RX-8 vs 350z vs Evo Track Test Timings

Car & Driver’s Lightning Lap comparision test (their version of the Nurburgring benchmark) The test is on the Virginia International Raceway – 4.2 mile road course. Here are some of the results:

LL1 (under 30K)
car best lap time (min:secs) peak speed (mph) max lateral g

1) 350Z Track 3:12.5, 124.3, 0.9
2) Evo MR 3:13.5, 124, 0.94
3) RX-8 3:19.0, 116.4, 0.86
4) Cobalt SS – 3:20.6, 117.1, 0.85
5) Mustang GT – 3:20.9, 119.3, 0.88
6) GTI – 3:25.1, 112.0, 0.82
7) Civic Si – 3:26.5, 111.6, 0.80
8) MX-5 – 3:29.3, 108.6, 0.83

Rugrats (the cartoon) makes underwear?

Not a conventional post on RXReviews but i just couldn’t help it! Check out the Rugrats underwear below – one of gfoo’s mates on a recent trip to Bangkok

 

http://leinadnat.blogspot.com/ wrote: What do you get when you put 8 guyz & a gal at the Songkran festival in Bangkok with loads of Alcohol??

A Drunken Water Festival Orgy! 🙂
Angel-Mystical succintly captures the fun experience we all had in her blogspace! Nevertheless, these priceless pictures paint a thousand words!

Check out the Rugrats underwear!!! It’s a bit sexier than the one Tommy’s wearing

Knight Sports RX-8 ECU Remap Review

The folks from Knight Sports Japan came down to Singapore end-April to do a series of supercharging, and ECU remapping for NA cars. According to Knight Sports, this was what you would get for your money:

Light tune = $750 (US$495)
– Speed cut
– Fan control to lower water temp

Basic tune = $1200 (US$790)
– Speed cut
– Fan control to lower water temp
– Ignition timing
– Smoothen pitch graph

According to Rei, who was one of the first to have his ECU remapped: “Horsepower gains are marginal but u will definitely be able to feel it if ur already on the knightsports muffler…exhaust note sounds slightly different (bassier if i’m not wrong), the whole car feels more responsive, rev climbs are smoother instead of the more unstable climb before…Difference in oil temp is ard 2-3 degree celcius, difference in water temp shld be slightly higher up to 5 degree clecius (estimated)

Most importantly for me, after several mods, the car is starting to feel very raw…The ultra smooth characteristic of the rotary engine is starting to fade away…But right after the tuning, the smooth feel of the rotary came back…When I was
driving home last nite, it actually feels like the very 1st time when I got my car…Super smooth…

Ride: JDM 6spd mt
Actual gains: 6-7ps or 12-13ps (wif the Knight Sports muffler)
Rating: Most bang for buck mod that offers the most horsepower gains for the
most minimal spending…(Better if u have the Knight Sports muffler)

EZ-Stab now in different flavors (and colors); including a new Extreme model

The guys at Auto Ennovations have launched different flavours / variants of their original EZ-Stab product including an ‘Extreme’ version that claims: “Using military grade components, EZ-Extreme is a high specification revision of the EZ-Stab. It has been proven to increase performance by up to 5HP*.
EZ-Extreme has the additional capability of upgrading the audio sound quality of any in-car-entertainment system (I.C.E).”

Also coming in a see-thru red ABS plastic case, it looks exactly identical to the base EZ-Stab model except for a new black and red wire combination. RXReviews received a unit Friday night and we will be posting our preview of how it works out pretty soon. This time, we’ll be testing it not only on an 8, but a stock WRX, and a souped up FI Corolla.

So is the new EZ-Extreme ready for primetime? I’ve already got some results out from test runs Fri and Sat, but I’ll reserve judgement till a bit later when I get some clarification on certain issues.

BTW Auto Ennovations also released a ‘Lite’ version of the EZ-Stab for those with much shallower pockets. It comes with a beautiful see-thru grey casing, which in my opinion should have been used for the EZ-Extreme for some differentiation. Then again on closer inspection of the pix, it seems to be recolored photoshop of the red EZ-Stab instead of an actual product shot.

One way power is maximized is thru optimizing air/fuel ratios/ignition timings and that can only be done from the ECU via a piggyback or a reflash.

The second way is to ensure that power to the ignition coils is consistent, and noise free. The 8 – like most modern cars – have built in transistors in the ignition coil that prevent any spikes past the rated voltage of 12v and a 3.5v trigger voltage. Supply for the coils in OEM condition may not be entirely optimum as the same source is used to power a myriad of devices including ICE. What many electrical mods do is to provide line conditioning to maintain stability during power distribution.

