one that was impossibly close to the tube. As in "had to make my own tools" close.

Anyway, first thing I did was order Accel "shorty" header plugs. They were the same length as the stock AC Delco plugs. Like -exactly- the same length.

I wound up buying a set of wires with porcelain boots. Now I think you can buy them in singles, but at the time you had to get a whole set. But they are the cat's meow for burnt boots.

I also wound up using them on my old blown LT1 motor... on forced induction application the spark really wants to take an easier path, so any degradation of the boot will cause misfires. Ceramic boot fixed that one too!

[wzuke]

Try "shorty" spark plugs from Accel - worked for me.

[pheengurs]

yeah, I know it's an old thread ;-) but I'm desperate for answers. I've been searching google for days, and find no conclusive actual person reviews of the SparkArm product...

If I don't find anything concrete in a few days, I guess, I'll have to choose between the Accel and Jacobs ceramic boot plug wires... but both options are more expensive and visually not convincing, that they'll solve my problem...

the spark arms are 30/pc .. I need 4, so 120 bucks... on summit the accel are something like 170, and the Jacobs are around the same price, but summit doesn't carry them.. nor jegs.. which is annoying... I sent an email to the sparkarm guy, hopefully he gets around to replying...

[colinlx]

Here's another plug for Taylor. I have at least one wire is touching the header (high heat paint only) and several more are very close. My engine has about 10k miles on it and no problems with any of the wires yet. The builder said that if they do burn, they will replace them.

[pheengurs]

well, yesterday I bit the bullet and ordered the SparkArm. Actually, I ordered 4 of em. They should be in next week. I'll let y'all know how it goes...

[pheengurs]

OK, so I know it's been awhile, but I thought I should update this thread, cause the Wrenchrat Sparkarms work great!

The overall length and adjustable angles the Sparkarms have, in addition to the heat resistance are superior to any sparkplug wires out there. I ordered mine in Red, and they look great to me!

Also something that needs to be addressed in regards to the Sparkarms is the question of spark loss, or spark power loss... -- I have noticed NO LOSS of power whatsoever. No noticeable increase in gas mileage or anything like that. I have no tools to measure actual spark, so a scientific review, this is not, but I have no missing or shorting or anything funny happening to my spark as a result of installing them...


On the other side of the coin, I wanted to add what I feel are the negatives to the Sparkarm product:

-- Sparkarm not waterproof. adjustable joints could allow moisture/water inside and possibly cause misfiring?
(I didn't want to take that chance, so once I adjusted the operating angle of the Sparkarm, I ran copper RTV around all the joints, and have had absolutely no spark problems after dunking the motor in water at least as high as the spark plugs!)

-- Sparkarm doesn't grab the plug as securely as silicone boots. so unless you anchor the plugwire or build something to hold the Sparkarm in place, gravity will pull it down as low as it will go...
(bubba fix for this was ziptie-ing the plug wires to an anchor point that keeps the Sparkarm from moving too much... it is not ideal, and a more secure holder will need to be fabbed up.
I'm also thinking about throwing a silcone boot overtop of the Sparkarm boot. It may require replacing the boot several times a year, but it may hold the Sparkarm in place better, in addition to keeping water out of that connection...


so after a year or so of use overall I am impressed and happy with this Sparkarm product. I tried several different options, including a few homebuilt ideas, and nothing worked for more than a couple of runs. To this date, the Sparkarms have not failed me yet, and look just as good as they did out of the box... I rate them 8 out of 10...

[swamp rat]

Might be old but the link posted for offset plug adapter was worth it!

[pheengurs]

alrighty! a last and further update to this thread because it is 100% essentially relevant:

I suspect this applies to all folks who are using good quality silicone plug wire boots and still finding they get burned up... not header brand specific, mind you...

in 2009 I bought a set of Sanderson CC3 ceramic coat block huggers. <- THEY WERE THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM FROM DAY 1 !!!

Later analysis of those headers found pinholes in several places, cracks in seams, and cracks on the lip of the collector flange end...

In addition to using shamelessly thin wall tubing, they also did not weld the tubes to seal them into the collector, they used some form of goop, which I have to tell you doesn't last very long!!! once this good begins to break down, it gets red hot in the centre, and promotes breakdowns of everything else...

which is why I believe the pinholes develop, and later cracks.

now you can blame mixture setups destroying headers, as Sanderson claims... you can blame improper exhaust mounts, as others claim...

I can tell you I have a set of unknown brand absolutely cheapo headers on my 77 corvette that DO NOT LEAK because they got properly welded to begin with...

Shame on you Sanderson Headers for using goop instead of weld, and thinner wall tubing than I've ever seen before on a header!!!



so to recap:

If you are experiencing problems burning up plug wire boots, your headers or exhaust manifolds are leaking. Pull them off, clean them up, and inspect them like you've never done before... You will find where the leak is in no time... Or you can also put a shopvac on blow at yer tailpipes, and use soapy water, for the easy to see crowd...

[HO455]

Thank you for taking the time to post the follow up.

I too have found there is no such thing as cheap headers. You either pay up front or you deal with all the issues and issues ain't free.