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Spark Plug Wires

Old Feb 18, 2008 | 01:38 PM
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Spark Plug Wires

CEL came on and dealer said i needed new Coils, Wires and Plugs. (see updated info in post #13 below)

They replaced the coils under warranty, but i am buying the plugs/wires and installing myself. ordered the regular plugs from sparkplugs.com, but what wires should i get?

Mazsport 8.65mm, Pettit 8.5mm or Pettit 10mm?


I would normally not worry about it and just order the 8.5/8.65mm, but a guy on our site has a set of brand new 10mm for $50 where all the others are going to cost me around 90 shipped.

My concern with 10mm is the electrical noise it "MAY" introduce into the stereo. Anyone have any input on this?


Thanks.


.

Last edited by Pinhy; Feb 19, 2008 at 07:21 AM. Reason: moer important info in post 13
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 02:04 PM
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Go with Mazsports spark plug wires
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 02:26 PM
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any specific reasons why the mazsport for $90 rather than the Pettit of same size for $75?

not disagreeing with you, just wondering if the Mazsport's are worth the 20%price difference.
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 02:51 PM
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I had mazsports and it helped me get an extra 10hp while dyno tuning with the int-x. i had nology hotwires on before and there was an electrial problem at high rpms and now no problems at rpms
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 03:45 PM
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Originally Posted by invasion08
I had mazsports and it helped me get an extra 10hp while dyno tuning with the int-x. i had nology hotwires on before and there was an electrial problem at high rpms and now no problems at rpms

that quote looks REALLY familiar...would you happen to be "Jeff" ?

From the mazsport website:
Reviewer: Jeff
0202/0202/0808 04:55pm
Scott came up to dyno and street tune my RX8 and on the dyno there was an electrical problem at the high rpms. I replaced my nology hotwires with Mazsports wires and the problem was gone and was even able to pick up another 10 rwhp




i am going to be trying the 10mm from a local member here in Tampa who is willing to let me 'test drive" them. If they create noise, then i will probably go with the smaller ones (either mazsport or pettit).


.

Last edited by Pinhy; Feb 18, 2008 at 03:48 PM.
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 04:11 PM
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Yup thats me
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 04:12 PM
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Originally Posted by Pinhy
that quote looks REALLY familiar...would you happen to be "Jeff" ?

From the mazsport website:
Reviewer: Jeff
0202/0202/0808 04:55pm
Scott came up to dyno and street tune my RX8 and on the dyno there was an electrical problem at the high rpms. I replaced my nology hotwires with Mazsports wires and the problem was gone and was even able to pick up another 10 rwhp




i am going to be trying the 10mm from a local member here in Tampa who is willing to let me 'test drive" them. If they create noise, then i will probably go with the smaller ones (either mazsport or pettit).


.
Just to be clear...are you at all interested in what the difference in width does?
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 05:29 PM
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Originally Posted by invasion08
I had mazsports and it helped me get an extra 10hp while dyno tuning with the int-x. i had nology hotwires on before and there was an electrial problem at high rpms and now no problems at rpms
, so you had a problem with nology wires? I don't think I've ever read a single positive review of nology wires, on this or any other site.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ghlight=NOLOGY

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=nology+wires

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=nology+wires

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...t=nology+wires

....

..
.

Last edited by staticlag; Feb 18, 2008 at 05:31 PM.
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 05:55 PM
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Nology Hotwires suck dont buy them
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 06:35 PM
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Racing Beat is good as well
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 08:07 PM
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Originally Posted by eviltwinkie
Just to be clear...are you at all interested in what the difference in width does?
decreased resistance is about all i know....wouldnt mind knowing more...negative and positive




.
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Old Feb 18, 2008 | 08:47 PM
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I just bought the wire set from Mazsports along with the plugs that NGK made aftermarket for Mazsports. At least I think they did. I'm curious on how they will work. Has anyone had any experience whit the Aftermarket NGK plugs from Mazsports?

Last edited by kharshba; Feb 18, 2008 at 08:48 PM. Reason: Needed more info on product.
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 07:20 AM
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let me add to this problem i am having.

First of all, the CEL originally came on the day i put on the Agency Power Underdrive Pulley. So all along i figured this was the problem. I couldnt get it to go off, even with disconnecting the battery and then driving slow for a couple miles around my neighborhood. It would stay on solid and at high speed/rpm, it would flash, then go back to solid.

when i finally took it in, my info above was what they told me.

after replacing the coils, it didnt come on with about 90 miles of driving....then i got it up in RPM's and speed and it flashed for abotu 15 seconds or so then went off when i slowed down again and stayed off. it seems to only come on at high speed/RPM's now.

is this the plugs and wires still needing to be replaced, or could it be the Pulley...with a slipping belt or something?


