Distributor wiring for 1:24 model engines

[Lionel]

Hi all. I've been trying to find some decent (and affordable) 30 AWG wire (for spark plug wiring) where I live in Canada and had no luck, except for a product I found on Amazon called "BOJACK 30 AWG Flexible Silicon Wire Kit". I'm including a picture of said kit I ordered and was wondering if anyone else tried this. Any thoughts?

[bobss396]

What does the wire measure up as? The ones I like are. 016"-.018", 30 awg Kynar found on eBay  

[peteski]

Even standard Kynar insulated 30AWG wire wrapping wire is already oversize for 1:25 spark plug wires.  The wire diameter itself is 0.010" but the total diameter with insulation, like Bob mentioned, is around 0.016-0.018".  That is 0.016" X 25 = 0.4" diameter in 1:1 . Some modelers find that acceptable - I don't.  You should be able to find a lot of 30AWG wire on eBay or amazon.  I just looked on eBay and there is a wide range of colors available on 100' spools for about $12US each.

The silicon insulated wire you found has likely even thicker diameter insulation (I use similar wire for "real" electrical  wiring).

 

 

[Lionel]

9 hours ago, peteski said:

Even standard Kynar insulated 30AWG wire wrapping wire is already oversize for 1:25 spark plug wires.  The wire diameter itself is 0.010" but the total diameter with insulation, like Bob mentioned, is around 0.016-0.018".  That is 0.016" X 25 = 0.4" diameter in 1:1 . Some modelers find that acceptable - I don't.  You should be able to find a lot of 30AWG wire on eBay or amazon.  I just looked on eBay and there is a wide range of colors available on 100' spools for about $12US each.

The silicon insulated wire you found has likely even thicker diameter insulation (I use similar wire for "real" electrical  wiring).

 

 

(sigh) shoot, it didn't actually say the total thickness, but it probably would be too big for what I want if that's the case.

 

[bobss396]

7 mm was what old Accel yellow wires were advertised as. I have 9 mm wires on my 1:1 cars, I've seen 10 mm wires advertised. 

I agree that .020" or .5 mm wires may look too big, .016" to .018" is a good compromise and is easy to find.

Smaller wire kinks a lot easier. Walk around at shows and you see who uses what.

[Zippi]

I search locally and couldn't find what I liked so I found this wire on Amazon.  I switched to this wire some time ago.  This wire stays where you put it and its easy to work with.  

[NOBLNG]

13 hours ago, Lionel said:

(sigh) shoot, it didn't actually say the total thickness, but it probably would be too big for what I want if that's the case.

 

It may be just fine. Although technically a little large, it may look acceptable depending on the thickness of the insulation. You won’t know until you measure it or see it next to the engine. I use .020” wrapping wire on 1/25 scale and I am OK with it. Being 1/24 scale you have a little more leeway. Depends on the look and how accurate you want to be.

[Kit Karson]

 

[peteski]

3 hours ago, Zippi said:

I search locally and couldn't find what I liked so I found this wire on Amazon.  I switched to this wire some time ago.  This wire stays where you put it and its easy to work with.  

 

Well to me those look way too thick. More like garden hoses than ignition wires.  But we all have different standards we go by.  All that counts is that you're happy with your model.

[Mark W]

Just to reaffirm what others have said.

Real spark plug wire is mostly 9mm or 3/8” or .375” all the same dimension.

.010”. = 1/4” easy to remember, so .015” = 3/8”.   Perfect!

Another easy dimension to remember is 1mm “  =  1 inch in 1/25th scale.  
 

1/25 of 9mm  =  .36 mm

[peteski]

26 minutes ago, Mark W said:

Just to reaffirm what others have said.

Real spark plug wire is mostly 9mm or 3/8” or .375” all the same dimension.

.010”. = 1/4” easy to remember, so .015” = 3/8”.   Perfect!

Another easy dimension to remember is 1mm “  =  1 inch in 1/25th scale.  
 

1/25 of 9mm  =  .36 mm

The original question was for 1:24 scale (there are lots of 1:24 models out there, probably more than 1:25 scale), but for our purposes (ignition wire diameter), this is close enough.

[bobss396]

Radio Shack used to carry spools of WW wire. I'm still using some. They had this great almost metallic blue that looks great.

[peteski]

2 hours ago, bobss396 said:

Radio Shack used to carry spools of WW wire. I'm still using some. They had this great almost metallic blue that looks great.

When the insulation is translucent then the color looks metallic. I have similar WW wire in blue, red and white (which looks like pearl white).  And no, I don't use it for ignition wires in 1:24/25 scale.