The third way is to lighten the load from the engine power-robbing alternator. Some 8s as well as many other cars invest in lightweight, underdriven pulleys to shift power back to the engine. Underdrivens have been proven to improve performance somewhat, but with a side effect of having less available power for ICE and other in-car stuff.

So what exactly does the EX-Stab do? seems to me like it has some capacitance function; a line conditioner, and something that minimizes work done by the power-losing alternator. We shall see…

Reuters: Singapore restricts debate on ministers’ pay

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — Singapore has banned seven foreigners, including three members of the European Parliament, from speaking at an opposition party debate on Friday on a big pay hike for ministers and civil servants.

The government said this week that ministers and senior civil servants would enjoy a 60 percent pay increase, giving them an average salary of S$1.9 million ($1.25 million).

The prime minister’s pay is set to jump to S$3.1 million — five times what the president of the United States earns.

The announcement has drawn widespread criticism from ordinary Singaporeans given the country’s widening income gap and the fact the city-state’s ministers were already among the highest-paid in the world.

The police told the Singapore Democratic Party it could not hold a public forum on Friday to discuss the increases, and the immigration authority rejected applications for professional visit passes for the seven foreigners the SDP invited to speak.

“Singapore’s politics are reserved for Singaporeans. As visitors to our country, foreigners should not abuse their privilege by interfering in our domestic politics,” the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement issued on its Web site late on Thursday.

“Foreigners who abuse the privileges that Singapore accords to guests and visitors, and meddle in Singapore’s domestic politics, are not welcome here,” the Ministry said.

The barred speakers include European parliament members Graham Watson of the United Kingdom, Anders Samuelsen of Denmark, and Lydie Polfer of Luxembourg, a former deputy prime minister of that country.

Under Singapore’s Public Entertainments and Meetings Act, public speaking is generally prohibited unless it has been licensed by the government.

Singaporeans who wish to speak indoors do not need to be licensed, but forums featuring foreign speakers require a permit, the ministry said.

Chee Siok Chin, sister of party leader Chee Soon Juan and a senior party member herself, said the SDP would go ahead with the forum with local speakers.

“You have this autocratic government coming down and showing utter disrespect for our international peers. I’m ashamed,” she said on Friday.

She said the seven foreigners barred from speaking at the forum are currently in Singapore.

According to the SDP Web site, Chee Soon Juan plans to speak at the forum and rebut remarks made by Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s first prime minister, about the ministers’ pay hike.

Lee said earlier this week that Singapore should pay ministers competitive wages because the city-state needs an “extraordinary government with extraordinary government officers”.

Drifting 101: How to Drift Basics

Drifting with Manual Rear Wheel Drive

1. Find a car with both rear-wheel-drive and a manual transmission.
2. Head to an open area (i.e. an empty parking lot) safely free of pedestrians and motorists.
3. Accelerate and shift to second gear, which allows the widest variance of speed and is best for harnessing the engine’s torque without overly stressing the mechanicals.
4. Push in the clutch to let the engine rev.
5. With the engine revving, flick the steering wheel to the outside of the turn and steer strongly inside toward the turn.
6. Simultaneously release the clutch. If you are uncomfortable with this method of sliding, try pulling the hand brake to further reduce traction(NEVER PULL BRAKE WHILE ACCELERATING. While that wont kill your car initially, it is a bad habit to get into. Don’t start now.)
7. Immediately steer the car in the direction of the slide. You’re drifting!

Drifting with Auto Rear Wheel Drive

1. Find a large, open area.
2. Accelerate to a speed of 35-50kmh (depending on lot size and room)
3. Turn the wheel hard and floor it. You should feel the rear end slide around if this is done correctly. Repeat until comfortable with sliding.
4. Set up a cone in the middle of the lot. Drive up on the cone and turn around the cone. when you begin your turn accelerate hard to get the rear end loose.
5. Counter steer to control where your car will go after turn.(opposite lock)
6. Increase speed until comfortable

• NOTE*
  • If your vehicle of choice doesn’t have enough power read the FWD directions but remember to release hand brake before accelerating.

