Resistor plugs, leads and caps

[AlfaSpider]

Hi
I've Just bought a TVR S1 which has the 2.8 ford cologne V6, needs a lot of work along with a good service. It starts and runs ok but doesn't rev cleanly, plug gaps were all over the place but also I've found it has resistor spark plugs, carbon leads and 1k ohm suppressor caps. Leads measure about 10k ohms, dependant on length. I believe the plugs are about 5k ohms.
My question is could I do away with the resistor plugs and suppressor caps for a better spark? Assuming the carbon leads would do the job and wouldn't interfere with anything else, it's not like there's much electronics.
Thanks in advance.

[GreenV8S]

If you're referring to resistive spark plug extenders, these are often used to get the HT leads further away from the exhaust headers to extend their life. You can get resistive or non-resistive ones - sorry I don't remember the sources for each type but I'm sure somebody here will tell you.

You really only want one set of resistance in the HT side (out of the leads, extenders and plugs), and if that's in the plug extenders rather than the leads that helps because it means it's the same for all cylinders. Are your HT leads actually carbon core? Magnecor branded leads look similar and are popular with many TVR specialists.

[PositronicRay]

AIUI the resistor gives a fatter spark, kind of holding the power back in the coil for a millisecond longer while reducing "noise" in the system. Not sure about resistor plugs with resistor caps, I thought it was one or the other.

Maybe worth trying some non resistor plugs.

Edited by PositronicRay on Tuesday 14th February 07:28

[AlfaSpider]

The suppressor caps are at the distributor cap end so could be done away with. Good point about the caps giving a more constant resistance compared to leads of different lengths.
I'm fairly sure the leads are carbon there branded ford, the core is graphite in colour how does a magnecor lead compare?
I think I'll try normal plugs to start with and go from there.
Thanks

[SebringMan]

Is the engine meant to have resistored plugs? NGK have a website for checking what plug it should have.

If it were me I'd check the condition of the cap. If all is well I would be tempted to leave it.

As for the plugs get NGKs but ensure they are from someone reputable ; on my Stag I had a random misfire appear on full throttle towards to upper RPM range which was down to faulty spark plugs.

[blitzracing]

Lead resistance is there to slow down the rate of discharge of the coil as the spark is effectively a short circuit once its started. This means the spark burns for longer, but slightly less hot than if you used say copper leads. The big issue however is radio interference - a rapid discharge produces massive amounts of radio frequencies, just like the old spark transmitter used on the Titanic, which makes you very unpopular and glitches car electronics, so lead resistance reduces this to an acceptable level. Its not an exact science by any means- but anything over about 10k should be enough- but you dont want to keep adding to it with resistive plugs or extra suppressors as eventually it will reduce the spark so it cant do its job. Magnecores are clever, as they use an effect called magnetic reluctance where a magnetic file is produced around the HT lead that slows down the discharge without wasting power in resistance to maintain a good spark. You should not need them however if your ignition is working correctly as it has plenty of spare capacity to cope with the resistive leads, and they are very expensive, and not that reliable. They have a place on very high compression engines, turbos or nitro that needs all the sparks you can get, but not your run of the mill stuff.