Spark plug wires w/ Pamco

I think it may have more to do with the retro brass screw on plug caps that lowbrow has. It doesnt seem like it would be safe to have an exposed connection like that with a powerful modern ignition system.

There's nothing wrong with those wires. You can use them. They're modern regular plug wires simply covered with a cloth wrap. What Pete is saying not to use would be a real antique wire from like 60 years ago, covered ONLY in cloth.

5twins said:

There's nothing wrong with those wires. You can use them. They're modern regular plug wires simply covered with a cloth wrap. What Pete is saying not to use would be a real antique wire from like 60 years ago, covered ONLY in cloth.

Click to expand...

Thank you for answering the question. That's what I thought.

I was second guessing myself amongst all this confusion.

over and out,
avenue.

avenue said:

I can't find where I read about these wires working with the pamco specifically but here is what lowbrow has to say.

"These plug wires are cotton-braided and lacquered, but have a modern stranded copper conductor with pvc insulation for top performance....Being that these are not supressor core wire, you could have radio interference with accessories on bikes that are running electronic ignitions. Made in the USA."

I picked up a set of these modern retro-look wires because I was told they are safe with the reliability of a pamco and the power of the green coils. The cloth-look is a bonus but I'll ditch them for safety's sake in a heartbeat.

any thoughts?
thanks, once again.
avenue.

Click to expand...

Well, as 5twins says, the description sounds like they are modern wires with a cloth cover for the retro look. To get the necessary Resistance for an electronic ignition system, like the PAMCO, just use resistor spark plugs, like NGK BPR7ES and you will be fine.

So no need for extra shielding or anything in terms of interference? I have a set of those lowbrow wires and was gonna not use them now that I ordered the pamco. So Pete, let me just make sure I understand (Me = a bit slow) as long as I'm using a resistor plug like the one you mentioned, there aren't issues with any sort of electric or magnetic field shielding?

Dave

devem222,

Shielded wires would be better, of course, but I am referring to aircraft style shielded wires that are grounded. Just having a shield as a cover for the wires doesn't really do any good.

The resistance in either the wires, plug caps or the spark plug themselves serves to reduce the current flow from the coil and that also has the effect of reducing radio interference.

But, it gets even deeper than that, of course. With modern very high voltage coils the current in the arc of the spark plug without some resistance is so high that it actually reduces the resistance of the arc itself. In other words, if the current were infinite, then the resistance of the arc would be zero which would produce a spark with no power and a spark with no power would have no heat so you would have a super bright spark that lacks heat and it would not fire the mixture.

That is from one of the formulas for power Power = Current X Current X Resistance. As the current goes up, so does the power(heat) but in the case of spark plugs the resistance also goes down and in the extreme the effect of the declining resistance is greater than the increase in power from the increase in current so an increase in current can actually produce a brighter but colder spark!

This phenomena is lessened by putting some resistance in the circuit to reduce the current in the gap and actually produce a hotter spark. Increasing the spark plug gap also is effective in increasing the resistance of the arc as well as making a spark that exposes more of the mixture to the arc.

Other attempts to mitigate this phenomena include the design of the spark plug itself, the most famous of which is the split electrode spark plug, or "Split Fire" plug which is designed to produce two arcs to split the current in two, thus reducing the current in each arc but having a total power (heat) of twice a conventional plug. I don't know if that actually works, but it is a good example of the dynamics of a spark plug.

Pete, you are a freakin bad ass. Thanks for taking the time to explain that to me. Seriously, I cannot thank you enough. The fog has lifted somewhat

Dave

AGREED..! i have a fresh new set of them on the kitchen table right now. I was starting to get depressed thinking they wouldn't work. I mean I haven't ordered my pamco yet but its all part of the finished build. I would have hated to let them go..

THANKS Pete.!!!

pamcopete said:

I bought a set of plug wires from Advance auto for a 1967 Camaro V8 for $12.95. They came complete with the 90 degree plug caps. They lasted me for several years.

Click to expand...

