Plugs/wires on an Indmar LS1
 

My 01 Sunsetter VLX has the Corvette LS1 package - and boy does Indmar want to rape you in parts prices.

She started running rough - since I just got it recently and the previous owner wasn't exactly good with maintenance, I figured I'd change the fuel filters, plugs, and if those didn't work, the wires as well.

Pulled #8 and #6 wires, both broke inside the plug boot (yes, I firmly grabbed them). Go to buy new wires, and not only are they a special order, they are $190 after taxes! My refusal to both wait AND pay an outrageous amount for cheap ass plug wires has me shopping for an alternative. Since Jegs is local to me, I stopped over there and picked up a cut to fit universal SBC 8.5mm wire set (Jegs brand), and an MSD crimp tool. Set me back under $50 total.

Tool wise, you need a vice (any cheapie one will do), razer blade, dykes, and a pair of needle nose pliers Also a good idea to have a volt/ohm meter to check resistance on the wires to ensure your crimps were good. Measure, cut, strip, crimp, slide the boot on, and good to go. The new wires had 1/10th the resistance of the old wires, and 1/4 the cost.

Plugs looked good (they were the originals from 01 with 335 hours, and were oddly gapped at .040 when the book calls for .050, not that it would hurt anything). The #2 and #8 plugs were also not ratchet tight. Swapped out for NGK TR55 plugs, as I only run NGK plugs in my stuff. Put it all back together, swapped filters, and she fired right up running silky smooth once again.

My only real point to this was for anyone later on searching for help on LS1 wires would know that Indmar's wires are NOT the way to go.

Good to know. I have the indmar LTR and was wondering what the best option would be for plug wires. I'm guessing they'd be comparably priced to the LS1. Thats a ridiculous price.

What kind of resistance should I expect to see across a wire? Mine "look" good and the engine is running ok so I will probably let it go as long as possible since I was able to replace the plugs without damaging the boots.

My new wires ranged from 500 ohms to about 1200 ohm depending on the length. My Indmar wires were up to 13k ohm for the #1 and #2 wires - quite the difference. I also cut the new wires slightly longer than the stock wires to allow for more flexibility in how they were routed.

Took the boat out on Sunday and she is running great once again.