SPARKO wires...

[mronions]

Hey all,....
I just installed the new wires, and was just wondering if since we as a club have purchased so many, perhaps we could provide the SPARKCO company with some critical analysis of their product,... ie, constructive criticism to further improve the product for our cars and cement our relationship with them as a club supporter.

One question I had about the wires was that I noticed the rubber bootie doesn't fit very well,... it's not nearly as snug as the stock rubber bootie.  Will this lead to moisture getting in there easier?...Is this something we need to remedy with a "homebrew" fix?
Whataya think?

[YP5 Toronto]

agreed, I don't liek the boot fit. I was thinking of some sorta fix myselfs...maybe small thin black wire tires?

[Bumble G]

Is it too early to ask how good they preform. I was always told unless the stock wires are realy crappy you won't really notice a diff on a normaly asperated engine.

Has fuel economy gone up??

[CarDemon]

I'm awaiting the critical analysis of the members that bought them and installed them. How does it work with the 5spd proteges. Acceleration characteristics and fuel economy too please!!!

[323F~SW]

my major concern is also the boot fit, and for me, it is of current concern.

over the past two days, I've taken the opportunity to give my car a good cleaning, inside, outside and under the hood.
I just used simple green on the engine. Let it sit, and rinse it off. I wasn't using a high power sprayer so I didn't worry about covering up the ignition housings, just covered up the air filter so I didn't wash any of the oil off.
BIG mistake.

Because of the loose boot fit, I ended up getting water in my ignition (and believe me, the water pressure barely amounted to a sprinkle). I was misfiring, having real problems with idling, and power was WAY down.

I've dried it out as best I can, and am confident that the rest will evaporate relatively quickly. It's just annoying. Right now I'm waiting for my computer to reset so I can get the stupid check engine light to go off.

I could've saved myself a bit of trouble by covering everything up properly, but Sparkco could've save ME the trouble by manufacturing boots that fit!

Oh well, I will know for next time, and now, so will you!

[EvolutionIV]

...yes, i noticed that the boot didn't fit that well....i am just worried about using plastic ties. Cause that area faces varied temperature ranges....it gets pretty hot there...

Any suggestions?

Evo.

[323F~SW]

I was thinking of either using a silicon seal around the opening, or fashioning some sort of rubber gasket to fit around the nozzle and seal up the connection.
I think I like the gasket idea better since it is easier to remove and access the fittings if need be.

I'll let you know how it goes...

[firefly]

Just wanna see if you guys got the ones with round rubber boot or square rubber boot.

My first set came with square rubber boot and it's defective (the metal crimp came off the wire). I took it back for a new set and this time I got a set with round rubber boot. I find the fit (both the boot and the crimp) are way better than the first set I had.

[mronions]

YIKES! http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

Yeah,... that's what I was afraid of happening, 323F~SW
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Because of the loose boot fit, I ended up getting water in my ignition (and believe me, the water pressure barely amounted to a sprinkle). I was misfiring, having real problems with idling, and power was WAY down.
[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

I was poking around in my toolbox and found some stainless steel wire, that might do the trick as a heavy duty twist tie and crimp the boot tighter, but adding a silicon sealer or rubber gasket would probably be necessary too.... the gap around the boot fit area is quite large with the wires I recieved. It's gonna look pretty ghetto though. Maybe I can cover it all up with some hockey tape,.... noboby will notice that.

Why are there differences in the wire design,... is it NEW-modified stock as compared with OLD stock,...? I'm confused.

[mronions]

I found a possible solution at Canadian Tire... it's called &quot;EXTREME TAPE&quot;.
It's a high temperature black tape that seals only to itself and forms a permanent air &amp; water tight seal....

any thoughts?

[ChopstickHero]

yes, this is also a concern for me too. the stock rubber boots fit so firm that they're almost hard to take off. this is not the case for the Sparkco wires. Instead, they are very loose and will possibly allow the the buildup of moisture and dirt. Simple solution for now? Zip tie them tightly. i have zip ties all over my engine and they haven't melted, so i assume it's safe to use them in this application. Silicon sealant may be useful, but just becareful not get any under the boot.

Other than that, I find that my idle is somtimes 400rpm instead of the usual 600rpm. the revs are smoother and the hesitation when I blip the throttle has decreased. as for increased gas mileage? not really sure b/c it's really hard to tell, but i did go to around 520km on my last tank with the wires (my norm is about 480-490km).

I don't mind writing a formal letter to Sparkco telling them our constructive criticism. so please keep posting them here and i'll accumulate them in a week or so and post a draft letter.

[cruisinblackp5]

Is everyone having fitment issues wit hjust the square ones or the round ones too? Round ones looked like a good fit. That is why the other brands are so much more expensive maybe.

[7plymaple]

The boots for the 1.6 dont event touch the cam cover! They are too tall. http://msg.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif I have no seal at all. Im ripping those things out for the winter. I might try making my own seals on the lathe but I havent even gotten arround to my urathane exaust hangers yet.

[jali-p5]

i too have found the boot to fit quite poorly.......i'm taking a look at the stock wires and seeing if it is possible to change the square boot with the stock boot's which fit better......i haven't run into too much problems yet, but having said that i haven't washed my engine in a while as many ppl who've seen my engine can contest to.........

as for the performance, i notice that the idling is a lot smoother and the acceleration is better, a lot more stable than the stock wires.........but it still doesn't compensate for such poor worksmanship around the boot........i think that Sparkco got us good with these wires..........

[ChopstickHero]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (jali-p5 @ Oct. 16 2002,11:20)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">......i think that Sparkco got us good with these wires..........[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
LOL ..... group RETURN? hahah... jk

[jali-p5]

oh yeah, and i've come across a couple times where the idling moved from about 800RPM and dropped to nearly 200RPM, sputtered a bit and then went back up to around 600RPM, now it's about 600-700RPM all the time........that happened twice........hopefully not any more........

anyone think what this loose boot might do in the winter time especially if there's salt on the road.........just a thought

[MP5Navy]

Zip Ties are cool but you can also get stainless steel plumbing clamps. I should do this before I pull a 'farmside dave' on my engine bay - god knows I love to keep my engine clean.

[Silvermp5]

I got my wires yesterday from Ed, Thanks by the way.

I think they are poorly made, especially that I can just nudge the wire and it comes loose, I am thinking of making some sort of mod using the stock boot. If you use zip ties or stainless plumbing ties, they might look getto. If anybody is in to do a group return, then I am in, I think 60.00 was too much for the poor workmanship on these wires, maybe they are not made for the protege!!!

Performance wise, I did notice a quicker throttle response, quicker accelaration, my car is auto. My idle is the same as it was before, around 700 rpm.

I don't think it was worth the money but I have to test it this weekend.

[gujustud]

Yeah wires are made crappy. When I called Sparcko (spoke with Peter) he said that they were designed differently, and NOT suppose to fit tight inside the valve cover? What gives...

My rant with my wires: http://www.mpsport.net/forums/read.php?TID=465

[mronions]

Oh,... I really like the idea of my loose-fitting wires now,.... I didn't realize this before, but it adds a whole new dimension to the excitement factor of driving around and never knowing when those suckers are going to pop off and leave you sputtering in the middle of some railway tracks,....... chooo chooooooooo...........