Would plugs and wires be recommended for an 03 C5 that’s still running on the original set? The car in question has only 13k miles and runs like a top but I was just curious what other people’s opinions are on it. Thanks

 

If it runs good, I sure wouldn't replace that stuff, no point spending money you don't need to.
When you start noticing some mild misfires, maybe then.

 

The original plugs are good for 100,000 miles. You have LOTS of use left. Leave them be.

 

If it ain't broke I would not fix it. The wires are fine.

 

As long as it runs good follow the manual. Let them ride.

 

Thanks for all the replies. I guess I’ll hold off on doing them.

 

I have a low mile car. It might not hurt to change them. The LS is hard on wires and the factory ones can get brittle.

I went to remove mine and they came apart.

I put on Summit Racing LS wires. 8mm and I think are made by Taylor. Good price. The heat is hard on wires as is age.

 

What I recommend is find a quality set. Do your research. And then stick them under a seat or in some kinda weather proof bag in the trunk or w/e so you have them for the day when the engine starts to misfire. It only takes a couple minutes to swap them out and you'll be glad you have them when that day comes, instead of limping home with a misfiring engine doing permanent damage to the cyl walls washing down oil with raw fuel unburnt and an unbalanced engine. This way you get the max life from your existing wires and keep your brand new set at 0 miles un-used for the remaining lifespan.

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sum-867828r

You can easily afford LS plug wires. They are cheap. You are driving a Corvette not a Chevette. So you should be able to afford to take care of your car if there are any questions on things like this.

These wires are in different colors and even longer 15" length if you are using a taller valve cover or moved the coils.

When it comes to plug wires many come from the same source and just have different names or boots added.

I have had these on for 3 years and no issues. They are taking the heat well and even used the factory sleeves covers. The factory ones can get brittle from heat and will break when you remove them or stick to the plug in some cases. I have changed many C6-5 wires and often they are abused by the heat.

 

I Have a 98 that I purchased new. I don’t remember exactly how many years it has been but I changed plugs and wires because of age. I have 54000 on it now, the change happened at around 40000. I was concerned again with the age and what might be how difficult it could be to remove the plugs. I used iridium plugs and GM red performance wires. Not an expensive upgrade.

 

Good decision.

 

I personally run Taylor 409 wires on both my c5z and my c6z. I agree with Kingtal0n though, If you're not going to swap them out now, having a good set on hand for when they do need changed out is good insurance.

 

They weigh so little and take up so little space. Same thing with a fuel pump cover - I carry a walbro wrapped in foam and bagged in the door pocket. I've got a spare coil in the glove box. I keep a spare old known working used crankshaft sensor in the center console. I keep a mighty maxx 4lbs? AGM cell battery powerful enough to jump any vehicle under the seat. A 1/4", 1/8"npt plug, and oil pressure sender hardware in the center console also. Theres of course a small assortment of ideal selection tools in the trunk with the spare if I carry I spare (ironically I sometimes leave the spare out for local driving as I always carry a small tire pump and plugs for tire repair) such as 10mm, spark plug, extensions etc... with each highway-side job planned in advance and the tools needed to do it quickly. I even label the wrenches by color sometimes for specific use.

You can fix almost anything on the side of a road short of a wheel bearing, head gasket, serious transmission or differential failure.
I've personally never been stuck, even having all of those types of failures, in every one of them I was lucky enough to be able to tell the transmission has an issue, the diff has some issue, by the noises it makes, allowing me time to limp it home. Especially wheel bearings which tend to complain months in advance.

 

Tune-up related items are include air filter, plug wires, plugs, pcv valve, hoses, belt, oil/lube for the engine/chassis's various exposed metals. Oil change and filter obviously in its own categorical maintenance.


Associated maintenance practices include intake system pressure testing and crankcase pressure testing. These are more advanced maintenance measurements with respect to the percentage of individuals even aware they exist. Air filters cannot do their job if there is any air leak past the filter, and turbocharged engines suffer high EGT/EGP whenever there is any boost leak, which can ruin the engine. Pressure testing is an extremely important aspect of high performance maintenance. The same is said for high mileage daily driver capable engines with respect to crankcase pressure. Having it measured at 0.8"Hg to 2.2"Hg something in that rough range is necessary to protect the engine rotating assembly from combustion gas products, which dramatically extends engine lifespan by a ridiculous amount when the engine has modern computer aided design (ex. 89+Nissan/Toyota / 02+Chevrolet) assembled as is from the factory.

 

If you are buying wires just change them. There may be no car easier to change them on.

The other thing is most wires are produced by only a small number of companies. They can build to spec and sell to the MFGs who put on their own boots etc.

Even companies like Taylor will put together kits that are sold under other names. Most name brand wires are good quality and do a good job.

Some key things. Don't go bigger wires than needed. Mot here will never need more than 8MM. Avoid steel braided wires. They need grounded and are more trouble than they are worth.
Make sure to use dielectric grease.
On the LS plugs use the metal shields for heat.
Get a good pair of Crimper plyers and learn how to make your own wires. Good skill to have. The trick is to have a good wire stripper and plyers to crimp.

 

I also did mine because when i would run it hard it would through a misfire code. On removal of the plugs one have obviously been dropped and damaged at the factory and installed anyway. Car always ran fine otherwise. At around 40000 before they were changed out, started to get a vibration. no problem since.

 

Why create a problem when you don’t have a problem!

 

Why create a problem when you can prevent it.

We are just plugging in new wires for 25 year old baked wires. even a novice owner with no tools can do it too.

This is the same reason why we change oil before it fails too.

 

Apples and oranges.

 

I agree, not only do the wires deteriorate. The plugs after all those years do become a problem removing. They can
seize up. Not that they are bad, but in my case I plan on keeping this car and don’t want a bigger problem down the road.