tabe Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 This is on a 99 forester. I've seen a few places "change the plug wires every 60,000". Is this really a big deal if the car is running fine? I haven't actually gone to look yet - is it difficult to change the plugs on these engines? Any hints? Thanks all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 you really should change them at around 60k.... best for the car and your piece of mind let them go too long, and you will notice a loss of gas mileage, pull, and eventually the dreaded sputter may begin OEM wires and plugs are the best replacements. (i've not found a set of aftermarket plug wires that fit properly) the swap it's not too tough to change these just takes a little bit of time as you have to move a couple of bits out of the way http://www.scoobymods.com has a nice how to for the impreza it will be the same on your forester. shout with questions Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tabe Posted October 26, 2005 Author Share Posted October 26, 2005 Thank you!!!!! you really should change them at around 60k....best for the car and your piece of mind let them go too long, and you will notice a loss of gas mileage, pull, and eventually the dreaded sputter may begin OEM wires and plugs are the best replacements. (i've not found a set of aftermarket plug wires that fit properly) the swap it's not too tough to change these just takes a little bit of time as you have to move a couple of bits out of the way www.scoobymods.com has a nice how to for the impreza it will be the same on your forester. shout with questions Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 the only aftermarket wires i'd recommend are magnecor (www.magnecor.com),excellent wires and you'll never need to replace them again. otherwise get OEM wires, don't buy anything from a parts store for these things. i replace mine, but the ignition wires are usually fine to leave another 60,000 if you didn't want to replace them for some reason. on the other hand the spark plugs should definitely be replaced with the OEM brand NGK (that can be found at any auto parts store for like $2 each or less) at 60,000 miles or sooner. if the wires are damaged at all during the spark plug install then they will need to be replaced. best to use anti-seize compounds on the plug threads and proper grease on the wire boots, these steps will aide in removal later and protect things. although alot of people don't use thosem, any auto parts store person would be able to show you those items. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 i beg the differ i can cite COUNTLESS instances of complaints with magnecor wires main issue: **popping off at speed** which causes of course: bucking, shudder, and check engine light It has been my experience, that the contact points of the wires are no good. and they do NOTHING to enhance the performance of the vehicle so my advice for those needing wires, OEM Is best. they fit, they work, they are designed around your car. and for $80 less than Magnecore's? IMHO, that's more than worth it. Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 they do nothing to enhance performance, magnecor will state the same on their website unlike most bogus aftermarket companies. stock wires fail as well, but there's no way to verify installer or product is to fault. i know for a fact that installers are often (usually) to blame but have yet to verify bad product (OEM or magnecor). actually i have had failed stock wires on an XT6....but you're talking a vehicle 10+ years old and 100,000+ miles. after 200,000 miles a magnecor wire will stand a better chance at being in service than a stock OEM wire. OEM wires are excellent but i wouldn't want one with 200,000 or more miles and lots of years on my car. but i don't conclude the OEM wires are crap because of that. magnecor wires will indeed last that long and offer out of the box reliability at that age. (been there, done that). i have yet to see a problem with magnecor wires. that being said, they (and other manufacturers) did enounter problems at first with the 2.2 and 2.5 liter motors due to the motor design. the design and lay out turns a spark plug job into the likes of picking cotton. the wires are extremly difficult to remove, difficult to install and a bad design for ease of maintenance. if you don't agree then maybe maryland has something in the air that makes them particuarlly stubborn with sticking, ripping and falling apart. i've seen screwed up stock wires, not because the wires are bad but because the motor tends to do a number on the boots and the remover can't get them out. they stick, they won't come out, i've seen half of boots still down in the hole attached to the plug (on stock wires) on low mileage motors. i would blame the installer or uninstaller before the wires. and i've seen stock boots also detached from the plug - i don't blame the wire, the boot or the contact but probalby the installation for the cause. they probably were not seated properly.....and that's almost always because of the layout of the motor and the deep spark plug wells. there's zero access to the spark plug, you have to be observant and care about what you're doing to be sure it is seated since there's no access to the plug. i also drive a bunch of old school 80's subaru's with up to 220,000 miles on them and don't ever see ignition wire problems on them. there's no problem properly seating a spark plug when you can touch it with all your fingers. i'm also moderator at xt6.net and ignition wire issues are nearly unheard of in the older subaru's. magnecor has made adjustments to the design to make installation and reliability improvements based on these considerations. subaru has great OEM wires and i feel magnecors are good for those that plan to keep a car a very long time and never want to buy a set of wires again. that's my situation. there are other car manufacturers that magnecors make a huge improvement in longetivity for in terms of ignition life due to poor OEM wires, but no need to mention those lesser makes here (cough *jeep* cough). i'm not in this for argument but it seems your oppinions of magnecor wires may be due to old information or bad installation more than the actual quality of the currently available product. i definitely don't want to argue, heck i want to order some OEM parts at good prices, i plan on talking to you soon! but i also want members to know i've had good experiences (as well as others that i've installed these wires for) with these wires in terms of longetivity. i drive 30,000-50,000 miles a year, the longer i can go without replacing the better. i'd like to offer the same opportunity to others who have the unfortunate task of spending that much time in a vehicle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subie Gal Posted October 26, 2005 Share Posted October 26, 2005 nah... life is too short to argue everyone will have their own opinions based on THEIR experiences and that's okay all we can do is share those experiences and try to help others decide what is best for them cheers - Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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