ignition leads

[prevtec]

can somebody tell me what this really means

i bought performance leads, their 10.2mm
i know thats probably the thickness, but how does that benifit the car?

 

[rob1468]

can somebody tell me what this really means

i bought performance leads, their 10.2mm
i know thats probably the thickness, but how does that benifit the car?

From what i can remember the 10.2 is the thickness of the cable , obviously the thicker the better , meaning longitivety of life , least able to break inside the core , and the thickness mean a more consentrated pulse /spark to the distributor meaning a high voltage coil may be used with no loss of voltage supplied /the thinner the cable the likely hood of voltage to leak through and cause burning/arcing of voltage before delivery i think thats how its put lol been a long time since i been to motor vehicle school

 

[prevtec]

so on a peformance level equipped with ngk iridiums, they shouls make a big difference?

 

[prevtec]

you see, i know they should make a difference, but im banned from driving for 6 months
its also my first time buying theese items, but unfortuatly i cant test it so im looking for reviews on it just making sure i have the right leads

 

[old-git]

The way I see it, water and electricity work in much the same way.

Imagine the wire is a hollow tube through which water has to pass. We all know that the bigger the diameter of the tube, the easier water can pass along it. If you reduce the diameter the only way to get the same amount of water through is to add pressure which will use energy and increase the temperature of the water.

Same thing happens with wire. The smaller the diameter the harder the electrons have to push in order to get through, heating up in the process reducing both the life of the lead and the available energy reaching the spark plug. Also, as electricity will ALWAYS take the easist route to earth, any breakdown in the lead's insulating cover due to overheating will result in the spark jumping to earth via the nearest earthed metal object.

By using thicker wire the electrons can flow more easily and therefore more get to the plug and the lead stays cooler. Thick insulating cover will also reduce the possibility of the spark straying from the straight and narrow.

The more powerful your ignition setup, the thicker the leads have to be.

Thicker leads won't give you more power but they will allow you to use all of the power that you have available.

Does this make any sense?

 

[rob1468]

Also just to add if you are running stock engine with stock coil you should only need normal size leads , as the larger diamiter leads will give you no benefit you will see or know of , most people upgrade to 8mm and above if they have upgraded their ignition setup ie larger high capacity coils and track/race setups , although the leads are of better quality and would last probably longer than stock thats the only benefit you will notice

 

[HDi fun]

There is very little current in the HT side of an igntion system. HT lead thickness is about insulation - you don't need LC-OFC conductors to handle 30kV at no more than 10-100 mA

 

[prevtec]

im not running stock engine, what i mean is

i have a janspeed 4-2-1 header, thats joined on to a decat and then its just a back box
i have ht leads, (obvious with the thread)
ngk iridiums plug
inducktion kit

i suppose theyll help if anything,
they wont do any harm will they?

2q

 

[old-git]

There is very little current in the HT side of an igntion system. HT lead thickness is about insulation - you don't need LC-OFC conductors to handle 30kV at no more than 10-100 mA

Right...Are you saying that the wire thickness is irrelevant?

 

[rob1468]

There is very little current in the HT side of an igntion system. HT lead thickness is about insulation - you don't need LC-OFC conductors to handle 30kV at no more than 10-100 mA

If there is very little current in the ht side , why do they call it the high tensile side , and again if you grab hold of the ht lead you will get a very good kick off the current passing through ??????????????

 

[HDi fun]

If there is very little current in the ht side , why do they call it the high tensile side , and again if you grab hold of the ht lead you will get a very good kick off the current passing through ??????????????

It's the voltage that gives you a belt, not the current.

 

[lutonmatt]

yep high in volts but low in amps

 

[herb]

It's the voltage that gives you a belt, not the current.

i always thought it was the other way round

 

[HDi fun]

It's current that actually causes problems and can kill. You need a potential difference (voltage) to cause current to flow.

A 12 volt car battery does not have enough potential difference between its terminals to cause any significant current to flow through the human body as the body has a high DC resistance. You can prove this by grabbing hold of both terminals of the battery simulataneously. You will feel nothing at all.

But 30,000 volts is enough to overcome the body's resistance and cause a current, albeit a very tiny one, to flow.

The HT (High Tension) side is incapable of delivering more than a couple of millimaps so the chance of being killed is negligible, although such voltages can interfere with the nervous system significantly and a clean strike across the chest COULD cause motor neuron synapses to break down and stop your heart. But you'd have to be very unlucky. The leakage from an insulated lead is not likely to be fatal.