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MG MGB Technical - Spark plug leads

Thought I would treat the roadster to a new set of plug leads as the ones on have been on along time. Any recommendations on a good set please.t
Trevor Harvey

Trevor,the choice is endless. You can spend £12 or £40. I decided to buy a set from a company that specialises in HT leads . They are Fast Lane Auto from Bodmin Cornwall. Fitted them 4 years ago. No problems at all. They will probably outlast the car. Seem to think they were about £30.
C Harvey

Fast Lane Auto no longer sell direct to the public. Their Ferroflex wires and possibly ends are sold by as sets by Powerspark. I've no idea if they're as well made up but Gary bought a set for his Frogeye and seemed pleased with them.

They're £16 now, choice of colours.

Or you could spend more, as I did, and have a set made to order (and non-standard length) from Mr Retro Leads (yeah I know), wide choice of colours and ends.

Powerspark Ferroflex leads - https://simonbbc.com/mgb-4-cylinder-1800cc-4-cylinder-performance-double-silicone-ht-leads-8mm/

Mr Retro Leads - https://mrretroleads.co.uk/?s=mg&post_type=product

Below my Mr Retro Leads custom length Ferroflex lead set in my Midget, good fitting boots.



Nigel Atkins

C Harvey,
the director at Fast Lane Autos (sorry forget his name now) told me he expected the leads to be changed after (IIRC) 35k-miles of use. Obviously they could last a lot longer but like spark plugs and other parts whilst they make continue to work they may well be passed their optimum performance or not working as well as they should so work below proper performance.

Next time I go to Peter's rollers I'm going to take the previous Fast Lane Auto HT lead set and see if there's any difference to the performance of the engine compared with the current newer set.

I only changed the leads as I was having problems with my replacement Revotec electronic fan controller which Revotec thought was caused by the HT leads, of course I changed the leads and it wasn't them!

Below are the original Ferroflex Fast Lane Auto leads which they sold under the brand name of 'perfomanceleads'. If you look in the Archives here and the Midget section using 'performanceleads' it should turn up a lot of info I've previously put up on them.

(photo below, I got one of the measurements slightly wrong, used as no.1 here, and red cable-ties added by me)



Nigel Atkins

ETA: don't bother looking in the Archives for performanceleads, but I did find two threads in the Midget and Sprite Technical Archive by searching with the word Ferroflex and the one that most applies here would be the thread titled 'Performance Leads Test (at last)' started by Peter Burgess.
Nigel Atkins

Last time I looked I found them for the MGB from £17 to £100. I've only ever use basic silicone-cored, the plug leads on the V8 has been on 25 years and 100k so far. I did change the coil lead recently as it seemed to be higher resistance than it ought to be although wasn't giving any running problems. But then I'd probably never tested them from new. The only actual failure I've had in 40 years was when the coil terminal on the roadster developed a blue coating that seemed to act as an insulator, couldn't scrape it off, so bought a new set.
paulh4

I've been running the Distributor Doctor's rotor arm, distributor cap and Petronix HT leads for the last five years. This is the most reliable HT equipment I have run. I don't think I have had a misfire.

Previous items, some supplied by reputable outlets, have left me stationary on the motorway.
Richard Thompson

NGK spiral wound low resistance cables are a very good choice.
Steven Rechter

Sounds expensive. Can't you buy HT leads by the foot (or metre)?
Art Pearse

Yes, and also by the foot with terminals attached. Some times of cable are easier to terminate yourself than others.

To paraphrase, you makes your choice, and pays accordingly!
paulh4

NGK wires are less than $20US:

https://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/HC/16356-09083303.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=ff&utm_content=HC&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+Google+Base&utm_term=1969-1980+MG+MGB+Spark+Plug+Wires+NGK+69-80+MG+Spark+Plug+Wire+Set+1972+1973&utm_source=google&utm_medium=ff&utm_campaign=PartsGeek+Google+Base&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIwf3-7sGC4wIVDLnACh0jowDnEAQYAiABEgLm6fD_BwE
Steven Rechter

This thread was discussed between 01/06/2019 and 24/06/2019

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