Plugs and wires

[brianseto]

Hi all

Will replacing my plugs and wires hurt or help performance if I do not have a boost controller and am not boosting higher than stock? I know that people put NGK cold plugs in their car when boosting higher than stock.

Also, any recommendations on a wire set?

Thanks in advance,
Brian

[AutoBox]

isnt the stock ignition coil packs? do they use ignition wires????

either way a few ppl on here say the stock ignition system can handle alot of boost so i would worry about swapin anything ignition but the plugs......

[BremertonMSP]

Here's my setup. Magnecor wires with NGK plugs

[instylz]

The 45403 would also work. Its a grade higher and costs about $20 more. I have em and will be putting em in this weekend.

[brianseto]

Looks nice, man.

All in all, have you noticed any perf gains/losses? Or was the replacement just to prevent problems with higher boost?

[BremertonMSP]

Originally posted by brianseto
Looks nice, man.

All in all, have you noticed any perf gains/losses? Or was the replacement just to prevent problems with higher boost?

Seems a bit smoother, but that's just the butt dyno talking. The colder plugs where for my increased boost and associated cylinder temp increase. I went with the wires for better spark delivery. I just didn't like the stock Protege' wires for a boosted application.

[SoniCraze]

where did you buy the wires?

[BremertonMSP]

Originally posted by SoniCraze
where did you buy the wires?

Direct from Magnecor

http://www.magnecor.com

talked to Steve.

[dj JINX]

did they come ready to go or did it require you to cut to length and put the caps on

[BMC]

Also, Racing Beat (Ultra) wires will fit. I have them on mine.

http://www.racingbeat.com/resultset.asp?PartNumber=51007

[CarlM2]

I had the Ultra's on my Miata. Supposedly, the impedance of the wires are specific to that engine. If those specifications are the same for the MSP, great. It looks like they used the same stupid 2 coil pack system so, maybe it is.

I'd like to get the Magnecor's but, I can't find any info on their site about ordering or pricing....

[goldstar]

CarlM2,

www.protege5online.com sells the Magnecore wires

[vodapas77]

I'll reiterate what has been said here many times before but I was too stupid to listen to. Don't buy Sparcko wires. I have heard they are great wires with a few problems here and there. But there shipping dept. sucks. Beat only by their customer service. Waited 3 weeks, they never showed up. Emailed them and asked where they might be and they told me wait another week and if they don't show up mabey they can get Postal Insurance to pay for them and send me out another set. No suggestion of refunding my money or apology for the delay oh and they say they have no way to verify when they were sent out. Sorry, to rant, I just want to make sure no one else repeats my mistake.

[servoeyes]

I have a question about the magnecor kv85 comp. plugs (45403). I looked them up online and several place list them as 00-03 (i think) but that's usually followed by "(except MazdaSpeed)". Any idea why that would be?

[BMC]

Originally posted by CarlM2
I had the Ultra's on my Miata. Supposedly, the impedance of the wires are specific to that engine. If those specifications are the same for the MSP, great. It looks like they used the same stupid 2 coil pack system so, maybe it is.


Yeah, I pulled them right off my 2001 Miata, looks like the exact same ignition system. I havent had any problems so far.

[goldstar]

servoeyes,

The Magnecor wires will fit the MSP since the OEM plug wires are the same for all 3rd gen sedan/P5/MSP cars.

02 DX Millenium Red

[vodapas77]

Anyone try running Nology's Hotwires yet? They don't list any for the 01-03 Protege, but they have the late model MX-6 & 626 so I would assume one FSDE is as good as another.

[BremertonMSP]

Originally posted by servoeyes
I have a question about the magnecor kv85 comp. plugs (45403). I looked them up online and several place list them as 00-03 (i think) but that's usually followed by "(except MazdaSpeed)". Any idea why that would be?

Magnacor emailed me back and said they will work with the Mazdaspeed. Also, on the box it said it was for the Miata too.

[BremertonMSP]

Originally posted by CarlM2
I had the Ultra's on my Miata. Supposedly, the impedance of the wires are specific to that engine. If those specifications are the same for the MSP, great. It looks like they used the same stupid 2 coil pack system so, maybe it is.

I'd like to get the Magnecor's but, I can't find any info on their site about ordering or pricing....

I get a bit leery when I hear something like "the impedance is specific to that engine." Really? How is it specific to that engine? What makes that engine different then any other internal combustion engine? It's the same motor that is in the P5, the regular protege's and some of the miatas. It's just a normal run of the mill 2.0L motor with a turbo slapped on it. Nothing special was done to the ignition system. The PCM was changed a bit to account for the turbo, but the ignition system itself wasn’t other then spark plugs.

I think the pricing was on the PDF file. Anyway, they were around $80 shipped. About twice as much as the Sparkco's but no shipping or customer service issues. One thing I did notice is that the longer of the two wires would not stay on the coil pack. I ended up using a black tie wrap to snug it down a bit. You can see by the picture I attached to my other post how I put tie wraps on both the boots on the coil packs. I think it was just because of the sharp turn the wires have to make and the fact that they are new that caused the problem. Once I got them secure, they haven't budged.

Anyway, good wires, I'm pleased with them. Down the road I may go with a different set up, but for now they work fine.

[nattyboy513]

will new plug and wires fix the gauges dimming in and out when you have the lights on?

[BremertonMSP]

Originally posted by nattyboy513
will new plug and wires fix the gauges dimming in and out when you have the lights on?

Nope. That problem has nothing to do with the spark plug wires. It's the current draw from the fans when they kick on.

[servoeyes]

Well...there's more to it than just the fans, but that's part of it. It's really a combination of a craptacular stock battery and craptacular wiring for the "big/golden 3"...those being the battery ground, the positive terminal to fuse box, and the alternator to battery/fuse box. A quality grounding kit and battery to fuse bax upgrade helped me a little, but I think I still need to run the alternator wiring upgrade.

[pingdum]

Originally posted by vodapas77
I'll reiterate what has been said here many times before but I was too stupid to listen to. Don't buy Sparcko wires. I have heard they are great wires with a few problems here and there. But there shipping dept. sucks. Beat only by their customer service. Waited 3 weeks, they never showed up. Emailed them and asked where they might be and they told me wait another week and if they don't show up mabey they can get Postal Insurance to pay for them and send me out another set. No suggestion of refunding my money or apology for the delay oh and they say they have no way to verify when they were sent out. Sorry, to rant, I just want to make sure no one else repeats my mistake.

I'm gonna stick up for Sparko, their customer service has always been fine with me. I did have a problem with the original design but they took care of it quickly and efficiently and sent me the upgraded wires no questions asked.

[vodapas77]

Originally posted by pingdum
I'm gonna stick up for Sparko, their customer service has always been fine with me. I did have a problem with the original design but they took care of it quickly and efficiently and sent me the upgraded wires no questions asked.

By no means did I mean to imply that Sparcko has been bad for all. I just remember there was a lot of dissatisfaction following that group buy. If they worked out well for you I am happy you were so fortunate.
I think the major problem with them is the fact that they are manufactured and drop shipped from Canada while you have to deal with the U.S. sales office. Therefore when something gets screwed up with shipping, the U.S. office can't help you. My major problem with them is the fact that they ship in a way that doesn't allow for tracking and that seems like bad business.
Other than that I can't really complain. After I waited six weeks and still no wires I told them I found it unsatisfactory and was not going to wait at least another three weeks for wires so I would like a refund. They said they are going to refund my money. So, as long as they do, then they will be ok in my book and in the future I will only say that they have problems with their shipping.