Drifting with Front Wheel Drive

1. Go to a large, open area.
2. Accelerate then pull the handbrake or use the parking brake, riding it out the first time or two to get over your initial fear.
3. Set up a cone in the middle of the lot.
4. Drive up to it at speed (between 35-50kmh is desired).
5. Hit the brake and turn toward the cone. Immediately after you feel the back end come around, turn to the opposite direction. This is known as opposite lock.
6. Repeat the opposite lock at that speed until you can control your car well. Practice this for at least several weeks regularly until it becomes second nature. (Don’t do this on roadways. It is dangerous to others and can get you fined.)
7. Slowly increase speed until you are proficient in a speed you are comfortable with. Get to know that speed–you should never drift above that speed unless you are practicing.
8. Upgrade. At the same initial speed, flick the steering wheel opposite of the turn and swing it all the way into toward the CONE (not turn, you aren’t ready at this stage). As before, when you feel the rear end come around, go to opposite lock. It takes time and practice to successfully use the Scandinavian flick, especially on under powered cars.

Tips

• No two cars react identically; try to “feel” yours to familiarize yourself with its reactions.
• All wheel drive vehicles can be drifted, but it requires a specific, rather more difficult technique. Keep in mind that there are no rules that can be applied to AWDs because every car is different and more importantly, every AWD system is different. Read about your car, read real articles on it and go talk to people. If they tell you that you must drive rear wheel drive, find someone else.
• In a rear wheel drive vehicle, you don’t need to pull the brake as you improve, but it is often necessary when first learning.
• When looking for an area to learn and practice, a wet or slick surface will be much better for your tyres (hint: after rain lah!)
• This is only a starting point. To do more, you need driving school like RisCulture to teach more than just basic maneuvers and you need driving theory.

Things You’ll Need

• A car with
  • wheels
  • some horsepower(more the easier)
  • tires(slick tires on the rear is good for sliding, but it is bad for street driving)
  • suspension(if you fear body role, tight set up. Try reading up on suspension because you can collapse your rear suspension if you aren’t careful or if you are unlucky)

Preview: Pivot Raizin Spark Earth (Red, Type S)

Have been provided a unit of Pivot Raizin Spark Earth for testing, installed over last weekend. The unit itself is a beautiful, transparent red case that shows innards of a board holding a series of capacitors and a couple of chips. The unit can be installed either via a direct plug-in into the ignition fuse, or a tap into the coil.

Installation on the 8 was easy – i chose the safer alternative via the fuse. Combined with my FEED aftermarket sparkplug cables, i must say that there was a noticeable difference in terms of throttle response, and launch speeds. Acceleration is definitely improved, and is a more linear than before.

Now I’m not too sure that the unit delivers ‘a new approach in voltage stabilizer devices for ignition coils that brings out 100% of your ignition’s performance by providing point blank power to the ignition coil via connection to our specially designed circuitry’ as the manufacturer claims. I believe that the FEED cable does a better job at that. But what i do think that the unit does is help reduce ignition coil pulse noise, resulting in stable, consistent delivery of power which is further accentuated with the FEED.

I’m not going to jump to conclusions until a more exhaustive test is done over a longer period of time, but ‘butt dyno’ -wise, this gets my thumbs up.

For US$80, this is one mod that seems to deliver, what it preaches.

(BTW this doesn’t mean that i’m endorsing the Pivot Raisin Blue, which by my books is what i call a ‘psychological mod’)

RXReviews Tops Google Vertical Searches

Thanks to the support of all of you, RXReviews is now in the top ranges for brand review searches! Just a few of note:

‘RE Amemiya review’ – #1
‘RE Amemiya’ – #10
‘Autoexe review’ – #1
‘Knight Sports review’ – #1
‘EZ-Stab review’ – #3 (in just 2 days!)

We’ll continue to bring you the most unbiased, commercial-free reviews on performance parts for the rotory the best we can! We’ll also be adding a new section called ‘Drift Culture’, which will cover the local/regional drifting scene, articles, and of course, more reviews 🙂 – ed.

AVOID: EZ-Stab / EZ Stab (3rd Gen Red) Review

[Editor’s Note: EZ-Stab will be providing a higher-end version of the unit for testing. Performance cars like the 8 apparently won’t benefit from the standard off-the-shelf types for lower marque cars according to EZ-Stab. We will update this review in due time.]

I really hate to do this – especially to someone as nice as Jon – but I did promise an honest review of his new EZ-Stab Red. Now I’ve been testing, and monitoring performance of the EZ-Stab for some 5 months now, so this isn’t some stab in the dark.

