Re: Magnecor vs Nology vs Stock wires

[Ron Katona <ron3b@xxxxxxxx>]

SMILLER@domain.elided wrote:
> 
> In light of the seemingly conflicting infomation from Ron and
> Christopher:
[lots of stuff about dyno runs and the value of 7 billion volt sparks
snipped]

> ... let me ask this:  Is it possible the stock wires were old, used wires
> that were not in perfect condition?  If so, that could explain the
> differences between the stock wires and the 2 aftermarket wire sets.  In
> other words, it is possible that just a new set of stock wires would have
> yielded the same results as the aftermarket sets.

It's possible, but this '96 is a fairly new car in good condition.

I agree that the voltage needed to jump the plug gap won't change with
the wires and that after it jumps the efficiency of the wires means
nothing. I also agree that the fuel/air mixture has no idea how many
volts it took to cause the spark and really doesn't care.

Here's my wag at what's going on here. I think what the dyno runs show
is simply a small effective advance in timing. What causes the advance
is the fact that if the wires have less resistance (and the EEs out
there would probably want me to say impedance in this case), then the
voltage felt at the plug will get to the required level to jump the gap
sooner. There's always a ramping up of voltage in any wave form. Even a
square wave has a rise time measured in micro or nano seconds. If there
is less of a voltage drop across the wire, then the plug will fire
sooner.

Also, let me just clarify that the dyno runs I posted were for stock vs.
Magnecor. The Nology wires were not tested. Magnecor claims no HP
increase for their wires. If the ECU is tuned for the greatest amount of
advance without detonation with the stock wires, then there's no point
in going to a more efficient wire as long as the stock ones are not
causing problems. For a stock ECU, there may be a couple HP gained. I'd
rather leave the wires stock if they are in good condition and get a
chip from a good tuner.
- -- 
Ron Katona

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