Greetings, I completed the 3800sc swap in 2019 and went with the ZZperformance 10.5 mm ignition wires at that time. I had a single cylinder miss unrelated to the 10.5 wires and have that resolved. recently I'm getting multiple misfires. All terminal ends are tight and I'm running the zzperformance coil packs as well. To eliminate the wires being the problem, I purchased a set of skimpy looking cheap 6mm $7.00 Acdelco wires and immediately upon startup the misfires disappeared. Anyone else had or are having trouble with the ZZ-- wire set. They're suppose to be plug & play. I already been thru the shield, no shield routine, silicone in the boot, paper in the shield, etc. Looked into other brands and I can't seem to find anything custom made for the 3800. Perhaps the ZZ-p wires are made better now but I don't want to be scr*** twice plus they don't warranty or accept returns on electrical items.
I didn't get around to ohm-ing out the guilty wire set, but I will. Any suggestions are appreciated. Plug gap & type is within spec of Darth's recommendations. I've been thru the archives already. These 6mm AcDelco's appear pathetic compared to the thicker wires. Sometimes it takes a wow-factor to win a show trophy even if running on 3 cylinders.
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
Any "performance" DIS & more other Coils are garbage. So are many "performance" plug wires & plugs.
Stock DIS coils generate much more power to the plugs to start w/ & anyone saying they "improve" them & rest of High Volt Side is ripping you off. DIS hate many other plugs like Bosch +2 & +4 & other thin "wire" center @ spark tip.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
Many years ago I purchased a set of Magnecor KV85 wires for my Fiero. Soon thereafter I began to experience ignition troubles. The Magnecor wires were rather expensive, so I kept thinking "it just can't be the plug wires". But after firing the parts cannon at the ignition system and literally replacing everything but the wires, I finally did the same thing and picked up an inexpensive set of AC Delco wires from a local parts store and that solved the ignition problems. Later on I bought the tools to cut and crimp ignition wires and made a set myself using MSD 8mm cable, MSD crimp terminals, and I used stock AC Delco boots on the set. I've had this set on my car for 15 or so years and never had a hiccup with them.
If you want an off the shelf solution - look at Taylor wires. I've used those on every other car I've owned in the past 25 years and those ignition wires are the cat's meow.
If you want an off the shelf solution - look at Taylor wires. I've used those on every other car I've owned in the past 25 years and those ignition wires are the cat's meow.
I looked up Taylor wires and didn't see any application for GM 3800. Do you recall where you purchased yours?
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
[This message has been edited by Spoon (edited 09-13-2023).]
Taylor makes lots of plug wires, in a slew of different wire diameters (8mm, 8.2mm, 10.4mm). A quick search found this: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/TAY-82213. Those are 8.2mm wires, they probably have similar sets in 8.0 or 10.4, but Taylor's part numbering is not obvious to guess the PNs for other wire sizes.
The general consensus I have to assume is that we want spiral core and at least 8mm wire for good EFI protection. Can anyone confirm or deny this? Is a larger gauge always better? Or does that create more resistance?
The outer diameter is nothing more than insulation, the actual wire core is damn near the same across all ignition cables in terms of gauge/diameter. The larger the diameter of the ignition cables has nothing to do with the performance of the cable. To your second point, yes you should choose spiral wound for EMI/EMC suppression.
[This message has been edited by lateFormula (edited 09-15-2023).]
The outer diameter is nothing more than insulation, the actual wire core is damn near the same across all ignition cables in terms of gauge/diameter. The larger the diameter of the ignition cables has nothing to do with the performance of the cable. To your second point, yes you should choose spiral wound for EMI/EFI suppression.
Thanks Late. I know it doesn't "add" performance, but from what I understand if you get the wrong cables (too thick or too thin), it can actually negatively affect performance. I thought I heard that if you have too much resistance (ohm), then you're not getting the voltage to the plugs as you should to be within spec. Is 8.8mm pretty much the size we should be using, or is smaller (or larger) better? It's been decades since I looked at any of this, and not sure if I knew it then anyway... just want to confirm. Thanks!
I always thought thicker wires equaled more insulation reducing the chance of spark jumping from one wire to another closely run wire. Always kinda worried about that. I recently pulled the box of new zzp wires for the fiero swap 3800 and then I found this thread saying they suck Yay! lol
Todd the outer insulation should make no change in resistance. Its the composition of the carbon core and length that will change the resistance . If you are not streeting and only racing I would recommend copper core wires. sleek
Thanks everyone for that critical information. Taylor seems like the way to go.
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
I used MSD. plug wires . They have been on for 4 years and no misfires or any other problems. Before that I had a set of MSD 8mm wires when I was running the stock distributor and had no problems for 26 years but they were too short to run as plug on coil. sleek