The EZ-Stab unit comes in a see-through, translucent red plastic shell. It’s really big, about the size and thickness of two blackberrys on top of one another. I initially had concerns that with the extreme-heat conditions of the 8’s engine bay, the plastic would melt, or the capacitors within would explode, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

So what is the EZ-Stab? It’s a device, unlike Volt Stabilizers that provides “the benefits of a balanced charging system, one that gives a much more stable voltage while reducing the load on the engine…..(sic) increased engine responsiveness, acceleration and power when such benefits may be easily achieved through a EZ-Stab in the system with no sacrifice of vehicle comfort and vehicle warranty. And for additional value, EZ-Stab also protects the battery and ECU for repeated heavy usage within service life.”

Methodology: Periodically tested and monitored with baseline GTech-Pro, Voltmeter and CANBUS ECU readings taken before installation, recorded fortnightly.

Pros: Nice blinking light; solid ABS plastic construction; hasn’t exploded in extreme heat conditions yet

Cons: It doesn’t work – period.

The EZ-Stab has no effect, positive or negative, on the performance / responsiveness of my ride, nor does it provide more stable voltage when the engine/alternator is on high load (cabin lights/ headlamps still dim as per norm under load, and no difference in my substantial ICE setup). Now I’ve seen tons of compliments and positive testimonials from users, but if you read the forums in-depth, there’ll be 1 bad review for every good one. And the majority of those negative reviews come to the same conclusion as I have – the EZ Stab just doesn’t work.

Jon has a PhD in electrical and power control, and works for one of the biggest electronics manufacturers in the world – there is no doubt that he’s a pretty smart guy with the street cred to back him up. But his claims of ” better understanding (sic) the main reason behind the drain of a car engine’s power – the charging system that continues its charging of batteries when the car engine is running, even when they have been fully charged” – is a bit of a fallacy and myth.

Here’s why: Modern vehicle wiring and ECUs are already designed to operate in a harsh electrical environment. They cope with conditions from maybe 8V starting with a nearly-flat battery to 16V on a boost charge, and with electrical interference from mobile telephones etc, without failure. The ECU runs internally at 5V or even less and is heavily stabilised to ensure the processor runs fault-free at all times. Many modern ECUs repeatedly self-check and would shut down the engine entirely if any kind of fault condition occurred. Overall, it is hard to envisage how a more stable electrical supply could significantly improve engine economy, emissions or performance on a vehicle in good condition.

The suggestion made by some sellers of such products, that the alternator on “unmodified” vehicles is always pushing 1 – 2 kW into the battery (and hence “robbing” the engine of this power) also does not fit. Once the battery is fully charged, the alternator automatically reduces its output (otherwise the continual flow of energy into the battery would cause it to boil and ultimately be destroyed), and the mechanical loading on the engine then drops to a relatively low level – though undoubtedly there is still some power loss. The same goes for any petrol savings.

So in summary, and I’m very sorry to say, EZ-Stab is definitely not worth the $180 Jon’s charging for it. Will be more than happy to receive any comments or quantifiable (not butt dyno) evidence that says otherwise…. Sorry Jon

Mazda Unveils New Rotary Engine; RX-8 Replacement by 2010

Mazda has confirmed it’s working on an all-new rotary engine for 2010.

This second-generation Renesis rotary, with more power and less thirst than today’s unit (as found in the RX-8), is the star act in a new round of Mazda powertrain technologies unveiled last week at a business conference in Tokyo.

Mazda said it also plans to introduce a new automatic transmission with improved fuel efficiency and “performance comparable to that of a manual transmission” beginning in about 2010.

As it reaffirms its commitment to rotary technology, Mazda will also begin leasing a Premacy (Japan’s version of the Mazda 5) with a hydrogen rotary hybrid in 2008 and launch a full production model using this Mazda-designed system by 2010.

Further ahead, Mazda also has an all-new hydrogen rotary engine with power equivalent to a 3.0-liter gasoline engine and a range of some 250 miles under development.

This reaffirms previous reports that a redesign would come in early 2009 as a 2010 model – a two-seat coupe was once evaluated but deemed too expensive to develop for the incremental volume it would produce. With the Mazda Kabura concept also slated for 2010 – is this a hint towards how the future development of the RX-8 replacement would look like?

