[adamo]

Hi I had a question. Was getting ready to change my old MSD plug wires and was wondering if I used date coded plug wires would they last with a MSD 6al and blaster coil?

[mgarblik]

It depends on the quality of the date coded plug wires, and the boots on the ends of them. Any manufacturer can silk screen some numbers on a wire. For an MSD system to function properly and not cause spark scatter and grounding issues, the plug wires need to be high quality, RESISTOR CORE only. Solid metal core plug wires will cause issues with an MSD. You want a minimum of 200-300 Ohms per foot spark plug cable. The boots need to fit tightly around the wire and not slide easily up and down the wires. You can crutch that situation by sealing the boots to the plug wire with a tiny bead of RTV at that joint. One option for you might be to buy a new set of MSD wires in black color. Then take a clean rag and some lacquer thinner and wipe the wires down. That will wipe off all the writing and numbers from the MSD wires and they will just be black. If you feel you need them date coded, possibly one of the vendors can silk screen a date code on a quality set of wires for you. MSD, Taylor, Moroso, and others I am sure make quality wire sets. An MSD system with the blaster coil will have the potential to produce about triple the secondary voltage of a conventional points system. Around 60 KV vs 20 KV. Good luck with it.

[Schurkey]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

For an MSD system to function properly and not cause spark scatter and grounding issues, the plug wires need to be high quality, RESISTOR CORE only. Solid metal core plug wires will cause issues with an MSD. You want a minimum of 200-300 Ohms per foot spark plug cable.

MSD pushes their "Super Conductor" low-resistance wires pretty hard. Advertised as "50 ohms per foot".

They use a helical (sometimes incorrectly described as "spiral") metal-core. Resistor wires use a "carbon rope" conductor that uses resistance to dramatically reduce spark current, while not affecting spark voltage much. The helical-wound wires use inductance to dramatically reduce spark current, while not affecting voltage much. But everyone thinks that reduced resistance of the helical-wound wire means more power to the spark plug, and the plug wire manufacturer/supplier isn't going to let the secret out willingly.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by Schurkey

MSD pushes their "Super Conductor" low-resistance wires pretty hard. Advertised as "50 ohms per foot".

They use a helical (sometimes incorrectly described as "spiral") metal-core. Resistor wires use a "carbon rope" conductor that uses resistance to dramatically reduce spark current, while not affecting spark voltage much. The helical-wound wires use inductance to dramatically reduce spark current, while not affecting voltage much. But everyone thinks that reduced resistance of the helical-wound wire means more power to the spark plug, and the plug wire manufacturer/supplier isn't going to let the secret out willingly.

I didn't realize their wire was only 50 Ohms per ft. new. Still some resistance there, rather than the 0 ohms of a solid core wire. I have had good luck with their ignition wires. I have found you really don't get into running issues until the wires get above 7-8K Ohms per ft. or ground against something from an insulation failure.