Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Nology coils and wires

Pro’s and con’s

I’m about to lay down some coin on some. Should I?

Yes you should. I have them. Increased power, increase response and increased mileage.

While you are at it, get the NGK Iridium plugs to complete the package.

Soren

I already have the NGK Iridium plugs

By any chance do you work for BC (British Customs)

I have them too and agree with Soren.

Wires too.. I thinking they're a bit high $$$.

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By any chance do you work for BC (British Customs)

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No but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night

The old wires are too small to carry the extra power from the new coils, so you won't see much of a difference without the new wires.....


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Hank

You definitley need to go fro teh full meal deal. I bought the coils and wires at the same time, but I tried each separatley. The esults were good, but togther, a genuine improvement.

Soren

Agree with Soren and the rest. Great product.

Smoother running too I think.

My bike came with NGK wires on it new from the dealer. Would it make any difference to replace them if I changed the coils?

Yes, it would make a difference. More juice means you need a bigger wire.

Soren

Lay out the green for the full package. You be happy with the results. I am.

Since we're on the topic, I'd really like to hear some opinions on the hot wires vs. the premium wires

Has anyone done a before and after Dyno with the Nology Coils and wires?

I'd like to see one before I dished out that kinda money on coils and wires. IMHO they may give you more reliable spark but I can't see how they give you more power.

They give you more power by burning the fuel more efficiently. The compressed air fuel mixture burns faster forcing the piston down with greater velocity creating more power. I don't have a dyno sheet to prove it but that's the concept. I have the iridium plugs and the premium wires, when I put the plugs in I felt the difference. Then I put the premium wires in and felt the difference. I'm thinking about ditching the premium wires for the hot wires which is why I asked if any one had an opinion on which is better. Either way the new coils is my next step.

Here is what Magnecor has to say about Nology. I'm not sure if this is one competitor slamming another but it makes you wonder.

http://www.magnecor.com/magnecor1/main.htm

"CAPACITOR" EFFECT WIRES with grounded metal braiding over jacket
The most notable of exaggerated claims for ignition wires are made by Nology, a manufacturer of ignition wires promoted as "the only spark plug wires with built-in capacitor." Nology's "HotWires" (called "Plasma Leads" in the UK) consist of unsuppressed solid metal or spiral conductor ignition wires over which braided metal sleeves are partially fitted. The braided metal sleeves are grounded via straps formed from part of the braiding. Insulating covers are fitted over the braided metal sleeves. These wires are well constructed. For whatever reason, Nology specifies that non-resistor spark plugs need to be used with their "HotWires." In a demonstration, the use of resistor plugs with "HotWires" will nullify the visual effect of the brighter spark.

Ignition wires with grounded braided metal sleeves over the cable have come and gone all over the world for (at least) the last 30 years, and similar wires were used over 20 years ago by a few car makers to solve cross-firing problems on early fuel injected engines and RFI problems on fiberglass bodied cars — only to find other problems were created. The recent Circle Track Magazine (USA, May, 1996 issue) test showed Nology "HotWires" produced no additional horsepower (the test actually showed a 10 horsepower decrease when compared to stock carbon conductor wires).

The perceived effect a brighter spark, conducted by an ignition wire, encased or partially encased in a braided metal sleeve (shield) grounded to the engine, jumping across a huge free-air gap (which bears no relationship to the spark needed to fire the variable air/fuel mixture under pressure in a combustion chamber) is continually being re-discovered and cleverly demonstrated by marketers who convince themselves there's monetary value in such a bright spark, and all sorts of wild, completely un-provable claims are made for this phenomena.

Like many in the past, Nology cleverly demonstrates a brighter free-air spark containing useless flash-over created by the crude "capacitor" (effect) of this style of wire. In reality, the bright spark has no more useful energy to fire a variable compressed air/fuel mixture than the clean spark you would see in a similar demonstration using any good carbon conductor wire. What is happening in such a demonstration is the coil output is being unnecessarily boosted to additionally supply spark energy that is induced (and wasted) into the grounded braided metal sleeve around the ignition wire's jacket. To test the validity of this statement, ask the Nology demonstrator to disconnect the ground strap and observe just how much energy is sparking to ground.

Claims by Nology of their "HotWires" creating sparks that are "300 times more powerful," reaching temperatures of "100,000 to 150,000 degrees F" (more than enough to melt spark plug electrodes), spark durations of "4 billionths of a second" (spark duration is controlled by the ignition system itself) and currents of "1,000 amperes" magically evolving in "capacitors" allegedly "built-in" to the ignition wires are as ridiculous as the data and the depiction of sparks in photographs used in advertising material and the price asked for these wires! Most stock ignition primaries are regulated to 6 amperes and the most powerful race ignition to no more than 40 amperes at 12,000 RPM.

