Spark plug wires
 

Hey everyone. I just did a spark plug change and everything is running. With the wires which ones are leading and which one is trailing? They’re not marked. Didn’t see it in the DIY. Thanks.

Chad

It depends which coil they're connected to, you need to follow the coil order. If you google image search, you should find a diagram from the shop manual.

You definitely don't want to mix them up.

I found some of the online diagrams confusing so I made my own diagram that was easier for me to understand.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...a4262318b2.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...0d2f0fa8a.jpeg

I used the colored version before I made my own.
I think mine is better.
😁

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rx8...3e034bb29a.jpg

Assuming you're talking about the wires themselves, and working with a commercially made set, use the relative lengths. They should all be different lengths, and the plugs are similarly all different lengths away from their respective coils. When you hook them up, they'll be happiest only in one arrangement according to which combination gives them the most equal amount of slack.

That is, unless you have an S2, and bought one of the spark plug wire sets marked as being for all RX-8s but that are actually S1 lengths. There is a slight difference between S1 and S2, where the S2 plug wires are slightly longer. This clearly isn't all that well known, as even Atkins wasn't aware until recently. If you're in that situation, you can maybe JUST BARELY get all the wires hooked up, but they won't be happy about it. I'm not sure, but OEM may be the only option for commercially available S2-length plug wires.

Thanks. I have a series 1 and ordered the corresponding wires for my car. I got them from Atkins rotary.

Thinking I should print out the entire RX-8 service manual and tell my 4 year daughter it’s a coloring book. Then you two can go head to head ;)