hohieu Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 99 Forester, 133K miles. I'll be doing a 30k-mile service very soon and plan on replacing the spark plug wires with an OEM set I've already purchased. I've checked resistances on the old wires, which are all well within specifications. Should I go ahead and replace them? At what mileage do you people generally replace the wires? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 When they start misfiring and it ISN'T PLUGS. IF resistance is OK then the wire is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 i replace them at 100K weather they need it or not, or if it starts missing, before then. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 as soon as i buy one i get Magnecor wires, which never need replaced so no worries about when or mileage. i've transfered the same set over the multiple vehicles...probably putting 200,000+ miles on one set, they are awesome. been putting them on all my vehicles for years and recommending them to friends. nothing but awesome feedback so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 junk the CAR keep the PLUG WIRES? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 i replace them at 100K weather they need it or not, or if it starts missing, before then. I was just curious about how long the OEM wires hold up under normal use, but I'll just go ahead and swap the new ones in. I'd rather replace them before the engine starts missing. I've seen cars with cracked catalytic honeycombs as a result of prolonged misfiring -- unburned fuel overheating the catalytic converter resulting in an expensive repair. as soon as i buy one i get Magnecor wires, which never need replaced so no worries about when or mileage. I've seen you mention them before, and I'm curious. Aside from the wires never arcing, have you or your friends noticed better performance or sloved persistent ignition issued not remedied by conventional solid wires? How much did you pay for a set? I'm seeing $126 for my car in their catalog -- Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 Aside from the wires never arcing, have you or your friends noticed better performance or sloved persistent ignition issued not remedied by conventional solid wires? How much did you pay for a set? I'm seeing $126 for my car in their catalog -- Ouch! they aren't going to add any performance, but they will retain stock performance over the life of the wires with no worries about when to replace them. yes i've seen them solve ignition issues, but not on subaru's. i've never had a subaru with ignition related problems like that. a friend had his jeep since new for 250,000+ miles (who now drives an impreza as of last year!). he couldn't get a set of wires to last more than about 30,000 for some reason. he went with magnecor and never replaced them again. DO NOT buy them from magnecors website. find a distributor online and the prices will be far cheaper. even a set for my Subaru XT6 (6 cylinders) was only around $60. can't recall what my EJ set was for the impreza but it wasn't much. with 133,000 on your vehicle, there might not be any reason to bother with non-OEM wires though. although if you plan on having it for 250,000 miles then maybe it's "worth" it in the financial sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted April 22, 2008 Author Share Posted April 22, 2008 a friend had his jeep since new for 250,000+ miles (who now drives an impreza as of last year!). he couldn't get a set of wires to last more than about 30,000 for some reason. he went with magnecor and never replaced them again. Makes a lot of sense. I have a 91 Cherokee with 205K miles and can't say enough good things about these earlier models. 30K miles is premature -- the maintenance schedule calls for replacement of cap, rotor, and wires every 60k miles. I have a set of KEM Mag-Plus wires, similar in construction to the Magnecor though probably of lesser quality, to swap in when the time comes. With the lower voltage distributorless ignition on our Subies, there is no mention of ignition wire replacement in the maintenance schedule. That's really why I started this thread in the first place. That said, it's amazing these materials last as long as they do, being baked over an engine for over 100K miles. with 133,000 on your vehicle, there might not be any reason to bother with non-OEM wires though. although if you plan on having it for 250,000 miles then maybe it's "worth" it in the financial sense. I'd love to take this car as far as it'll go, but with current trends in oil prices, who knows how far this will be. I'll just stick with the new OEM wireset I already have, and I'll still have the original wires to swap back in as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I have a 91 Cherokee with 205K miles and can't say enough good things about these earlier models. his was a grand cherokee - 97-ish model V8, automatic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schlit Posted April 23, 2008 Share Posted April 23, 2008 I replace mine around 120,000mi with OEM. Three issues: 1. Insulation and rubber boots cracking (most likely) 2. Worn/loose connections 3. Poor wire conductivity (never have seen wires out of spec..even at 250,000 mi) I see anything other than OEM as a waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rverdoold Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 i replace them at 100K weather they need it or not, or if it starts missing, before then. nipper Can i get your old ones????? So i can hang then under the hood to distract the beech martens to eat those . Well here its every 105K km together with timing belt (why the difference with the US cars where its 100k miles i dont know). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 25, 2008 Share Posted April 25, 2008 Just take your replacement interval to 160,000km. If it's good enough for US, it's good enough for EUROPE as well. The PARTS aren't different Oh - the difference is that CALIFORNIA said that the car needed to go 100k MILES before major service. So Subaru just said "OK". Funny how the regulatory action makes for a longer "use" cycle, isn't it? Same BELT, different recommended replacement interval. I plan on 100K miles for mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohieu Posted April 27, 2008 Author Share Posted April 27, 2008 I replace mine around 120,000mi with OEM. Three issues:1. Insulation and rubber boots cracking (most likely) 2. Worn/loose connections Some good points, and these issues can be diagnosed with a visual inspection of the wires. 3. Poor wire conductivity (never have seen wires out of spec..even at 250,000 mi)I see anything other than OEM as a waste. Makes sense with the low voltage distributorless ignition in Subarus. Perhaps this is why Subaru specifies inspection of wires but no regular replacement interval. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 Can i get your old ones?????So i can hang then under the hood to distract the beech martens to eat those . Well here its every 105K km together with timing belt (why the difference with the US cars where its 100k miles i dont know). Got a long wait, as Blu has 227,000 miles on him. US cars have a different pollution spec, and looks at the belt as integral to help keeping pollution down. Personally i would not recomend to anyone going beyond the recomended interval for thier car. If they choose to, its thier money, not mine. But the materials can be vastly different for the two belts, while looking the same. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aircraft engineer Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I would almost take a bet that the BELT is identical. It doesn't make sense to have different OEM belts based on continent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nipper Posted April 27, 2008 Share Posted April 27, 2008 I would almost take a bet that the BELT is identical. It doesn't make sense to have different OEM belts based on continent. Depneds upon the supplier, where the factory is located. To begin with the 2.5 DOHC will be longer and have differnt stresses then the SOHC engine. ALso have to look at pully configuration etc etc etc. Once again is the risk worth the expense. nipper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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