That worked well....Not
Discussion
lancelin said:
Nice work, I have also used the standard angled boots and heat socks with no problems whatsoever. Don't waste your money on ceramic! they break and also leave the plug terminal on the plug! never again.
Boosted read this. Have you used them then?
It’s one thing buying something your happy to use, quite another when others might follow your lead
Are you recommending we go ahead and buy these with the inherent issue that they are the incorrect size?
They might be fine, the experience above suggests they might not.
Easy to push on etc yeah yeah yeah, they are f
k off tight to remove! They are very expensive and you can’t buy single ones unless you can tell me otherwise.
I really like them but they don’t fit properly!!!!!,
If your suggesting the post above is incorrect after we all know they are to fit a narrow plug, id not listen to a word you say mate, wasting people’s money is bad news!
People have to use tools to pull them from bottom up and off. In the confined space around manifolds I’ll be f
ked if I’m doing that business! I use a plug cap extractor to pull the caps off the 6 plugs on my Smart Brabus Roadster, it's not possible to remove without a puller. Yes the puller puts the force on the right part of the cap but all dexterity is lost and pulling often damages the lead because of the sudden jerk as release is achieved
^^They fit and remove without difficulty to the engine above. It has conventional plug tips. I'd certainly use them in a high heat situation. If 1 person's had a bad experience it doesn't mean that all the 'other brands' are crap. You should use dielectric grease to help prevent them sticking.
As with anything do your own research. I have and they ticked all the boxes especially in a turbo application. N/A would be ok with quality socks.
If people keep being held back by a single negative comment nobody will make any advancement. There's lots of information out there if people choose to look. Here's just a starter and I have no connection with any lead manufacturer.
https://www.taylorvertex.com/Products/pdfs/buyersG...
I'm pretty sure a custom lead set could be made by one of the main US manufacturers such as Accel. Video's a bit American :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39R3NUcvoo
As with anything do your own research. I have and they ticked all the boxes especially in a turbo application. N/A would be ok with quality socks.
If people keep being held back by a single negative comment nobody will make any advancement. There's lots of information out there if people choose to look. Here's just a starter and I have no connection with any lead manufacturer.
https://www.taylorvertex.com/Products/pdfs/buyersG...
I'm pretty sure a custom lead set could be made by one of the main US manufacturers such as Accel. Video's a bit American :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39R3NUcvoo
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Saturday 18th May 09:37
Perhaps I was unlucky but I’m not alone with my findings. I also found the position of the plug terminal inside the ceramic boot was inconsistent. On some leads it was positioned way too far up the boot making it very difficult to make a good connection on the plug! Let’s face it, if they were not designed for our plugs then why use them.
Boosted LS1 said:
^^They fit and remove without difficulty to the engine above. It has conventional plug tips. I'd certainly use them in a high heat situation. If 1 person's had a bad experience it doesn't mean that all the 'other brands' are crap. You should use dielectric grease to help prevent them sticking.
As with anything do your own research. I have and they ticked all the boxes especially in a turbo application. N/A would be ok with quality socks.
If people keep being held back by a single negative comment nobody will make any advancement. There's lots of information out there if people choose to look. Here's just a starter and I have no connection with any lead manufacturer.
https://www.taylorvertex.com/Products/pdfs/buyersG...
I'm pretty sure a custom lead set could be made by one of the main US manufacturers such as Accel. Video's a bit American :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39R3NUcvoo
I used a set of the custom Taylors on a cobra replica with a Ford 302, the lead ends were almost in contact with the headers and over a 10 year period they still looked like new.As with anything do your own research. I have and they ticked all the boxes especially in a turbo application. N/A would be ok with quality socks.
If people keep being held back by a single negative comment nobody will make any advancement. There's lots of information out there if people choose to look. Here's just a starter and I have no connection with any lead manufacturer.
https://www.taylorvertex.com/Products/pdfs/buyersG...
