Plug leads - socks / ceramic / headers !!!!
Discussion
Ok I’m a novice and when I got the car it had blue magnecor leads fitted which hit the headers once the metal Beru extenders were removed (mine were arching and creating a misfire) , I was never happy with this and researched this forum and found the socks solution the Titanium larva ones and have used these but as car is left outside when we had rain , the socks would get damp/wet not ideal on a plug lead/spark plug !
By chance bumped into another owner who said they were using 45 degree angle 8mm silicone leads from a Rover V8 and he got them from Craddocks in Cannock £20 !
Sure enough went there website ordered the P38 Rover V8 Upto 1999 in grey (they do red also) arrived £23 posted and fit spot on and they don’t sit anywhere near the headers so no need for socks , ran them now for about 3 weeks and all is good ! Ran it in the recent heat had to queue the other day for over an hour stop start etc and leads are fine as they are some distance from the headers
So unless I’ve missed something ? Why wouldn’t all TVR V8 leads be angled ? And if you can pay £23 for these 8mm silicone ones where does all the extra money go (got receipt for the magnecors at £118 !!!!!!! And they look no better quality and indeed were useless as they rested on the headers !
Confused ?
By chance bumped into another owner who said they were using 45 degree angle 8mm silicone leads from a Rover V8 and he got them from Craddocks in Cannock £20 !
Sure enough went there website ordered the P38 Rover V8 Upto 1999 in grey (they do red also) arrived £23 posted and fit spot on and they don’t sit anywhere near the headers so no need for socks , ran them now for about 3 weeks and all is good ! Ran it in the recent heat had to queue the other day for over an hour stop start etc and leads are fine as they are some distance from the headers
So unless I’ve missed something ? Why wouldn’t all TVR V8 leads be angled ? And if you can pay £23 for these 8mm silicone ones where does all the extra money go (got receipt for the magnecors at £118 !!!!!!! And they look no better quality and indeed were useless as they rested on the headers !
Confused ?
That’s why I’m puzzled ? After searching on here for solutions night after night it was a mix of socks and £150+ ceramic leads (which I’m sure are good !) and I couldn’t understand why angled leads were not used ? And at that price it’s can be a changeable item the 45 degree is perfect for our headers as direct fit to plug means they don’t even come close to the headers !
And the quality looks very good !
And the quality looks very good !
Beats me 
I have Mbe ignition supplied and fitted with 8 mm leads and angled caps, I use heat socks too but that’s just personal choice. Never a problem with heat or damaged caps/ leads using the correct ends, I do keep then tied up to stop any caps spinning and after 15000 miles look brand new.
I have Mbe ignition supplied and fitted with 8 mm leads and angled caps, I use heat socks too but that’s just personal choice. Never a problem with heat or damaged caps/ leads using the correct ends, I do keep then tied up to stop any caps spinning and after 15000 miles look brand new.
I make my own leads up using these plug ends from Mr Retro Leads...
I also use socks but they're largely unessesary with this type of plug boot as the angle is perfect for good header clearance.
For just £12 from Ali Express I purchased a quality set of ratcheting HT lead crimping pliers that make the proper crimp like this, and I never looked back.
And using all Mr Retro quality terminals, boots, coil pack ends and 8.5mm HT lead off the roll I custom build my own perfect length bespoke lead set like this.
Job done, and done properly
I also use socks but they're largely unessesary with this type of plug boot as the angle is perfect for good header clearance.
For just £12 from Ali Express I purchased a quality set of ratcheting HT lead crimping pliers that make the proper crimp like this, and I never looked back.
And using all Mr Retro quality terminals, boots, coil pack ends and 8.5mm HT lead off the roll I custom build my own perfect length bespoke lead set like this.
Job done, and done properly
He made me a set to order recently as ive gone over to coil packs, very good quality leads.
This is his V8 set, quite reasonably priced.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLUE-8MM-PERFORMANCE-IG...
This is his V8 set, quite reasonably priced.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLUE-8MM-PERFORMANCE-IG...
I've used MSD Superconductor HT leads for years but replacing them started to get expensive so I've swapped to making my own leads up using quality Mr Retro Leads parts.
I can now make a full set of custom 8.5Mm HT leads for less than £60 which is half the price of MSD Superconductors which I needed to fit coil pack ends to myself anyway.
I'm extremely happy with the quality of Mr Retros components and his prices are realistic too, just buy yourself that proper ratcheting HT lead crimping tool from our Chinese friends and your good to go
I can now make a full set of custom 8.5Mm HT leads for less than £60 which is half the price of MSD Superconductors which I needed to fit coil pack ends to myself anyway.
I'm extremely happy with the quality of Mr Retros components and his prices are realistic too, just buy yourself that proper ratcheting HT lead crimping tool from our Chinese friends and your good to go
How things have changed in the HT lead market from when I first started fitting aftermarket ecus back in the day ..
I bought my stock of HT wire direct from Madison Wire, including a selection of ends, boots, terminals and a flipping expensive set of crimpers at 150 pounds!
I had to order a minimum of 1 kilometer (yes!) of double silicone wire and I'm still trying to use it up to this day ... I think I spent 3500 pounds with them but it was worth it just to be able to make leads up bespoke when I needed them and not be at the mercy of unreliable 3rd party makers, or buying two sets of 4 cylinder leads to get a set that fitted/worked ..
On the upside Madison Wire also gave me some silicone/epdm wire that TVR ordered but never had ...
I bought my stock of HT wire direct from Madison Wire, including a selection of ends, boots, terminals and a flipping expensive set of crimpers at 150 pounds!
I had to order a minimum of 1 kilometer (yes!) of double silicone wire and I'm still trying to use it up to this day ... I think I spent 3500 pounds with them but it was worth it just to be able to make leads up bespoke when I needed them and not be at the mercy of unreliable 3rd party makers, or buying two sets of 4 cylinder leads to get a set that fitted/worked ..
On the upside Madison Wire also gave me some silicone/epdm wire that TVR ordered but never had ...
I reckon it’s all just Tvr owners fascination with everything hot rather than actually needing fancy leads.
Silicone based ones seem to last.
A Landy doesn’t go fast enough to create air speed enough to cool it down so most likely run just as hot as a Tvr
Any decent set should do the job.
Silicone based ones seem to last.
A Landy doesn’t go fast enough to create air speed enough to cool it down so most likely run just as hot as a Tvr
Any decent set should do the job.
A well timed thread. These supposed premium leads I bought haven't lasted more than a couple of hundred miles they've burnt through despite being under lava ??? heat socks. The misfire was as bad as I've ever had.
I've had to cobble together a set some way too long and others barely reaching so have ordered a couple of the sets mentioned here. This time avoiding the red hot ones and going with the grey.
I've had to cobble together a set some way too long and others barely reaching so have ordered a couple of the sets mentioned here. This time avoiding the red hot ones and going with the grey.
Yep I hoping the cranked ones will help avoid that by being able to direct them away better. As much as they seem universally hated I tried a new set of plug extenders a couple of years ago as all bar 2 of the originals had cracked and where arcing. The replacement Beru ones lasted less then a year I understand they switched where they are manufactured and had quality issues.
indigochim said:
Yep I hoping the cranked ones will help avoid that by being able to direct them away better. As much as they seem universally hated I tried a new set of plug extenders a couple of years ago as all bar 2 of the originals had cracked and where arcing. The replacement Beru ones lasted less then a year I understand they switched where they are manufactured and had quality issues.
I fitted a set of cranked ones last week as part of a megasquirt install. The clearance is very good.
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