Update on Taylor Thundervolt Wire & Bosch Plug Install
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: End of the World NC
Update on Taylor Thundervolt Wire & Bosch Plug Install
First, let me say thanks to those that responded to my earlier inquiry about ways to get to cylinder 8 without killing yourself. As suggested, there probably is no really easy way, and I ended up with my best shot coming in from underneath.
With that said, for others who are still fairly new to this, I thought I'd drop a quick update on the installation of a new set of Taylor Thundervolt wires into my '96 LT1. Other than Cylinder 8 & 5 being a real pain in the knuckle to get to, the wires went on smoothly and a with a bit better fit than I originally thought they'd have. At first I thought maybe the front wires were too short, but after comparing them to the original wires I found they were just right.
I won't go into any detail on the actual installation other than to say that you should plan on a lot of time twisting yourself into different positions. The "book" says it should be a 2.5 hour job, but remember that's for someone with experience and who has done it before. This is the first set of plugs/wires I've changed on a late C4 model, so I went nice and slow in order to reduce the chance of screwing it all up. I took just over 4 hours to get the job done. Some of that time was spent shooting the breeze with a neighbor, though.
A lot of folks are fans of the Delco wires, and I understand their reasons. But I wanted something that was a little more performance oriented. The Taylors had really good reviews and the price was right. I bought then onsale and the price ended up about $15 more than the OEM size Delco wires. I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable on here can explain why the bigger wire (8.2mm) is better, so I'll leave that up to them. For me, it was really more about wanting a wire that had a lifetime warranty and was a quality product.
One reason I chose to replace the wires was that I was getting a P0308 code, and as it turns out the original wires were pretty much at the end of their life span. I used my Service Manual to help run down the potential causes, and as suggested checking wires/plugs is right toward the top of list of things to do. Since the car has only 48k miles on it, and since I didn't want to take a chance that I'd have to replace them both later anyway, I decided to just go ahead and buy new plugs/wires at the outset. I'm glad I did.
I also spent the few extra $$ to buy a set of spark plug wire removal pliers. Knowing that I would be working in a tight space made this purchase worthwhile, and as it turned out the tool probably saved me some headache.
As recommended, I changed the wire/plug one at a time, making sure to replace the wire with the new one as I worked so as to avoid confusion and mismatching them along the way. Again, because this is such a tight space to work in, I can see how easy it would be to get a couple wires crossed, especially when working on the 3 & 5 cylinder area and around the Optispark connections.
The #8 plug was only slightly more worn than the other plugs, and I figure this was probably from the the misfire in the last few hundred miles. The #8 wire also seemed very lose at the joint between the wire and actual connector. I haven't torn it apart (may do that later) to see if there is actual damage, but from the feel of it I'm guessing that it's either burned through or has been shaken lose over time. Just a guess, mind you.
Once I got the new plugs in (Bosch) and the wires on the difference was very noticeable. Since I'm not a tech guy, and I don't claim to be an expert mechanic, I'll keep my comments to what I felt pretty staright forward.
Startup was about what I was getting originally when I bought the car (before the code). It's alway skicked over on first bump, so there was no real change there.
The difference I have seen is in the way the car seems to accelerate better, especially in the 2000 to 3500 RPM range. When the code originally showed up there was no real difference in ride. I was 200 miles from home, and once I looked it up I decided to drive home rather than go to a local shop. As I got closer to home, though, the misfire started to become more noticeable. By the time I had about 200 miles on it the problem was clear, and at idle you could actually feel it misfire fairly easily.
Now that the new wires/plugs are in place I'm hoping to get a chance to test out the mileage I got as well. The first few tanks after I bought the car gave me about 26+ miles per gallon on the highway, and after the code I saw that drop to about 22. So maybe this weekend I'll get a chance to run a half-tank of gas through it and see.
With that said, for others who are still fairly new to this, I thought I'd drop a quick update on the installation of a new set of Taylor Thundervolt wires into my '96 LT1. Other than Cylinder 8 & 5 being a real pain in the knuckle to get to, the wires went on smoothly and a with a bit better fit than I originally thought they'd have. At first I thought maybe the front wires were too short, but after comparing them to the original wires I found they were just right.
I won't go into any detail on the actual installation other than to say that you should plan on a lot of time twisting yourself into different positions. The "book" says it should be a 2.5 hour job, but remember that's for someone with experience and who has done it before. This is the first set of plugs/wires I've changed on a late C4 model, so I went nice and slow in order to reduce the chance of screwing it all up. I took just over 4 hours to get the job done. Some of that time was spent shooting the breeze with a neighbor, though.
A lot of folks are fans of the Delco wires, and I understand their reasons. But I wanted something that was a little more performance oriented. The Taylors had really good reviews and the price was right. I bought then onsale and the price ended up about $15 more than the OEM size Delco wires. I'm sure some of the more knowledgeable on here can explain why the bigger wire (8.2mm) is better, so I'll leave that up to them. For me, it was really more about wanting a wire that had a lifetime warranty and was a quality product.
One reason I chose to replace the wires was that I was getting a P0308 code, and as it turns out the original wires were pretty much at the end of their life span. I used my Service Manual to help run down the potential causes, and as suggested checking wires/plugs is right toward the top of list of things to do. Since the car has only 48k miles on it, and since I didn't want to take a chance that I'd have to replace them both later anyway, I decided to just go ahead and buy new plugs/wires at the outset. I'm glad I did.
I also spent the few extra $$ to buy a set of spark plug wire removal pliers. Knowing that I would be working in a tight space made this purchase worthwhile, and as it turned out the tool probably saved me some headache.
As recommended, I changed the wire/plug one at a time, making sure to replace the wire with the new one as I worked so as to avoid confusion and mismatching them along the way. Again, because this is such a tight space to work in, I can see how easy it would be to get a couple wires crossed, especially when working on the 3 & 5 cylinder area and around the Optispark connections.
The #8 plug was only slightly more worn than the other plugs, and I figure this was probably from the the misfire in the last few hundred miles. The #8 wire also seemed very lose at the joint between the wire and actual connector. I haven't torn it apart (may do that later) to see if there is actual damage, but from the feel of it I'm guessing that it's either burned through or has been shaken lose over time. Just a guess, mind you.
Once I got the new plugs in (Bosch) and the wires on the difference was very noticeable. Since I'm not a tech guy, and I don't claim to be an expert mechanic, I'll keep my comments to what I felt pretty staright forward.
Startup was about what I was getting originally when I bought the car (before the code). It's alway skicked over on first bump, so there was no real change there.
The difference I have seen is in the way the car seems to accelerate better, especially in the 2000 to 3500 RPM range. When the code originally showed up there was no real difference in ride. I was 200 miles from home, and once I looked it up I decided to drive home rather than go to a local shop. As I got closer to home, though, the misfire started to become more noticeable. By the time I had about 200 miles on it the problem was clear, and at idle you could actually feel it misfire fairly easily.
Now that the new wires/plugs are in place I'm hoping to get a chance to test out the mileage I got as well. The first few tanks after I bought the car gave me about 26+ miles per gallon on the highway, and after the code I saw that drop to about 22. So maybe this weekend I'll get a chance to run a half-tank of gas through it and see.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 123
Likes: 0
From: End of the World NC
I was, now they are gone
Drove the car another 18 months, or so, and they were good wires. I did not notice any of the issues I had before. Between the wires and new plugs I not only gained the feel of better power but saw some improvement at the pump. I've moved on to a C5 now, and when it's time I'll likely put the same or similar wires on.