I'm pretty sure a custom lead set could be made by one of the main US manufacturers such as Accel. Video's a bit American :-)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39R3NUcvoo
Edited by Boosted LS1 on Saturday 18th May 09:37
Boosted LS1 said:
You should use dielectric grease to help prevent them sticking.
The use of dielectric grease is the secret here, we never had this stuff back in the day but I've been using it for a few years and now view it as essential.For some reason people seem to get confused about dielectric grease thinking it is an electrically conductive substance, for the avoidance of any doubt dielectric grease is no different from any other grease in this respect ie its actually non-conductive! Like all greases dielectric grease is an insulator and should not be applied directly to electrical contact surfaces, over them yes but between them no
Dielectric grease is applied to the inner rubber/silicone surface of the plug boot only, it not only helps the boot slide on and off of the plug's ceramic insulator it also helps prevent dirt and moisture from creeping up between the HT lead boot and the plug's ceramic insulator, its this moisture creep thats the source of most misfires.
Dielectric grease is just another term for pure silicone grease, I say just but actually silicone grease is amazing stuff as it It can withstand very high temperatures making it a good choice for engine compartments and similar locations. Many dielectric greases are rated to work in up to 392° F (200° C), and some can operate at up to 500° F (260° C). Admittedly there are other greases that can work at these temperatures but none of them will prevent the flow of electrical current like dielectric grease does.
Dielectric grease (silicone grease) is expensive however you dont need much of the stuff so a tube goes a long way, avoid the temptation to over apply as it will just create a mess and will actually attract dirt which is the opposite of what you want, I found the cheapest source of quality dielectric grease (pure silicone grease) is this seller on eBay:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200g-pure-silicone-grea...
To be honest this 200g of dielectric grease (silicone grease) will probably last you a lifetime, so £10.00 invested in this small tub is actually excellent value for money.
By the way, while heat resistant woven fiberglass or better still basalt socks have become the go-to replacement for the dreadful failure prone spark plug extenders (and quite rightly so), they do have one downside. Heat resistant woven fiberglass/basalt socks can and do hold moisture, get them wet and they will actually promote misfires until dried out, and despite being sat between the very hot manifold header tubes this can take a lot longer than you think.
If the Accel ceramic boots can survive without socks that would be the ideal solution in my book, but I must admit I've not tried them myself so I'll let others advise me here. I am however pretty sure the issues with them welding themselves to the the spark plug can be eliminated with the application of a smear of good quality pure silicone grease (dielectric grease).
Buying a set of proper spark plug boot pulling pliers is also a good idea, at just £8.00 again from AliExpress they are a very worthwhile investment to ensure you don't break your expensive Accel ceramic boots or burn your hands.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/High-voltage-wire-...
The Accel ceramic universal V8 set can be had from Summit Racing, using the 'duty paid up front' shipping system they offer as this always works out cheaper than paying the duty after they've landed in the UK, like this you should pay £118.00 a set all in.
https://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/acc-9002c/o...
Then custom cut to size and crimp on your own distributor ends using a proper HT lead crimping tool, I bought my crimping tool from a seller on AliExpress for just £12.00 including shipping and they work perfectly.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Crimping-pliers-fo...
Distributor boots and terminals can be purchased at reasonable cost from The Green Spark Plug Company, a set of 8 boots and terminals should cost less than a tenner including postage.
https://www.gsparkplug.com/ignition/distributor-co...
So importing them yourself you're looking at £130.00 to make up a set of Accel ceramic boot HT leads, which I've just seen is the same as 'TVR Parts' charge for their set including distributor boots and terminals so you may as well buy them from there and support a UK TVR parts specialist.
A set of HT leads for £130 is still very expensive though, especially when you can buy a set of quality Bosch part no 0986356819 Range Rover P38 leads for just £25.00! At that price you could just replace them every year for five years before you end up spending the same as the Accel ceramic leads.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LAND-ROVER-Range-Rover-...
