Decent HT leads without metal extenders!?
Discussion
I know this has appeared as a topic in here and the Chimp forum several times but alot of the suggestions (good though I am sure they are) are either from the US or not physically tested to fit.
I have a BV pre-cat (with ACT triple plenum if that makes any difference) and want to replace my old magnecors and plug extenders to try just leads and heat socks.
Does anyone have a recommendation that are definitely long enough out the box and readily available?
I have a BV pre-cat (with ACT triple plenum if that makes any difference) and want to replace my old magnecors and plug extenders to try just leads and heat socks.
Does anyone have a recommendation that are definitely long enough out the box and readily available?
I think that the triple plenum will make a difference, but not a positive one (throttle response aside) as a tuned 5.5 litre doesn't get the benefit of all of the air that they can flow, so possibly it could confuse your car. Any decent leads will do but spend a few quid on decent heat socks would be my advice.
I’ve gone over to a set of these but I measured mine and he custom made me some.
I run without protection boots as they clear the manifolds well with the angled boot.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLUE-8MM-PERFORMANCE-IG...
I would buy a load of ht lead from him and boot ends and make your own, it’s very easy when you know how and you can leave them a tad longer to repair in the future if needed.
A ht lead crimping tool will be needed but these are inexpensive and easy to use.
It’s what I will do now in the future.
I run without protection boots as they clear the manifolds well with the angled boot.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLUE-8MM-PERFORMANCE-IG...
I would buy a load of ht lead from him and boot ends and make your own, it’s very easy when you know how and you can leave them a tad longer to repair in the future if needed.
A ht lead crimping tool will be needed but these are inexpensive and easy to use.
It’s what I will do now in the future.
^^THIS^^
See my post here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mr Retro Leads only sells top notch parts and you can buy everything you need from him including these plug ends that are absolutely perfect for clearing the Chimaera & Griffith primaries, I run mine with DEI Titanium socks but you could almost certainly run these plug ends without socks and have no issues.
The plug ends litrally make the dreadful misfire enducing Vauxall/Beru spark plug extenders a thing of the past which is a very very good thing, I make up my own HT leads using the excellent quality components from Mr Retro Leads and a set of proper HT leat crimping pliers I bought from our Chinese friends purched and shipped to me here in the UK for just £12.00.
But seriously these crimping pliers work absolutely perfectly, the crimps they make are absolutely first class!
Mr Retro Leads (Anthony) will also make you up a set if building your own leads doesnt apeal.
https://mrretroleads.co.uk/product/black-8mm-perfo...
Over the last 10 years I've tried a lot of different HT leads with Magnecor being my least favourite, MSD Super Conductors are excellent but the're very expensive especially since the pound has fallen against the dollar, since finding Mr Retro Leads I will not use anyone else.
Dave.
See my post here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mr Retro Leads only sells top notch parts and you can buy everything you need from him including these plug ends that are absolutely perfect for clearing the Chimaera & Griffith primaries, I run mine with DEI Titanium socks but you could almost certainly run these plug ends without socks and have no issues.
The plug ends litrally make the dreadful misfire enducing Vauxall/Beru spark plug extenders a thing of the past which is a very very good thing, I make up my own HT leads using the excellent quality components from Mr Retro Leads and a set of proper HT leat crimping pliers I bought from our Chinese friends purched and shipped to me here in the UK for just £12.00.
But seriously these crimping pliers work absolutely perfectly, the crimps they make are absolutely first class!
Mr Retro Leads (Anthony) will also make you up a set if building your own leads doesnt apeal.
https://mrretroleads.co.uk/product/black-8mm-perfo...
Over the last 10 years I've tried a lot of different HT leads with Magnecor being my least favourite, MSD Super Conductors are excellent but the're very expensive especially since the pound has fallen against the dollar, since finding Mr Retro Leads I will not use anyone else.
Dave.
Thanks for all the replies - ChimpOnGas it was your threads that got me onto this in the first place so thanks again for your response.
I will email Mr Retro and order some from him. I think I will also get some Craddocks ones to carry as spares - at that price it's a no brainer!
I probably will use heat socks if I can find any for a reasonable price locally - any ideas?
I will email Mr Retro and order some from him. I think I will also get some Craddocks ones to carry as spares - at that price it's a no brainer!
I probably will use heat socks if I can find any for a reasonable price locally - any ideas?