Thank you pamcopete and 5twins.


http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/ACC7/3009.oap?pt=02815&ppt=C0334
I finally bought this set, the ones Pete has been citing in various threads on various forums for years. They look cool on the bike in a funky sort of way. I like 5twins VW wires too, but these are cheaper.
They now cost more than double what they did way back when, but they are still a great bargain.

The VW wires I use are the EMPI brand. Back when I got them several years ago, they could be had for $10 to $12 a set. I see JCWhitney has them on clearance now for $13. I better stock up, lol.

DogBunny said:

Thank you pamcopete and 5twins.

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/ACC7/3009.oap?pt=02815&ppt=C0334
I finally bought this set, the ones Pete has been citing in various threads on various forums for years. They look cool on the bike in a funky sort of way. I like 5twins VW wires too, but these are cheaper.
They now cost more than double what they did way back when, but they are still a great bargain.

Click to expand...

Thems the ones. They come in two types. Suppressor and non suppressor. The suppressor means that the wire itself has some resistance, up to 8K Ohms per foot so I suggest that you use non resistor stock plugs or equivalent with the suppressor wires, like NGK BP7ES.

The less expensive wire are non suppressor and there is no resistance in the wire or the cap so use resistor spark plugs with the non suppressor wires, like NGK BPR7ES.

5twins said:

Yes, but when I ran points, I used zero ohm caps .....

Click to expand...

Hi there 5twins. I am running stock points system, "replica" ignition coils (see image example), and have these same non-resistor plug caps.

Also, my bike appears to have these suppressor cables that are a cloth or kevlar wrapped coil. Should I be using resistor plugs then? BPR 7ES, for example. I think I get a weak spark especially in my left cylinder when I have the R plugs.

I am wondering if I have resistor plugs, if I should have a copper core cable..

A little help would be appreciated! I hope this message finds you well

-Torbjorn

The stock ignition system was pretty weak by today's standards. That's why I eliminated all the resistance I could by going to zero ohm caps (originals did have resistance built in). Even though you have new replica coils, they still only put out what the originals did. I would run no resistance in your set-up. Use plain (stranded wire core) plug wires, the zero ohm plug caps, and non-resistor spark plugs. If your neighbor's TV reception goes to shit when you drive by, that's his problem, lol.

Beauty! thx for the reply.

As you probably know the old BP7ES are hard to come by. Are there any equivalents you recommend? I found some Autolite 63s which some use, but then those say they are also resistor ..

I find the BPR7ES were working, but performance was choppy on occasion, especially at idle or low revs.

I'm not sure why people can't find the standard BP7ES NGK plugs. All the auto parts stores in my area usually have them right on the shelf. If they don't and they sell NGKs, they can order them for you. I buy them by the 4 pack, always keeping some spares on hand.

A lot of auto parts stores have eliminated the original part number, like BP7ES in their parts data base and only have the new number, so when you ask for a BP7ES they look at you like you're stupid, because that number is not searchable for them.

The new number for the BP7ES is 1034.

That's not a new thing. NGK plugs have had 2 numbers for a long time. One, the BP7ES, is a "descriptor" number, giving the thread size, heat range, resistance, etc. The other, the 1034, is an actual part or item number for the BP7ES.

I can order them online, but still no dice here. (I'm in a smallish city on Vancouver Island BC, maybe I need to go to Vancouver and see).

I found both BP6ES and *corrected: B8ES but no 7s frustratingly enough. According to my manual some XS models do run on BP8ES stock.

Hey guys, I would like to chime in on this thread with a question instead of making a new one.

I see that LowBrow has come out with 8mm suppression style wires. Is the 8mm alright to use instead of 7mm? Also, when using the suppression style wires I know that a resistor plug is not necessary, but what about the caps. Do these need to be any certain type?

Thanks

Just in case anyone was wondering, I found in another thread that Pamco Pete says that suppression wires are NOT the ones to use with a Pamco.

Looks like wires approved for elect. ignitions are the ones to use along with resistor caps/or resistor plugs.

Will these work for pamco ultimate coil? I'm running autolite #63 to. They say suppressor so I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find copper core wire Instead.http://m.autozone.com/autozone-mobile/en/parts/Duralast-Wireset/_/N-irgfvZ27pxwm?id=2854