Of course in reality if used with a decent set of woven basalt socks which can be had for £22.32 for a set of 8 the cost effective £25.00 Bosch HT lead set will almost certainly last a lot lot longer that a year, so understandably for many it may be hard to justify the £130.00 a set for the Accel ceramics
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TriX-6-Titanium-Basalt-...
Finally and just to confuse everyone, I actually use MSD Superconductor HT leads which in my opinion are the very best you can get
Great info Dave, I made my own leads and obtained all the parts from Mr Retro leads on eBay. Really good quality. I have the angled boots and heat socks. My car has never been so smooth. I went over the top a bit and added EMI screening over the top which is earthed at the coilpack end only.
lancelin said:
Great info Dave, I made my own leads and obtained all the parts from Mr Retro leads on eBay. Really good quality. I have the angled boots and heat socks. My car has never been so smooth. I went over the top a bit and added EMI screening over the top which is earthed at the coilpack end only.
Do you have any pics 
I really don't Know how or why but since going Mbe my car runs so much cooler most of the time, gauge reads about the same but everything including exhausts rarely seem as hot, hardly ever hear that cracking sound you get when they cool down anymore.
Plug leads used to be really hot to touch but not anymore, its a conundrum to me but it’s true.
I don’t think the powers supplied plug leads are anything special although they are quality items none the less and other than the manifold heat they seem totally unaffected by heat.
Maybe because they run backwards rather than up and over the top of the engine it has quite an effect. I’ve felt my coil packs after a long run during summer and they were not that hot, I was always suspicious they would be the opposite being placed behind the engine but air seems to get around them much better than I’d expect.
I’ve changed plug leads on nearly every car I’ve owned just as a fail safe but now think i’ll try and make these last 10 years just to prove a point to myself and because I think they are un stressed by heat.
Might buy some just in case but won’t change them until one fails or they are displaying faults as I think I have wasted so much money in the past replacing leads that are in perfect working order so my view on this is it’s easy to go over the top, just buying decent leads and caps in the first place is probably all you need to do.
We need more views on the ceramics over a period of time before we can be sure what we are buying will survive a plug swap but until they are made to fit our plug size I’d rather avoid them, and I don’t need them anyway as I’m not trying to run my car close to blowing up point!
Recommending a product when it’s an incorrect spec without experience using it on a Tvr is no recommendation, people have’nt always got money to burn.
The irony is id love to have them
The powers configuration does make sense - Coil packs and leads further away from the hot stuff. My coilpacks are at the front which is not a great place, they get baking hot and the leads end up a bit long. My leads are 8mm with an extra silicone sleeve which effectively makes them 10.5mm, I then have metal braid over that. They look a little big but I’m happy with them. Reducing emi from the leads can only help and I’m not convinced some after marked ecus are particually immune to external interference. Mine is in a plastic box!! I had some inconsistent running in the past but after the lead screening all is good. I’ll get some pics later. Fingers crossed the good running continues. I’ve also put a custom low noise 12V filter on the ecu 12V line.
Further up this thread there's a member who has been using ceramic leads and happily so. If my car had a misfire or caps that fried I'd buy something to address the issue no matter the cost. If that means just the fancy boots or 'custom' / ceramic then so be it.
I'm not sure why some people think the tvr spark plugs are 'special'. On all my rovers they were a straight forward body shape which is common enough in the US. Millions of US cars run with NGK plugs and boots to suit. The grease would solve the issue of boots sticking. So imo the ceramics do seem a good proposition if you can address the lengths and overcome fitment to 'special' plugs. of course you may not need ceramics and something else may be the cure.
Lots of useful informative stuff in COG's post.
I'm not sure why some people think the tvr spark plugs are 'special'. On all my rovers they were a straight forward body shape which is common enough in the US. Millions of US cars run with NGK plugs and boots to suit. The grease would solve the issue of boots sticking. So imo the ceramics do seem a good proposition if you can address the lengths and overcome fitment to 'special' plugs. of course you may not need ceramics and something else may be the cure.
Lots of useful informative stuff in COG's post.
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