- My model of MX-5 is: __
- I’m based near: North Yorkshire__
- I’m looking for technical help or recommendations on spark plug leads: __
Buy genuine Mazda ones. They fit well and they work.
Is there a colour scheme under the bonnet buddy?, You have really got to be careful which leads you get, i see a lot that rate the magnecor sets, we don’t, they are pretty poor in our dealings with them, from ourselves and others.
Mazda own and some very good high end jap jobbies are firm favorites.
I have some jap sets here Alan but colour depending, and they are so well made and just last forever, the set on mine have been on for 20 odd years, and is no garage queen.
let me know if i can help buddy.
M-m
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I’ve had US Magnecors for 15+ years and 150k kms. No issues. Magnecors sold in the UK are not the same as the US. They are assembled from kits, and the Brits don’t do a good job. American made kits are very good. If there are complaints and problems, its due to the British franchise operation.
Racing Beat also assemble their own leads. Most of the Japanese aftermarket leads come from Nagai Denshi and are branded someplace “Ultra”. It doesn’t matter the colour, its all Ultra. Racing Beat use exactly the same silicone Ultra wire from Japan (they get their wire branded Racing Beat Ultra). On a visit to Racing Beat in Anaheim I met the dude who did the leads. That was his job. Sitting at a bench assembling and testing each lead for Miatas, RX8s, RX7s and any other RX Mazda thought of. Where the Japanese and RB leads fail is on the coil end. The design of the fitting into the coil means, if its not fitted correctly, it can cause arcing and burn the plastic on the coil (the fitting barb can sometimes crush, creating a small gap in the contact, and hence arcing across). Magnacors are a bit different here, meaning such arcing is less likely to occur.
Mazda in the US don’t supply the black factory leads as replacements. They supply 8mm NGK “blues”, so take that as factory approved aftermarket. But like the original factory leads, they do eventually break down and go bad.
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I’ll dig out some of the magnacors we have had to remove from a good number of roadster because of deterioration and not from old leads.
M-m
Not disputing that, just saying don’t buy the British assembled junk. Externally, they will look the same as all the parts are coming from the US, but the British don’t know how to put them together or something.
This morning I did a coolant change again but this time, after buying some antifreeze, I could do the job properly. I used the antifreeze, obviously, at the recommended ratio to water and after draining all the old coolant out of the engine and the overflow tank I replaced it with this new lot of coolant.
I let the engine warm up and then cool down to make sure I had enough coolant in the radiator, which I didn’t so I topped it up a bit more.
I then took the car out for a good run to make sure that it wasn’t going to over heat again and thankfully it didn’t so, all is well that ends well.
Just a point on replacing the plugs and plug leads, it was a nightmare getting the leads out of the hole down where the plugs a situated. They all broke off just above the plugs and it took me three hours of trying to get these bits out. I ended up using a quarter inch paring chisel to cut and break the plastic and rubber that was on top of the plugs, and using some very long nose pliers to get the broken bits out.
With all new plugs and plug leads, from MX5Parts delivered overnight, the engine runs very smooth and is more responsive to the accelerator too.
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