Old Mopar wires vs. Quality Wires

[sanguissaevus]

Thought I'd share some data I collected changing my plug wires. I purchased my 2000 Viper RT-10 at ~29,000 miles. I don't know if the factory Mopar wires have ever been changed but I changed them today at 33,180 miles. I went to check my plugs and the first wire (#1) I went to pull broke in half at the termination. It was literally carbon dust. I've never seen such heat damage on an ignition wire in my life. So, I ordered some Quality Wires based on the rave reviews. They are as everyone says and as the name states. I love the outer "snake skin" covering. It reminds me of something you would install on a military aircraft. I purchased mine in black. The boots going to the ignition packs are a more snug fit than the Mopar's which is good to keep elements and debris out but still allow an easy install. Each termination gives an audible click as you press them on. This is a very nice touch as I am always questioning myself on if I pressed wires in enough for a solid connection. They are numbered though on the coil pack side only. Each wire has an insulating "sock" on the plug side. I hope these help with the heat as this was one of my reasons for their purchase. It's a shame you can't see them after install because they look cool. The ones that came on mine were black. Pictures I've seen of them online were white or silver (couldn't tell really). The wires are also all cut approx. 1" shorter than the mopars which aids in visual tidiness and more importantly decreases resistance. Aaaanywho, I thought I'd shoot them all for resistance and see what popped up. Below is a list of the old unkown mileage Mopars (probably the originals) and the Quality Wire resistance measured in kilo ohms. They are listed in order of wire length so as to display the resistance decrease as the wires shorten (longest to shortest). Wire #1 was measured by shooting one end of the broken terminal to its other end as this displays its inability to conduct in its charred state (no need to shoot the wire itself if the the electricity can't move through the small piece that broke off):

Old Mopar Wires
#2 14.41 Kohms
#4 15.00
#1 open (infinite resistance)
#3 11.55
#6 11.83
#5 11.71
#8 7.19
#9 9.07
#7 8.49
#10 6.87

Quality Wires
#2 1.642 Kohms
#4 1.521
#1 1.325
#3 1.318
#6 1.367
#5 1.197
#8 .885
#9 .872
#7 .787
#10 .789

Huge differences in resistance between these sets of wires. I wish I had some new Mopars to see if they would have such low readings as the Quality Wires did. Both look to be the same gauge wire though that is just eye balling them plus I don't know the conductor material differences (copper purity and such). What is undeniable is that the Quality Wires have excellent low resistance equating to maximum current to the plugs. Even if the Quality Wires read the same as new Mopars this at least illustrates the need to check and/or change your wires often. I will be changing mine at least every 15,000 miles and will shoot for resistance on every plug change.

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[ViperJohn]

Thanks for taking time to post difference. The quality wires that AB put out are top notch.

 

[Doug Supercharged Vipers]

Congrats on the same positive results we've experienced at DLM. The wires are an excellent replacement and we use them on all of our performance and stock applications. The optimal consequence from utilizing these wires for several years has made them a winner!

Sincerely,
Doug

 

[Darth Menace]

That is a huge difference. Only thing I don't like about anything other than Mopar ones is that you get interference with them. I don't have first hand experience, but just what i've read multiple times

 

[sanguissaevus]

Thanks for taking time to post difference. The quality wires that AB put out are top notch.

No prob. In about 5000 miles i will reshoot them and post any degradation.

Darth, i have never heard of this interference but now you mention it i did notice a uniform static on all my radio stations. I will see if that goes away depending on where i am while driving. If it never leaves then it's probably the wires. I plan on purchasing a new aftermarket radio though and use blutooth with pandora radio so i hope it will make this a moot point.

 

[speedracervr4]

If lower resistance is what one's looking for then MSDs are lower by a large margin. When I measured a 2' AB wire the resistance was 1252ohms Vs. 86ohms.

 

[sanguissaevus]

If lower resistance is what one's looking for then MSDs are lower by a large margin. When I measured a 2' AB wire the resistance was 1252ohms Vs. 86ohms.

That is good. And yes, the less resistance the better. A touch more info though. How long was the msd you shot and what gauge? Did they come cut to length or were they all same length? Resistance is a major factor but there are other important factors. The biggest in particular to our cars is heat resistance. Have you been able to recheck the msd wires after use? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[speedracervr4]

I measured the same length of wire, they're the 8.5 super conductor wires and they are cut to length. I recently measured a set I had on my blower car for about 4 years and the numbers where in line with the resistance per foot as the one I measured.

 

[sanguissaevus]

Good to go. 8.5mm is large. I'm pretty sure the stock Mopars and the Quality Wires are both smaller. So you are saying your MSD's lasted 4 years without fail? How many miles is that? I think Mopar also makes a set of 8.5mm and Magnecore as well. They probably don't fit the stock wire clips no? What did you do about that? Options for bigger ones to hold 8.5mm?

 

[speedracervr4]

The previous owner of my Viper put the wires on in 2006 or so and I removed them in November of 2012. They had approximatly 8K miles on them and the only reason I changed them out was because I wanted to switch to the black ones to match my engine colors. I did buy a pair of Quality wires, but after measuring the resistance I went the MSD route. Both wire types will fit the stock wire clips, but I run aftermarket wire holders I got from Roe Racing. Summit also has a large selection of wire holders that'll work. Plenty of people run AB wires and they love them, I'm just sharing my information for comparison sakes.

 

[Grisoman]

Thanks for the measurement efforts. If someone has data on a set of NOS Mopar Oreca cables (made by Magnecor), that would be a good addition.

 

[Boxer12]

You guys have radios in your car? LOL I have a set of Mopars that I pulled off at about 500 miles. I will check the resistance and post it.