ChimpOnGas said:
^^THIS^^
See my post here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mr Retro Leads only sells top notch parts and you can buy everything you need from him including these plug ends that are absolutely perfect for clearing the Chimaera & Griffith primaries, I run mine with DEI Titanium socks but you could almost certainly run these plug ends without socks and have no issues.
The plug ends litrally make the dreadful misfire enducing Vauxall/Beru spark plug extenders a thing of the past which is a very very good thing, I make up my own HT leads using the excellent quality components from Mr Retro Leads and a set of proper HT leat crimping pliers I bought from our Chinese friends purched and shipped to me here in the UK for just £12.00.
But seriously these crimping pliers work absolutely perfectly, the crimps they make are absolutely first class!
Mr Retro Leads (Anthony) will also make you up a set if building your own leads doesnt apeal.
https://mrretroleads.co.uk/product/black-8mm-perfo...
Over the last 10 years I've tried a lot of different HT leads with Magnecor being my least favourite, MSD Super Conductors are excellent but the're very expensive especially since the pound has fallen against the dollar, since finding Mr Retro Leads I will not use anyone else.
Dave.
I may be wrong but it looks as if you're a fan of mr retro leads.....See my post here...
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Mr Retro Leads only sells top notch parts and you can buy everything you need from him including these plug ends that are absolutely perfect for clearing the Chimaera & Griffith primaries, I run mine with DEI Titanium socks but you could almost certainly run these plug ends without socks and have no issues.
The plug ends litrally make the dreadful misfire enducing Vauxall/Beru spark plug extenders a thing of the past which is a very very good thing, I make up my own HT leads using the excellent quality components from Mr Retro Leads and a set of proper HT leat crimping pliers I bought from our Chinese friends purched and shipped to me here in the UK for just £12.00.
But seriously these crimping pliers work absolutely perfectly, the crimps they make are absolutely first class!
Mr Retro Leads (Anthony) will also make you up a set if building your own leads doesnt apeal.
https://mrretroleads.co.uk/product/black-8mm-perfo...
Over the last 10 years I've tried a lot of different HT leads with Magnecor being my least favourite, MSD Super Conductors are excellent but the're very expensive especially since the pound has fallen against the dollar, since finding Mr Retro Leads I will not use anyone else.
Dave.
JamesK said:
Thanks for all the replies - ChimpOnGas it was your threads that got me onto this in the first place so thanks again for your response.
I will email Mr Retro and order some from him. I think I will also get some Craddocks ones to carry as spares - at that price it's a no brainer!
I probably will use heat socks if I can find any for a reasonable price locally - any ideas?
I bought these for my motorhome (big block V8 and it gets hot) and have been fine.I will email Mr Retro and order some from him. I think I will also get some Craddocks ones to carry as spares - at that price it's a no brainer!
I probably will use heat socks if I can find any for a reasonable price locally - any ideas?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Spark-Plug-Wire-BOOTS-Hea...
The ones I have on the Griff were Vulcan (the highest proetction temp I could find and were around £60 from the USA.
FFG
Just to add, with regard to socks there are only two different materials used in their manufacture.
1. Woven fiberglass - Come in an aray of colours including a dull gold/brown colour often described as titanium, fiberglass offers less protection and their dyed colour will bleach out with heat
2. Woven basalt - These are the real deal as they offer far better protection and suffer no colour bleaching, genuine bassalt socks always come in the dull gold/brown colour often described as titanium
To be clear there is no such thing as titanium as a material for socks, all genuine basalt socks come the dull gold/brown colour but beware the fiberglass socks that have been dyed to look like basalt.
Design Engineering are a respected American company that sell genuine basalt socks, they call them Titanium Protect-A-Boots (part number 010543), the DEI Protect-A-Boots are excellent and have being giving reliable service on my Chimaera for over five years now, other than getting dirty they are as good as the day I fitted them.
However DEI Titanium Protect-A-Boots are very expensive and I suspect they only buy them in from China anyway, all be it DEI will be controlling the quality to ensure they meet their standards which is what you're paying the premium for, look to pay £70 for a set of 8 which is not cheap but do concider they seem to last indefinitely.
It may also be worth searching Ebay as there seem to be lots of Chinese sellers offering what they claim to be basalt but it's going to be a punt on what you actually end up getting, just be aware there are no guarantees you'll get genuine basalt as it's easy for the seller to dye fiberglass to look like basalt. Socks described as titanium with no mention of them being made from genuine basalt are likely to be made from woven fiberglass and dyed in the so called titanium colour to make you think they're basalt.
