PodOne Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 Evening all As per title are they a worthwhile £100 upgrade or just bling. She's not for racing. Thoughts? Andy. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR NIALL Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 Just now, PodOne said: Evening all As per title are they a worthwhile £100 upgrade or just bling. She's not for racing. Thoughts? Andy. I found they made a huge difference but I also fitted a Flame Thrower Coil and new plugs at the same time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Moltu Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 I guess it depends on what you have currently. Modern leads seem more reliable than back in the day. Mine have lasted a long time, but like many uprated ignition components you will see little, if any, performance change if the components replaced were in good order. But perhaps the thing being uprated is reliability. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 It's a bit of 'wire' conducting electrons from one end to the other, and resistive wire at that. There's nothing magic about them - plain copper conducts better though some electronic ignitions don't like that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 Hi Andy when Alex Pringle posted on here he would always say " how can you compare a worn out part and a new part and say these are much better" Of course the new part should be better. So you need to be scientific about it Fit new plugs and assess how she is running. Fit a decent coil that would be compatible with the new leads and assess what is going on. Then fit the Super gold plated Magnecore leads - and then assess the whole kit - is it working, is it worth it. ALL owners say that what they have is the dogs doo dahs - but having spent £150_ they would say that. Go for it and report back Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PodOne Posted February 5 Author Report Share Posted February 5 Thanks all for the rapid comments! Flame Thrower coil, DD electronic ignition, distributor, red rotor arm, new cap and NGK plugs fitted as they all seem well tested by all. Only my leads are the STD £30 set. She starts, runs and revs cleanly, but I'm not about to waste £100 for a sticker for the tool box for no benefit! Form peoples comments there is no real advantage other than perhaps longevity but I could carry a new set for £30 and be quids in and change them every 2-4 years. Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TR NIALL Posted February 5 Report Share Posted February 5 20 minutes ago, PodOne said: Thanks all for the rapid comments! Flame Thrower coil, DD electronic ignition, distributor, red rotor arm, new cap and NGK plugs fitted as they all seem well tested by all. Only my leads are the STD £30 set. She starts, runs and revs cleanly, but I'm not about to waste £100 for a sticker for the tool box for no benefit! Form peoples comments there is no real advantage other than perhaps longevity but I could carry a new set for £30 and be quids in and change them every 2-4 years. Andy No no no go for them they are tailor made and take the untidy look off any engine bay(recommended) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crawfie Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 After replacing a few sets of copper HT leads , which basically fell to bits, i bought a set of Magnecor leads . Never looked back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 22 minutes ago, Crawfie said: a few sets of copper HT leads , which basically fell to bits What in earth were you doing to them Crawfie? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stuart Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 55 minutes ago, RobH said: What in earth were you doing to them Crawfie? He is known to "Fiddle" Stuart. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hawk Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 I did a back to back comparison with brand new 'normal' HT leads and Magencor and can say that I didn't notice a discernable difference in driving performance. However, the car did seem easier to start with Magnecor leads and since I had bought the competition leads and they matched my car, they stayed on with the others going into teh spare wheel well along with my other spares. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crawfie Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 1 hour ago, stuart said: He is known to "Fiddle" Stuart. LOL !!! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PodOne Posted February 6 Author Report Share Posted February 6 Some counter argument. It would be nice to see a comparison linked up to a Sun or Snap On old diagnostic kit to see what effect there is on the ignition system? Andy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 (edited) 25 minutes ago, PodOne said: see what effect there is on the ignition system None whatever Andy, apart from some electronic ignition systems wanting a bit of impedance in the HT leads. As I said above, electrically it's just a wire which conducts electrons - nothing more- and plain copper does that best. (unless you can afford solid silver !) . They might look nice and fit well but this is the same thing as Hi-Fi fanatics spending money on 'musical' mains plugs, in my opinion. Edited February 6 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PodOne Posted February 6 Author Report Share Posted February 6 3 minutes ago, RobH said: It might look nice and fit well but this is the same thing as Hi-Fi fanatics spending money on 'musical' mains plugs. Very true Rob never bought into that one and the mains filter box or the special and expensive speaker cable 13amp twin and earth seemed to work well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 7 minutes ago, RobH said: None whatever Andy, apart from some electronic ignition systems wanting some resistance in the HT leads. As I said above, electrically it's just a wire which conducts electrons - nothing more. It might look nice and fit well but this is the same thing as Hi-Fi fanatics spending money on 'musical' mains plugs. I still have the ht lead set I made for my TR2 from ‘off-cuts’ of the copper cored ht lead I was charged with using to build ht lead harnesses for Pratt and Witney piston engines. It worked on aeroplane engines so I concluded, like many others who worked at the overhaul facility, they will be fine on my car. They were retired from the car as they became quite stiff bordering on brittle after 30 years of use and replaced by similar construction cable. