"Date" on ignition wires

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Rish
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"Date" on ignition wires

Post by Rish »

Just a thought; I was looking around under the hood the other day, and noticed the number "1989" on my plug wires. My Legacy is a 1990 model year. Is it possible that I'm still running on the original wires after 230 000kms? If so I'd hate to see the shape my plugs are in. I think it's time I checked up on a few things.

Rish
entirelyturbo
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Post by entirelyturbo »

Not a Subaru story, but a Toyota company truck I drive at work, went in for service because, well, it was running like crap. Turns out it had "1993" on the wires and it's a 94 MY. Two wires were split inside and barely even making a connection...

So yes it's possible, and your car should be running terrible if this is the case... You might look into Magnecor wires (http://www.magnecor.com), they're one of the best wires on the market. Just difficult to install and keep on :?
"Der Wahnsinn ist nur eine schmale Brücke/die Ufer sind Vernunft und Trieb"

*Formerly DerFahrer*

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vrg3
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Post by vrg3 »

Yeah, some people don't think plug wires are replacement items, just like some people don't think brake fluid needs to be changed. Silly people.

Though that's actually true about Magnecor wires -- they last forever. And if you search for "Magnecor installation tip" you'll find an explanation of why they're hard to install and keep on and how to rectify it.

Toyota and Subaru both use NGK wires from the factory, right?
"Just reading vrg3's convoluted, information-packed posts made me feel better all over again." -- subyluvr2212
Rish
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Post by Rish »

Well, I've only had the car for about five months, and since I was out of the country for two of those I haven't got to those plugs and wires yet. I normally do it within a week on buying the car, but oh well. I actually just ordered some NGKs today (I did read somewhere that they are OE).

Believe it or not, the car doesn't run all that badly. Though I do have a feeling this could be contributing to my hesitation issues. My idle can be rough at times, but rough or not the RPMs are always pretty stable.

I'll post back after I get this stuff installed on whether I noticed an improvement or not.

Rish
ciper
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Post by ciper »

The date on the wires IS the date they are made. Found some 1998 wires in my 91 LSI :roll:
Rish
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Post by Rish »

Well I changed em today, along with the plugs. Other than cutting open one of my knuckles and squirting blood all over the engine bay, it went rather smoothly.

Three things I noticed right off the bat were more smoothness at idle and cruise, less hesitation, and lower fuel consumption. the latter was judged by the guage position on my drive to and from work. This was just the first day with em though, so I'll have to see how it pans out over time.

Rish
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