Do Aftermarket Plug Wires really make a difference?

[V8 Killer]

All the brands... MSD, Accel, Nology, NGK.. All their wires say to offer better performance, durability and increased spark discharge. Do they differ from from another? Does that extra 1mm or 1.5 mm in wire thickness really make a difference?

[camaro_speedemon]

Maybe if you have some serious mods and you need that extra spark. But they're basically useless other then the fact they look better.

[vroom-chirp]

they do if you have an upgraded ignition pack and plugs....so i guess you gotta get a combo to notice...its been sayed you get a more powerful spark and better ignition in the cylinder, wich in turn creates more torque more HP and better gas mileage..simplified, you get a better explosion in the cylinder .

[guy]

they wont make any noticeable difference really.

[viper98885]

I not only has to do with the thickness of the wire but also the resistance per foot. That's the real measurement that I use. The least resistance per foot means more power getting to the plugs. If your current wires are bad, a good set of wires is not too mcuh more than stock replacement and makes for a good tune-up.

[Flowbee V6]

They will fix a cylinder misfire however

[Copperhead]

true dat

[BobbyZ72]

i sure didnt notice any diffrence. should have saved my money

[Den69RS96]

If your car is stock except for the usual bolt ons, you won't notice a difference with aftermarket wires or coils. Don't add them to expect hp and torque gains as you will be disappointed.

Now if your increasing your compression ratio or adding boost, you should add a high powered ignition and low resistence wires. For example, say your stock compression ratio is 9 to 1 and you swap in different pistons and use a cylinder head with a smaller chamber and your compression ratio goes to 10.5 to 1. It takes more energy to produce a good spark in a higher compression engine, so you would want to upgrade your ignition to get a more complete burn in the cylinder. Most aftermarket coils produce more spark energy than stock ones and most aftermarket wires have less resistence so you would get more a more powerful spark into the cylinder. I prefer MSD. MSD's super conductor wires have 50 ohms (the lower the better)resistence per foot. Most other wires are somewhere around 300 ohms per foot and stock is much higher. Also check the RFI supression of the wires, so you don't have any interferance problems with other electronics on the car like your radio.