I used fiberglass socks for a year before moving to the real deal woven basalt DEI Titanium Protect-A-Boots, fiberglass does offer a level of protection but not nearly to the same level as basalt and whatever colour you choose it will bleach out, what I found was if you want the very best protection you definitely need genuine basalt.
Buyer beware!
1. Woven fiberglass - Come in an aray of colours including a dull gold/brown colour often described as titanium, fiberglass offers less protection and their dyed colour will bleach out with heat
2. Woven basalt - These are the real deal as they offer far better protection and suffer no colour bleaching, genuine bassalt socks always come in the dull gold/brown colour often described as titanium
To be clear there is no such thing as titanium as a material for socks, all genuine basalt socks come the dull gold/brown colour but beware the fiberglass socks that have been dyed to look like basalt.
Design Engineering are a respected American company that sell genuine basalt socks, they call them Titanium Protect-A-Boots (part number 010543), the DEI Protect-A-Boots are excellent and have being giving reliable service on my Chimaera for over five years now, other than getting dirty they are as good as the day I fitted them.
However DEI Titanium Protect-A-Boots are very expensive and I suspect they only buy them in from China anyway, all be it DEI will be controlling the quality to ensure they meet their standards which is what you're paying the premium for, look to pay £70 for a set of 8 which is not cheap but do concider they seem to last indefinitely.
It may also be worth searching Ebay as there seem to be lots of Chinese sellers offering what they claim to be basalt but it's going to be a punt on what you actually end up getting, just be aware there are no guarantees you'll get genuine basalt as it's easy for the seller to dye fiberglass to look like basalt. Socks described as titanium with no mention of them being made from genuine basalt are likely to be made from woven fiberglass and dyed in the so called titanium colour to make you think they're basalt.
I used fiberglass socks for a year before moving to the real deal woven basalt DEI Titanium Protect-A-Boots, fiberglass does offer a level of protection but not nearly to the same level as basalt and whatever colour you choose it will bleach out, what I found was if you want the very best protection you definitely need genuine basalt.
Buyer beware!
FlipFlopGriff said:
I bought these for my motorhome (big block V8 and it gets hot) and have been fine.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Spark-Plug-Wire-BOOTS-Hea...
The ones I have on the Griff were Vulcan (the highest proetction temp I could find and were around £60 from the USA.
FFG
I bought a set of these and a set of leads from Mr Retro......after just a few miles and 2 of Mr Retros angled plug caps have melted a bit right on the knuckle.....I think cyl 2 and 5 IIRC.https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Spark-Plug-Wire-BOOTS-Hea...
The ones I have on the Griff were Vulcan (the highest proetction temp I could find and were around £60 from the USA.
FFG
But this is on a precat.....so not the same manifolds as later Griffs.......and not even the manifolds are similar in shape/spacing on either side !
Not a complaint......just for info for others.
Moose v8 said:
Just a follow on I have a set of Mr retro leads on my pre cat Griff, from a recommendation chimp on gas (thanks) no problems so far I have Clive ford equal length manifolds not that should make a difference 
From that picture I deduce that with your Clive F manifolds, there is much more clearance between pipe and plug lead.....the reason being the initial inches of the manifold have a much larger radius than the std from the factory, throwing the main pipe further away from the engine.Interesting to note that my precat has a quite large bodywork pocket compared to the 500, that actually appears to be too large and too high !?!?
Moose v8 said:
Just a follow on I have a set of Mr retro leads on my pre cat Griff, from a recommendation chimp on gas (thanks) no problems so far I have Clive ford equal length manifolds not that should make a difference
We need a wide angle engine bay shot so we can see your Clive Ford equal length manifolds!Manifold porn no doubt
I've had a set of Moroso Blue Max leads from Real Steel with thermal socks from Ebay on mine for about 6 years. The leads come semi finished so you can cut them the the exact length you need. Mines fitted ACT twin carbon plenum with the GEMs Coilpacks located behind the plenum. I did try magnacor GEMs leads originally but the plug connectors were almost touching the standard manifold's on cylinder 8, so didn't work with the thermal socks.
Just waiting on delivery of ACT performance manifolds, so will probably change the socks at the same time as fitting the new manifolds, as the old ones are starting to discolour.
Just waiting on delivery of ACT performance manifolds, so will probably change the socks at the same time as fitting the new manifolds, as the old ones are starting to discolour.
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