Ohm My God...

90lxwhite

I'm kind of a She-Man
5 Year Member
Aug 25, 2011
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Between the Red and Rio
Ok so I don't buy into manufactures hype that lower ohm plug wires will improve anything I just wish there were some over the parts store counter plug wires that were colored. I guess I could go accel, I have a set of the yellow dudes on the 90 but this go round I'm wanting to go the direct fit route. I'm kinda looking at the Taylor thundervolts (who claim 50 ohms and more hp and tq...)but not sure if I can justify $60 vs like $30 some odd I could spend on part store wires just to get red wires. Does anyone know the quality of the Taylor's? How well are they insulated, how they hold up over time, how well they fit, etc, etc.
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i have the street thunders, black, 90deg boots, cut-to-length set, and they seem ok. went together pretty easy, and i havent melted one yet (has been a constant problem for me with my gt40p/bbk shorty setup, but i also threw a set of boot protectors on with em). i also had an equivalant msd set, and im liking the taylors more, BUT, i also got a taylor cap and rotor at the same time and theyre absolute junk, fit was so loose on the rotor that it would not hardly get past about 3000rpm, swapped back to the msd cap/rotor i had and no problem.
 
I had a set of Taylor wires and they would not stay on the plugs, there were several times when I'd have to pull over and put a wire back on the plug. Best set of wires I've ever had was a set of msd superconductors, it took years for my header to melt one even with the wire laying directly against it all that time. Ford Motorsport are good too.
 
Ok so I don't buy into manufactures hype that lower ohm plug wires will improve anything I just wish there were some over the parts store counter plug wires that were colored. I guess I could go accel, I have a set of the yellow dudes on the 90 but this go round I'm wanting to go the direct fit route. I'm kinda looking at the Taylor thundervolts (who claim 50 ohms and more hp and tq...)but not sure if I can justify $60 vs like $30 some odd I could spend on part store wires just to get red wires. Does anyone know the quality of the Taylor's? How well are they insulated, how they hold up over time, how well they fit, etc, etc.
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You are correct, but probably not for the reasons you might think.
Resistance in DC circuits like the battery/alternator powered devices in your cars are more efficient when the wiring connected to them has low resistance.
However...
The high voltage coming out of the ignition coil isn't DC, but AC, and a whole different bunch of different rules apply. Resistance in an AC circuit has three components instead of just one in DC circuits. An AC circuit has the basic resistance to the flow of current, just like a DC circuit. There are two other factors which affect the flow of electricity in AC circuits: Inductance and capacitance. Resistance in AC circuits is called impedance and is also measured in ohms.

The resistance in a circuit will have a low value when DC/ohms measurements are taken.
When AC is applied to the same circuit, there will be more impedance than resistance. This is due to the factors of inductance and capacitance in the circuit. This is especially true when there is a coil of wire as part of the circuit. The coil will have more opposition to change of the AC current than a piece of straight wire. Inductance is the reason for this opposition to change in an AC circuit.

Taylor wires use a technique that dates back to the 1940’s aircraft engines. The magnetos and spark plug wiring generated electrical interference in the aircraft radios and navigation equipment. The engineers came up with spiral wound nichrome wire for spark plug wires. The spiral wound wire was an inductor that reduced the electrical interference that interfered with the radio and navigational equipment. The resistance of the wire was only a few ohms, but the impedance was much higher.

Taylor does the same trick: they use the DC ohms resistance figure in their advertising. What they don’t tell you is the impedance of the wire which has a greater effect on the spark size and intensity than the resistance of the wire. There probably is very little difference in the spark size and intensity between a spiral wound spark plug wire and a common carbon impregnated fiber wire.
 
You are correct, but probably not for the reasons you might think.
Resistance in DC circuits like the battery/alternator powered devices in your cars are more efficient when the wiring connected to them has low resistance.
However...
The high voltage coming out of the ignition coil isn't DC, but AC, and a whole different bunch of different rules apply. Resistance in an AC circuit has three components instead of just one in DC circuits. An AC circuit has the basic resistance to the flow of current, just like a DC circuit. There are two other factors which affect the flow of electricity in AC circuits: Inductance and capacitance. Resistance in AC circuits is called impedance and is also measured in ohms.

The resistance in a circuit will have a low value when DC/ohms measurements are taken.
When AC is applied to the same circuit, there will be more impedance than resistance. This is due to the factors of inductance and capacitance in the circuit. This is especially true when there is a coil of wire as part of the circuit. The coil will have more opposition to change of the AC current than a piece of straight wire. Inductance is the reason for this opposition to change in an AC circuit.

Taylor wires use a technique that dates back to the 1940’s aircraft engines. The magnetos and spark plug wiring generated electrical interference in the aircraft radios and navigation equipment. The engineers came up with spiral wound nichrome wire for spark plug wires. The spiral wound wire was an inductor that reduced the electrical interference that interfered with the radio and navigational equipment. The resistance of the wire was only a few ohms, but the impedance was much higher.

Taylor does the same trick: they use the DC ohms resistance figure in their advertising. What they don’t tell you is the impedance of the wire which has a greater effect on the spark size and intensity than the resistance of the wire. There probably is very little difference in the spark size and intensity between a spiral wound spark plug wire and a common carbon impregnated fiber wire.
So in laymens terms... Do I want em or no?