It is common knowledge amongst automotive electrical engineers that it is unwise to use ignition wires fitted with grounded braided metal sleeves fitted over ignition cable jackets on an automobile engine. This type of ignition wires forces its cable jackets to become an unsuitable dielectric for a crude capacitor (effect) between the conductor and the braided metal sleeves. While the wires function normally when first fitted, the cable jackets soon break down as a dielectric, and progressively more spark energy is induced from the conductors (though the cable jackets) into the grounded metal sleeves, causing the ignition coil to unnecessarily output more energy to fire both the spark plug gaps and the additional energy lost via the braided metal sleeves. Often this situation leads to ignition coil and control unit overload failures. It should be noted that it is dangerous to use this style of wires if not grounded to the engine with grounding straps, as the outside of the braided cables will be alive with thousands of volts wanting to ground-out to anything (or anybody) nearby.

Unless you are prepared to accept poorly suppressed ignition wires that fail sooner than any other type of ignition wires and stretch your ignition system to the limit, and have an engine with no electronic management system and/or exhaust emission controls, it's best not to be influenced by the exaggerated claims, and some vested-interest journalists', resellers' and installers' perception an engine has more power after Nology wires are fitted. Often, after replacing deteriorated wires, any new ignition wires make an engine run better.

That's kind of a tall order don't you think? Dyno runs cost anywhere between $50-$100 a peice so to give you the proof you're looking for someone would have to pay to get a dyno run with the stock wires as a base line and then switch wires and coils and run again. So that's upwards of $200 you're asking someone to spend out of their own pocket so that you'd feel comfortable spending $215.98 on new coils and wires. It seems more reasonable to me to buy the coils and wires yourself and if you don't feel any difference, take them off as soon as possible and sell them in the classifieds since they'd be barley used you could get almost what you paid for them and it's a much more reasonable solution to your doubts than asking someone to shell out $200 to give you that kind of information.

Hey Ron,

Sigma Automotive has a pretty good article on Nology wires. Don't know who they are but they do not appear to be affiliated with Nology.

This is pretty much a matter of resistance. The less resistance you have the more spark energy created and ultimately a better burn. There needs ot be a balance here and if you are burning too hot then I beleive detonation sets in (I may be mixing this up so someoen please correct me).
Im not saying Nology wires are better or worse than others but they do seem to have plenty or reviews (none with dyno results yet) stating they dont work. As expected if they are not grounded properly or the ground goes bad over time they will decrease in performance and probably perform at a lesser level than OEM wires. DUH!

Upgrading the coils and going with a better wire (that doesnt use a ground strap) seems to be the way to go.
I used to do this on my little rice racers back when I was younger. It made a difference when it was performing at peak and it certainly made a difference when the wires wore out or the coils started failing.

Performance doesnt mean longevity or less maintenence and it certainly isnt going to save any $$. It may make you go faster for a while which may be enough for some of us.

Folks that buy Nology must believe they work. I'm not saying they don't work. I'm just saying that I'm not willing to spend $200 plus for coils and wires if my bike is running great without them. It's one thing to replace old wires and coils for maintenance reasons. It's another to replace them for performance. I just haven't seen anything on the Internet or this site that convinces me they're worth the coin. Maybe someday when I have $350 to blow I'll get a set and Dyno them. It just seems crazy that there are no good test results to read where they did side by side comparison testing to other brands of high performance wires. Wouldn't Nology want to prove without a shadow of a dought that their Hotwires out perform all others.

Did anyone get to page three or did you see the first page and brush it off? There is test data on that page. Is the data from Nology? Don't know but it's there......

Here's another piece of data. Make of it what you will:
http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/DavidKucharczyk/ignition.html

I figured

I've been looking everywhere and the only link is the one just above EXCEPT tons of links, re-links, and links to links; all coming from one source..... You guessed it:

Magnecor

Lots of conjecture, claims, nay-saying, and vitriol from EVERYWHERE.

I am getting out of this mess!

The only I might add. If you have to replace your stock coil or coils. The nology ones are cheaper. I have nology coils on mine and some fancy smancy german wires. Whether it runs any better with them or not, I can't really say. My last dyno run was 61 rwhp. But have nothing to compare it to before so its meaningless. Besides dyno runs can vary form one day to the next with many many things altering the outcome.

Phil,

Actually, I was right when I said "that they are just repeating Nology's marketing pitch and it's not actually an article per se."

On further examination, not only are SA repeating Nology's marketing pitch but they are reproducing Nology's website VERBATIM including images.

Here are Nology's corresponding page links to SA's article.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

It was the "purchase" links at the bottom of SA's page that seemed familiar (as we see in many other products).

Now we know the source.

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Now we know the source

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Thanks brother!!

I have a bridge in lower New York I'll sell all of y'all. Real cheap. For you my friends, a special deal too.

P.S.: That little thing on the right grip has all the power you'll ever need. Just twist it moe often.

I bought coils from them. Does that make me affiliated?