New 2008 Impreza WRX Surfaces

I’ll let the pix do all my talking, but essentially – YUCKS

RUMOR: D1 Professional Series Coming To Singapore

Overshadowed by news on Singapore’s F1 bid, its much smaller, but flashier Japanese cousin the D1 professional series seems to be heading down to sunny Singapore sometime towards the 4th quarter of Singapore. The founding organizers including Singapore drift kings, D1 Japan and private investors are cooking up something, and it seems that D1 arriving in Singapore is looking more and more like a firm possiblity.

UPDATE: MM Singapore Succeeds In Restricting JDM 6MT Imports

As recently reported, seems like Mazda Japan has folded under the immense pressure from MM Singapore – there will be a moratoriam on shipments from May/June onwards for JDM-spec 6MTs. Sold primarily through parallel importers in Singapore, the JDM 6MTs are some 20% cheaper than Euro-spec 6MTs sold by MM Singapore, and are up to 16bhp more powerful as the Euro vehicles are detuned for emissions.

Mark Webber Completes Singapore Trial F1 Street Circuit at avg 30kmh

Red Bull racing’s Formula One driver Mark Webber drove through Singapore’s proposed street circuit this morning and declared that he and his fellow drivers would be looking forward to driving a “challenging & exciting” race here.

A media frenzy ensued in front of the Swissotel when Webber appeared, much to the bemusement of some of the Swissotel’s guests, some craning their necks to see what the fuss was about.

The 1.84 metre tall Australian then proceeded to test out the circuit in a black Renault Coupe-Cabiolet – with the top down – and completed three laps at a leisurely pace.

However, with ongoing road works and construction at Beach Road and Temasek Avenue, the asphalt that Webber had to traverse was far from race-worthy.

The morning traffic also provided some hairy moments as Webber was at one point, sandwiched between a car packed with photographers and journalists, and a slow-moving taxi along St Andrews Road. Midway through attempting a deft overtaking maneouvre, he coolly slowed down when it appeared that he might have realised that the Sepang race was still a week away.

Another more enthusiastic driver decided to shadow Webber in a ‘less-than-subtle’ yellow Korean-made coupe that swerved dangerously out of the Ritz-Carlton driveway ahead of this reporter to latch on to the Australian as he passed the proposed start/finish straight.

Following his jaunt along the designated route, Webber described the circuit as “a mixture of a tight and twisting section with a faster section across the start and finish line. The start of the lap looks quicker, but the middle to last sector looks a little bit tighter and slower.”

When asked to compare the route with other existing street circuits like Monaco, Webber said that Singapore’s version was more akin to the Adelaide street circuit, but would be faster.

In dutifully obeying local traffic laws while navigating city traffic, each 4.8km lap took more than ten minutes, which at race pace, could easily see more than six laps completed. Webber estimates lap times of no more than 1 minute 30 seconds given the current circuit layout.

Webber picked out section following the tight right turn at the Fullerton Hotel as his personal favourite, citing Anderson Bridge and the trees overhanging the track as elements which would give drivers the “sensation of speed and the rush of driving a car.”

In terms of overtaking opportunities, the Raffles Avenue straight which turns left onto Esplanade Drive appears to be a prime spot, as it will see the cars trying to outbrake each other at speeds of close to 300km/hr.

The Australian seemed less enthusiastic about the sections around Suntec City which he thought were “tight and twisty”, but then readily acknowledged that “to make a street circuit, you’ve got to have compromises. You cannot enjoy every single corner.

“There are going to be corners that have some potential safety issues.”

Other concerns that were raised involved the possibility of a downpour during night racing , and how the glare from surrounding floodlights being reflected in rainwater puddles could cause havoc for the drivers, in addition to the spray bring thrown up by the cars.

“Street circuits are mentally quite draining because of the immense concentration required,” he added.

“There’s a few straights here but you’ve got blind crests and manhole covers to keep yourself occupied.”

Another potential cause for concern: the heat and humidity.

Red Bull racing’s head of communications, Thomas Hofmann, confirmed that temperatures in Sepang had reached 47 degrees Celsius in the past week. With drivers losing up to 3 kg in sweat, Webber noted that a night race would certainly bring some welcome relief.

With 17 races already on the current F1 calendar, the easy-going Australian driver estimates that the racing season could eventually accommodate as many as 20 races, though admittedly, it would be quite a “busy season”.

So, will we see F1 in Singapore next year? Stay tuned.

AVOID: Sun Hotwires / Nology Hot Wires on the 8

Apparently, Nology Hotwires spark plug wires are causing CEL lights due to either:
– misfirings
– melted plugs
– shorted ignition coils

Sun Hotwires looks visually the same as the Nology, and is the OEM for Nology outside of the US – Sun (the maker of Hot Inazma) is widely popular in Asia as a ‘ricer’ brand.

