Inliners International Forums General Discussion Electrical Spark plug wire

I know the original spark plug wires for cars in the "old days" were stranded copper
wire, like the old Packard 440 type. There is very little resistance
per foot with that type of wire.

However, with a more modern spark plug wire that has a fine monel wire
wrapped around a fiberglass core, there is more resistance...something
like 1,200 to 1,500 OHMs per foot. (This is a lot less resistance than
all-carbon wires have, however, used by modern computerized/electronic
ignitions)

This resistance, provided by the use of spiraled monel wire, forces
the coil's magnetic field to rise to a higher level before it collapses.

This stronger magnetic field, when it collapses, creates more than
normal voltage, which drives more current across the plug gaps,
increasing the intensity of the spark.

It seems to me the benefits would be a hotter spark, the ability to
run a wider spark plug gap and an improvement in power and economy.

I was wondering if anyone has experimented with breaker point and non-computerized electronic ignitions by switching to this type of wire?

As I understand it the breaker points are the limiting factor as to how much useful voltage you can get. You can have 100k voltages but if there is not enough current it won't be hot enough to ignite the gas. The old saying that it's not the voltage that will kill you it's the amps. The more amps you put across the points the quicker they will burn out. That's why the old capacitive discharge systems and HEI were/are better.

btw The MSD magnetos are differentiated by their amps not voltage. The Top Fuel Nostalgia dragsters run two 44 amp magnetos. The Junior Fuel Nostalgia Dragsters run one 22 amp.

Larry

I'm sure you're right......if the breaker point system could have been improved, I'd think someone would have done it. Guess I'll stick to electronic ignitions and the recommended wiring for them.