Which plug wires to use?
 

Hey everyone,

I'm doing a bit of a tune up on my '92 C2, everything except the valve adjust which my mechanic is doing. I don't think the plug wires have been replaced in 11 years, so I'd really like to get a new set in there. My mechanic told me that most aftermarket sets do not work well at all because they don't have the right resistances and that it's really hard to beat what Porsche designed. That being said, I haven't been able to find OEM wires anywhere. I noticed Pelican sells aftermarket "heavy duty" wires, and a lot of places sell the firebraid plug wires... I just thought I'd ask what everyone here recommends.

Thanks,
Andrew

I and a number of others on this board run the Magnacor wires. Pelican sells them.

I'm using the Magnacors. I have been running them for about 4 months, and am happy with the quality overall. I was told from a few people that the firebraid are not very good.

My HD aftermarkets gave up after 6 months. The price was not an indication of quality. Meaning they were still $$$.

Granted, my runs are in high heat, high speed enviorment.

But am shopping for new wires nontheless.

Kurt,
How long have you been running the Magnecors? I'm hoping for a wire set that will last about 5 years, 6 months is definitely something I'm not interested in.

Also, do you know how much Pelican charges for them? Their website just mentions them, it doesn't give any prices or even a way to order them.

For my car '86 Carrera, they run $162.50. Had them on for a couple of years and they still look new. Rubber caps are still supple. Not sure if they make them for your year or not.

I agree that the Magnacors ar the way to go, but last I checked they don't have a kit for the 964/993 enfgines. You'll have to piece together your own kit.

From Magnecor:

"Spark plug wire sets for Porsche 911:
Starting in early 1999 we will be expanding our line of wire sets for Porsche engines. Specifically, we will now supply sets in our R-100 10mm cable for most Porsche 911 models. This will apply to all 911 models (except 3.6 engines), 911 Turbo (930) and 914-6. Please inquire if you are interested."

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Can you buy single Magnecor wires? Replacement connectors?

I use the OEM wires with the SS braid removed. When a connector begins to act up, I replace that. When a wire misbehaves, I replace that.

You can buy all of their products (Wires, connectors, boots etc) seperately or have them build a custom set for you. It's all outlined in their PDF catalog.

Scroll down to "Download Magnecor Documents"
http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/main.htm

If doing a custom setup I'd contact them as it seems EMI can reak havoc on your application. Perhaps this is why a 3.6 product is not available.

Thanks for the info guys. I'm not sure what to do though. I know the OEMs are really expensive, and I would imagine a custom set from Magnacore would be pretty expensive too. I think I'm just going to try to find the nicest readily available aftermarket kit that I can find. I think I remember seeing AJUSA having a nice set. I'll get in touch with Magnacore and see what they say, but depending on the price I don't think it'll be worth the trouble. If anyone knows of any good wires available for the C2/4s please let me know.

I'm going to warn against aftermarket ignition wires, as some have also done above. For the Porsche, or any other modern car. Our ignition systems will FRY cheap wires and connectors. If you want to spend your money efficiently, be real careful about aftermarket ignition wires.

Except..the factory OEM Beru connectors are notorious for bad wet weather operation. Magnacors have better connectors and are more waterproof.
BTW..IMHO..the 8.5 and 10 mm wires are more hype than I like...and 7's would work fine for me ( '85 3.2) without having to modify the wire holders. Doesn't Magnacor make 7's ?
---Wil Ferch

Wil,
According to their literature they increase the size from factory on several applications because of EMI problems. It doesn't seem to be straight swap.
That's why I suggest any interested party to call the Magnecor technical department.

And can't the Beru connectors be reused on new wires if the diameter is the same?

Until I get Tech support from Magnacor, I would wonder why 8.5 or 10 would be better for EMI....if we don't know the core diameter differences. for all we know, they're the same. Much cheaper to add insulation thickness only !
My other point is that I specifically *don't * want to reuse the Beru connectors....
---Wil Ferch