Our advice – stay clear of Nology/Sun – better safe than sorry. Other brands such as RE Amemiya, FEED and Autoexe do not seem to have any probs and has been street proven – at least in Singapore it has.

————————————-
“CAPACITOR” EFFECT WIRES with grounded metal braiding over jacket

The most notable of exaggerated claims for ignition wires are made by Nology, a recent manufacturer of ignition wires promoted as “the only spark plug wires with built-in capacitor.” Nology’s “HotWires” (called “Plasma Leads” in the UK) consist of unsuppressed solid metal or spiral conductor ignition wires over which braided metal sleeves are partially fitted. The braided metal sleeves are grounded via straps formed from part of the braiding. Insulating covers are fitted over the braided metal sleeves. These wires are well constructed. For whatever reason, Nology specifies that non-resistor spark plugs need to be used with their “HotWires.” In a demonstration, the use of resistor plugs nullifies the visual effect of the brighter spark.

Ignition wires with grounded braided metal sleeves over the cable have come and gone all over the world for (at least) the last 30 years, and similar wires were used over 20 years ago by a few car makers to solve cross-firing problems on early fuel injected engines and RFI problems on fiberglass bodied cars — only to find other problems were created. The recent Circle Track Magazine (USA, May, 1996 issue) test showed Nology “HotWires” produced no additional horsepower (the test actually showed a 10 horsepower decrease when compared to stock carbon conductor wires).

The perceived effect a brighter spark, conducted by an ignition wire, encased or partially encased in a braided metal sleeve (shield) grounded to the engine, jumping across a huge free-air gap (which bears no relationship to the spark needed to fire the variable air/fuel mixture under pressure in a combustion chamber) is continually being re-discovered and cleverly demonstrated by marketers who convince themselves there’s monetary value in such a bright spark, and all sorts of wild, completely un-provable claims are made for this phenomena.

Like many in the past, Nology cleverly demonstrates a brighter free-air spark containing useless flash-over created by the crude “capacitor” (effect) of this style of wire. In reality, the bright spark has no more useful energy to fire a variable compressed air/fuel mixture than the clean spark you would see in a similar demonstration using any good carbon conductor wire. What is happening in such a demonstration is the coil output is being unnecessarily boosted to additionally supply spark energy that is induced (and wasted) into the grounded braided metal sleeve around the ignition wire’s jacket. To test the validity of this statement, ask the demonstrator to disconnect the ground strap and observe just how much energy is sparking to ground.

Claims by Nology of their “HotWires” creating sparks that are “300 times more powerful,” reaching temperatures of “100,000 to 150,000 degrees F” (more than enough to melt spark plug electrodes), spark durations of “4 billionths of a second” (spark duration is controlled by the ignition system itself) and currents of “1,000 amperes” magically evolving in “capacitors” allegedly “built-in” to the ignition wires are as ridiculous as the data and the depiction of sparks in photographs used in advertising material and the price asked for these wires! Most stock ignition primaries are regulated to 6 amperes and the most powerful race ignition to no more than 40 amperes at 12,000 RPM.

It is common knowledge amongst automotive electrical engineers that it is unwise to use ignition wires fitted with grounded braided metal sleeves fitted over ignition cable jackets on an automobile engine. This type of ignition wires forces its cable jackets to become an unsuitable dielectric for a crude capacitor (effect) between the conductor and the braided metal sleeves. While the wires function normally when first fitted, the cable jackets soon break down as a dielectric, and progressively more spark energy is induced from the conductors (though the cable jackets) into the grounded metal sleeves, causing the ignition coil to unnecessarily output more energy to fire both the spark plug gaps and the additional energy lost via the braided metal sleeves. Often this situation leads to ignition coil and control unit overload failures. It should be noted that it is dangerous to use these wires if not grounded to the engine, as the grounding straps will be alive with thousands of volts wanting to ground-out to anything (or body) nearby.

Unless you are prepared to accept poorly suppressed ignition wires that fail sooner than any other type of ignition wires and stretch your ignition system to the limit, and have an engine with no electronic management system and/or exhaust emission controls, it’s best not to be influenced by the exaggerated claims, and some vested-interest journalists’, resellers’ and installers’ perception an engine has more power after Nology wires are fitted. Often, after replacing deteriorated wires, any new ignition wires make an engine run better