Best spark plug wire size?

[Jiml0001]

I keep a lot of red, yellow and black in stock.   Probably  lifetime supply for me and at 15 cents a foot a real bargain.

[4knflyin]

On 5/24/2024 at 9:44 AM, Bainford said:

My reference to race engines was generally for modern NASCAR, drag racing, etc, where wires can measure 10 mm or larger (in the case of Top Fuel cars, much larger). I don't know what size wires F1 cars were using in the 70s, but I would think wires on engines such as the DFV would be about 8 mm (someone please correct this if they know otherwise). If so, the proper scale wire size for a 1/12 engine would be 0.67 mm (plenty close to 0.65 mm). If the size was indeed 10 mm, the scale size would be 0.83 mm. The proper scale sizes may look small. Many builders seem to find a slightly larger wire looks better. Nothing wrong with that, though personally I find 'in scale' always looks best. The 1 mm in your photo clearly looks too large.

You bring up an excellent point regarding the surface finish on the wire. The vast majority of small wire sold today has a PVC or Teflon (PTFE) insulation which has a shiny surface and does not look right at all. The colours also often look somewhat translucent, and sometimes have a pearlescent effect to them which just looks wrong. The colours should be solid, with a slightly matt finish. Furthermore, this PVC or Teflon insulation is stiffer then the conventional vinyl insulation, which prevents it from draping in a natural way when installed. Lately, I have been finding it very difficult to find proper size wire (for 1/24 scale) in an acceptable colour and finish, and suitably supple.

As for removing the paint from the FORD letters; is the cam cover painted black or just molded black plastic? If just black plastic, you may have some luck with the local application of a stripper (Castrol Super Clean, Easy-Off HD oven cleaner, or Easy Lift Off) with a small brush or cotton swab, though that sounds like a recipe for a mess. Silver is also one of the more difficult paints to remove. You might get better results painting over it with black. You can then re-do the letters in silver if you wish. Others may have better advice.

 

On 5/24/2024 at 2:19 PM, peteski said:

One way to dull the shiny appearance is to roll the wire with your finger over 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper sheet.  It will  take a while since the fingertip area is not very large, but it should nicely dull the wire's surface.

Thanks guys. Here’s the 0.65 mm installed. 

[peteski]

Looks good Marcus!

[peteski]

On 5/28/2024 at 11:56 AM, Jiml0001 said:

Here is wire on EBay I use for standard plug wire.   It has an outside diameter of .28 mm which is almost exactly a quarter inch in 1/24 scale...Five dollars for 10 meters and many different colors available

Is that really outside diameter of the insulation, or the diameter of the metal wire itself?  I ask because wire specifications are usually for the metal conductor, not the diameter of the insulation.  If the insulation diameter is really 0.28mm or 0.011" then this wire will be quite handy for models.

[Bainford]

6 hours ago, peteski said:

Is that really outside diameter of the insulation, or the diameter of the metal wire itself?  I ask because wire specifications are usually for the metal conductor, not the diameter of the insulation.  If the insulation diameter is really 0.28mm or 0.011" then this wire will be quite handy for models.

According to the ad it's multi-braid, seven strands of 0.05 mm each. 

[Jiml0001]

This  wire is single strand .28 mm or .011 inches outside diameter which is almost exactly a quarter inch in 1/24;scal