Cap & Rotor Question

[TomO]

I'm planning on replacing my cap and rotor after changing the plugs. I noticed there's quite a bit of price difference between the "standard" units and the "premium" or upgraded parts.

Any advice on whether it's worth it to buy the upgraded parts vs. standard parts? My car is stock.

Thanks.

[Mainemantom]

I use ACCEL rotors and caps. They use good materials, using copper(or copper coated) terminals. Much better than the cheap stuff. If you shop around at Rockauto, Ebay, Autopartgiant etc. you can find deals.

[86VickyLX]

Which one has a lifetime warranty? Do that one.

[TomO]

None of the parts I have found locally have life-time warranties. The longest warranty is 5 years and that set costs 29.99. The cheapos are 1 year warranty and cost 12.99 for the cap and 5.99 for the rotor. Intermediate set has 2 year warranty and is about $27.

The only auto parts stores in my area are O'Rielly's, Autozone, Napa and a bunch of independents.

[86VickyLX]

get the 5 year one. You'll be replacing it before then.

[BerniniCaCO3]

how do you know when you need a new cap and rotor? Do you just start missing as it fails to conduct?

And, MSD is the most expensive one, but is it worth the serious extra coin they seem to be asking for it?

[gadget73]

they get crusty usually. If its got brass terminals, often you can scrape the crust off and have it run well again but not always. When the ends of the towers start to burn away, or there are deep grooves in the contacts from arcing, its done for. Basically anything with a brass terminal is pretty much on even footing. MSD parts are red, which is why they cost more. Red parts are more valuable than brown or grey because they give you more horsepower.

[87_crown_vic]

like the race stickers added to your car add 5hp per sticker ... you forgot to mention that Thain... oh well...

[BerniniCaCO3]

Now that you mention it, red spark plug wires cost quite a bit more than the blue ones of the same model. I got blue ones. Preferred blue anyway.

[mrltd]

The duralast at autozone are really good and have brass terminals. Cheap too. Or I usually run the accels, also brass and fairly cheap. Brass lasts a lot longer than the standard aluminum ones.

[stinkydogfilms]

I bought the MSD coil, cap and rotor and have an expensive set (45.00) of Bosch plug wires. Seems to me it made a world of difference in response when I push it down.

[BerniniCaCO3]

I bought a new aluminum cap & rotor a year ago just as part of a general tuneup; I'd just bought the car, didn't know anything about cars, didn't know what maintenance had been done.

Wondering if I want to replace it with the $25 ACCEL brass cap&rotor now, or wait for the aluminum to wear out first?
It's not missing; and I suppose that's all that matters-- or if it even delays arcing with added resistance, from oxide buildup, can you have reduced burn and reduced performance before you actively misfire?

As a related maintenance question --because I like to be proactive, or to be more honest with myself, I just enjoy buying parts for my car whether I urgently need them or not--
Is a 20yr-old ignition coil something worth preemptively replacing? Or is that something that either works, or doesn't work, and until the day that it fails, just keep the old one? Some items wear slowly, it seems, and benefit from being addressed before they go too far, while others are either good or no good and replacing just because they're old is just a waste of money if they're not yet actually bad. Not sure where an ignition coil falls.

[miamibob]

I'd get spare parts, just to have on hand, but wouldn't replace until I felt some sort of issues.

[gadget73]

replace it when it needs replacing. No point in removing parts that are working.