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 10 minutes ago, PodOne said: Very true Rob never bought into that one and the mains filter box or the special and expensive speaker cable 13amp twin and earth seemed to work well. serious thread drift here sorry. I am continually told by a Canadian friend who is the maker of high end speakers that the ‘special cable’ sold to improve the speaker’s sound is the audiophile’s version of snake oil. Sold to hopefully improve rubbish speakers. Emperor’s new clothes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 I've always been skeptical about high end "designer" HT wires, and the comparison to some audiophile silliness is an apt one. I make my leads to fit, using good quality name brand wire. It's easy, and I get a custom fit, all for essentially the price of a standard aftermarket set. Five years later, all is good. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 11 hours ago, ed_h said: I've always been skeptical about high end "designer" HT wires, and the comparison to some audiophile silliness is an apt one. I make my leads to fit, using good quality name brand wire. It's easy, and I get a custom fit, all for essentially the price of a standard aftermarket set. Five years later, all is good. Ed Yep me too. As an apprentice I was given the job of making HT lead harnesses for Pratt and Witney piston engines. All the off cuts of that copper cored cable made an ignition cable set for my TR2. I retired that set after 30years as they went brittle. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 16 hours ago, ed_h said: I've always been skeptical about high end "designer" HT wires, and the comparison to some audiophile silliness is an apt one. I make my leads to fit, using good quality name brand wire. It's easy, and I get a custom fit, all for essentially the price of a standard aftermarket set. Five years later, all is good. Ed Hi Ed, I like the neat lay-out of your ignition leads. I looked at your website for more info about the home made leads, but could not find it. Can you share a bit of info: Which make caps and wire have you used? Thanks, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ed_h Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 3 hours ago, Waldi said: Hi Ed, I like the neat lay-out of your ignition leads. I looked at your website for more info about the home made leads, but could not find it. Can you share a bit of info: Which make caps and wire have you used? Thanks, Waldi Hi, Waldi. The wire I used is Belden brand, and NAPA here in the States sells it by the foot. The contacts and boots all came from Amazon. The TR6 page with this info is about halfway don the page: http://bullfire.net/TR6/TR6-117/TR6-117.html A little more info on this GT6 page, again about halfway down: http://bullfire.net/GT6/GT6-129/GT6-129.html I also found on Amazon a simple crimping tool that is used in a vise. It worked fine, but for the GT6, I bought a proper crimper. Ed Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Waldi Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 Thank you Ed, I overlooked the sections about the ignition leads. This encourages me to order cable and wire and make a set myself. Best regards, Waldi Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RogerH Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 Hi Ed, how do you suppress radio interference with your leads. Is it with the 'R' suffix plugs. Roger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BlueTR3A-5EKT Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 Does a TR with Pertronix contactless ignition need any resistance in the HT wiring circuit.? eg. Resistor plugs, suppressor ht caps or resistance cables? Or is that all for quietening ignition crackle picked up by radio receivers? To my mind the crackle given out by my ignition is my version of irritating dazzling modern headlamps. If I can be in traffic next to a Chelsea tractor and spoil their radio reception , well bravo. I have no radio receiver equipment in my car only a personal mobile phone. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
RobH Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 (edited) 13 minutes ago, BlueTR3A-5EKT said: Does........,. Pertronix contactless ignition need any resistance in the HT wiring circuit.? The faster rise-time of the spark in copper systems apparently does upset some electronic ignitions. It's that fast risetime that interferes with radios too, so it's the same phenomenon. Their website says: "It's very important to verify that your spark plug wires are compatible with the ignition system, or any on-board electronics in general. Solid core wires have a copper or stainless steel conductor and generate excessive Electromagnetic Interference (EMI). This EMI can create confusion with electronics and ultimately damage them. With all PerTronix ignitions we recommend that a suppression style spark plug wire (also called carbon core) be used. The suppression wires do an excellent job of controlling the EMI with no degradation to the ignition performance." Fitting R-suffix spark plugs which have an internal suppression resistor will do that just as well, as can suppression plug caps or an old-fashioned in-line suppression resistor in the king-lead. Any one of those measures will do the trick. Don't use more than one type of suppression as that just weakens the spark. Edited February 8 by RobH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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