 

[sanguissaevus]

You guys have radios in your car? LOL I have a set of Mopars that I pulled off at about 500 miles. I will check the resistance and post it.

Please do. It would be interesting for sure.

 

[Allan]

Hmmmm... I am still using the OEM wires that are original to the car.
I change the plugs every season, but haven't had any issues with the wires.

 

[JAY]

Just wondering , the Guys with Quality wires and MSD wires , do you get Static reception from your radio's when cruising on the street ?

 

[AZTVR]

An interesting treatise on ignition wire design: THE TRUTH ABOUT IGNITION WIRE CONDUCTORS

FYI. I never noticed an interference problem when I installed AB's Quality Wires. Make sure that the braided ground strap is bolted to the mount for the cowl cover at the base of the windshield (the mount just in front of the driver).



_________________________________________________
Jim – ‘02 GTS ACR gray/silver -- sold – ( enthusiastic custodian for 8 years )

 

[sanguissaevus]

Hmmmm... I am still using the OEM wires that are original to the car.
I change the plugs every season, but haven't had any issues with the wires.

Check resistance on them. If the resistance looks like my old ones in the first post then you should replace them. Mine were running fine for the 4000 miles i had them untill a short time ago i noticed a lack of power every now and then at full throttle. Went to check my plugs and the first wire i pulled broke in half in a crumbly mess. I am guessing the power loss was due this wire mostly. The new wires have fixed this. An old set of degrading wires will give enough spark to ignite the mixture but it will be weaker. And if the wire is bad enough like in my case you may not get ignition in that cylinder at all. Are you racing her, doing light to light hard pulls or just cruising? Do you live in cold mild or hot climates? If you arent subjecting your wires to severe temps then your wires could last many many miles. I personally never drive mine without pulling to redline.

 

[GRANGER73]

Just a thought. Keep your original plug wires. They are date coded, and down the road may prove to be pretty valuable.

 

[sanguissaevus]

An interesting treatise on ignition wire design: THE TRUTH ABOUT IGNITION WIRE CONDUCTORS

FYI. I never noticed an interference problem when I installed AB's Quality Wires. Make sure that the braided ground strap is bolted to the mount for the cowl cover at the base of the windshield (the mount just in front of the driver).

_________________________________________________
Jim – ‘02 GTS ACR gray/silver -- sold – ( enthusiastic custodian for 8 years )

Good call on the ground. I checked it and though it was connected it looked as though the post was a touch loose. I will see if tightening fixes this.
As far as Magnacor's write up, it is an interesting read but I think it is a sales pitch more than anything. Much of the write up is taking hits on Nology and MSD. They go through a great deal of effort trying to disprove the validity of resistance checks with a multimeter and visual checks on the plugs arc. If resistance checks via multimeter weren't valid then there wouldn't be any difference in resistance between an old and new wire. I feel like they are trying to disarm us of our testing abilities rather than empower us with knowledge. Unfortunately, for our scenario we still need a new Mopar wire to cross examine with the old ones I have. In addition, they give no way to prove their products superiority other than we take there word about there emi suppressive prowess. This is not to say Magnacor's aren't good, it's just to say I think anything written by a biased author such as a product manufacturer should be approached with caution. Here is an interesting thread from the bow tie boys. They touch on this Magnacor article as well. Again, the Magnacor write up is interesting and thanks for posting it.
http://www.ls1.com/forums/f63/tested-all-major-spark-plug-wires-my-results-31657/

 

[speedracervr4]

Just wondering , the Guys with Quality wires and MSD wires , do you get Static reception from your radio's when cruising on the street ?

I've never had any issues with either brand. 1k miles with Quality wires and 8K miles with the MSDs. I also run the MSDs on my SRT10 Ram with no issues. I would check grounding straps if you're having issues with interference.

 

[GTSHolgi]

I think, the aspect of low resistance of ignition cables is overrated (in terms of lower = better).

a. the ignition cables do not have to transmit large currents, in fact, it is the voltage that has to be carried from the coil to the plug and which causes the spark.
b. the resistance of the ignition cable is a parameter to manage noise/interference supression/reduction. Hence, a cable having higher resistance usually causes less interference issues

At the end, engineers (especially those having engineered the car as a whole) will balance this out in the best way (from their point of view of course).

I believe, that factors like durability, heat resistance, resistance of the rubber isolator etc. is more important/valuable than the comparison of "naked" cable resistance numbers.

It goes without saying though, that the resistance numbers of OEM cables have to be within the range defined/engineered by the OEM manufacturer.

 

[tito#14srt]

Where can I find some of these quality wires I'm looking to replacing my stock oem ones..thanks

 

[AZTVR]

Where can I find some of these quality wires I'm looking to replacing my stock oem ones..thanks

His contact info is in this thread
http://forums.viperclub.org/threads/668130-Running-a-contest-to-win-a-free-set-of-wires!
in this vendor review forum:
http:// http://forums.viperclub.org/forums/267-Vendor-Review-QualityWires.com

 

[ViperJohn]

I have MSD wires on my car for 20K miles and about 7 years with no problems. My car has upgraded heads/cam/valvetrain. I have changed a set of plugs since doing the wires originally. I should probably OHM mine out, but I didn't do it when they were new and if I had done it, I probably wouldn't be able to find the data. As mine had been done prior to the quality wires coming, it always has been my intention to switch over. This may be the year.

Its funny how time flies, I never would have guessed my wires had been in there that long.

 

[Darth Menace]

I can't find any msd wires for the viper. Where do you guys get them?

 

[Darth Menace]

nevermind. MSD 32259. $136 at Roe Racing