.
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Pinhy
let me add to this problem i am having.

First of all, the CEL originally came on the day i put on the Agency Power Underdrive Pulley. So all along i figured this was the problem. I couldnt get it to go off, even with disconnecting the battery and then driving slow for a couple miles around my neighborhood. It would stay on solid and at high speed/rpm, it would flash, then go back to solid.

when i finally took it in, my info above was what they told me.

after replacing the coils, it didnt come on with about 90 miles of driving....then i got it up in RPM's and speed and it flashed for abotu 15 seconds or so then went off when i slowed down again and stayed off. it seems to only come on at high speed/RPM's now.

is this the plugs and wires still needing to be replaced, or could it be the Pulley...with a slipping belt or something?


.
Did you reset the ECU after the pulley install?

Crank position sensor sounds like its wonky...
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 07:51 AM
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if resetting the ECU = unplugging battery for 10 or 15 minutes then driving slow (like 15mph) around the neighborhood, then yes.
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 07:55 AM
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Originally Posted by Pinhy
if resetting the ECU = unplugging battery for 10 or 15 minutes then driving slow (like 15mph) around the neighborhood, then yes.
Nope...search for "reset ecu" and follow the procedure...be sure you reset everything...
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 08:21 AM
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Pinhy, the same thing happened to me after istalling the ap pulley. You need to disconnect the negative terminal, wait a bit, hold the brake pedal down for a few minutes, then reconnect the neg. terminal. I also reset the memory by doing the 20 brake pedal pump thing......have to pump the brake really fast until the oil pressure gauge sweeps. Doing this cleared my cel and I have had no other issues. I did, however, replace my coils with the newer ones and replaced my plugs and wires with Mazdatrix wires, which are fantastic in quality and will withstand 1200f temps, and they look great to boot.
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 12:28 PM
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ive known about the brake pedal pump, but not the other...i'll do that.

only thing is, the CEL is not on all the time, it is off right now. however, it flashes when i get up in RPM's which makes me think it is related to the pulley and the belt tension. (EDIT: i read in another thread on here that this could be related to misfires, which would also make sense and make me happier, knowing replacing the plugs this weekend will solve the problem).


i am not going to worry about it this week anyway, until i get the new plugs and wires installed this weekend. then we'll see what it is doing.

.

Last edited by Pinhy; Feb 19, 2008 at 01:40 PM.
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Old Feb 19, 2008 | 12:46 PM
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you reset the sensor profiles by holding down the trip counter reset button with the igintion off, then while still holding down the button turning the key to the 'on' position. After a moment the odometer will say "test."
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Old Feb 20, 2008 | 07:02 PM
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I bought a set of those low resistance wires off ebay , and they work fine.
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Old Feb 22, 2008 | 09:03 AM
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Correct, the larger the conductor's gauge (cross-section, not "width") the better the electrical flow thanks to lessened resistance, conductor material quality being equal.

But the other factor of quality cables is their better insulation. Many OEM Japanese sparkplug cables have historically had inferior insulating materials that became electrically "porous" over time and caused cross firing. Better insulation will also ensure audio systems are less affected by transient noise from the ignition system.

Originally Posted by Pinhy
decreased resistance is about all i know....wouldnt mind knowing more...negative and positive.
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Old Feb 22, 2008 | 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by gmcmillan
what happens after 'test'? does it go away or do you have to drive for a bit?
Once it says test the sensor profile is cleared. You can just turn the car off and drive it normally.
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Old Feb 22, 2008 | 11:52 AM
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Its not cross section that matters, its surface area. Charge is only transmitted by the surface of the wire, that is the outter part of it that you can see. It is not transmitted by the center of the wire.

Which is why the highest quality wires are the 1000+ strand count ones, 1000 wires have greater surface area than 1 big one.


Originally Posted by Huey52
Correct, the larger the conductor's gauge (cross-section, not "width") the better the electrical flow thanks to lessened resistance, conductor material quality being equal.

But the other factor of quality cables is their better insulation. Many OEM Japanese sparkplug cables have historically had inferior insulating materials that became electrically "porous" over time and caused cross firing. Better insulation will also ensure audio systems are less affected by transient noise from the ignition system.
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Old Feb 22, 2008 | 01:36 PM
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I only meant cross section in that it's a larger conductor as opposed to another member's "width" comment.

The other reason for stranded wire is that it is more resilient to flex/vibration stress wear than a solid conductor.

Originally Posted by staticlag
Its not cross section that matters, its surface area. Charge is only transmitted by the surface of the wire, that is the outer part of it that you can see. It is not transmitted by the center of the wire.

Which is why the highest quality wires are the 1000+ strand count ones, 1000 wires have greater surface area than 1 big one.

Last edited by Huey52; Feb 23, 2008 at 04:58 PM.
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