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Headers-N-Wires

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vdubnut

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Last week I went did part of a tune up on the burb....

i bought a set of A C Delco plugs and went to installing them.

On cylinder 5 i pulled off the boot only to find that the head of the wire was mostly cracked and burnt off. So i went back to Checker to get a set of wires. (the ones i had were some MSD's probably 10 yrs old) I went with the cheapo's since i figured that even cheap wires were better than the old cracked ones i had on there and i hadnt planned on doing wires.

So this weekend while towing my trailer on our camping trip, two of the wires basically burned to a crisp. :eek1:

My question is this.... if you have aftermarket headers do you have to buy special high temp wires? I did my best to make sure no wires were touching the header pipes but you never know what happens while you're driving. do the cheap wires just melt? the other 6 cylinders wires look ok so far....might i have certain cylinders getting super hot?

thanks

jamie.
 
I tried to use a stock wireset on my new motor with Hedman headers (#69230), and ended up melting throught the #8 boot in about 5min. I decided to spend a little extra coin and time and use an Accel SuperStock custom length set (Autozone haha). Wires will take like 400* and boots, even higher. Haven't had a problem since.

Another option is to buy some high heat sleeves to put over the wires where they are near the headers. I've heard of good results with those, but have never tried them.

As for whether only certain cylinders are getting hotter than others...no clue.
 
I had no idea the stock replacements were so fragile! I will go see if they have some of those Accel ones.....cant be burning them up every time i go for a ride!

Are those wires, (the Accel superstock), generally accepted as a "Good" wire set amongst the chevy folks?
 
Accel themselves have a so-so reputation among the folks here. I've been running them with my headers for awhile (Pretty sure they aren't the SS ones though) and I've had no problems. 5 years or so?

MSD is another that is highly recommended. Obviously need the 90* boots on the end, and depending on the headers, pointing them directly away from the header tube, securing, THEN going up over the valve cover is typically the best way to keep them as far away from heat as possible.

Next step would be to buy the heat deflecting "boots" that they make for the plug wires if simply routing the wires doesn't solve the issue.
 
I have had very good luck with the msd 8.5mm and spark plug boot guard set from O'Reillys. No failures in 5 yrs. Just be sure to use needle nose pliers to pull the guard over the plug boot.
 
I have the msd multi angle ones on my BB sub and have had no issues i also like the multi angle bend to the application. you might want to pick up the factory tin heat deflectors that go around the spark plug. on my dd 88 dually i kept going through wires till i got them, at the dealer.
 
I have had great luck with "Taylor" brand. Iv had them resting on the headers of my malibu (little hotrod) and they never melt. You can get them "Cut to fit" which is real easy, you get the perfect fit.
 
I bought the gm performance parts wire and holder kit and not a problem.
 
i went with the "premium high temp silicone 8mm" brand from checker auto because i was in a hurry to get back on the road...about 38 bucks i think....so far so good not melting yet! i think i'll check into some of the suggested ones though and maybe pick up a better set for down the road. thanks for all the suggestions!
 
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can never go wrong with Taylor or MSD wires imo....
 
I have msd 8.5 and the fiberglass boot covers, such as these. http://www.techflex.com/prod_SPB.asp I dont have these exact ones, in fact I believe I have accels boot covers. Nevertheless, they have worked great at keeping the boots from being melted. I highly reccomend them.
 
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