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We Have Ignition: Performance Distributors LS Plug Wires And Coils
By
Brian Havins January 24, 2020One area on an LS engine that often gets overlooked is the ignition system and for a good reason. Chevrolet did an excellent job on its coil set up for the LS and the LT engines. And while this system works very well, there’s room for improvement. But you may be thinking, “What’s to gain by switching up the ignition coils?” This is a fair question and one that LS enthusiasts will argue over time and time again. While you’re not going to gain 50 horsepower by swapping out your coils and plue wires, there are significant gains to be had.
The factory coils may be good, but after almost 20 years they need to be replaced for reliability.
Recently we finished up an
LS-swap on a 1991 Suburban. We like to take this beastly machine on road trips, offroad expeditions, and it’s been up to the mountains for ski season a time or two. The last thing we want to deal with on the road is parts failure. Since the vehicle has a factory ignition system that is almost 20 years old, we decided to upgrade the coils and wires. Instead of using the factory coils and plug wires, we chose to update these components with SOS (Sultans Of Spark) Coils and LiveWires spark plug wires from
Performance Distributors.
The SOS coils are designed to fit the 1997-2019 General Motors LS and Vortec engines. As expected, these coils pack a punch with additional voltage over the factory units. The SOS line offers 7,000 more volts per coil for a total of 56,000 added volts for our LS engine. This extra energy will produce more horsepower, increase throttle response, fuel economy, allow for quicker starting, and offer a smoother idle. Since the Suburban is driven quite often, all of these benefits are welcomed, but we are especially excited about any increase in fuel mileage.
So, why do the SOS coils create so much more voltage over the stock units? After all, they are the same size as the factory parts.
Performance Distributors uses the latest technology to enhance the coil windings for higher output while retaining the original sizes. These units use thermal epoxy, which improves heat transfer and vibration protection. Brass terminals are also used for enhanced conduction and less chance of corrosion.
The SOS coils mounted on ICT Billet’s brackets look much better than the OEM parts.