Spark Plug Heat Socks made of Volcanic material

[celly]

I recently stumbled across a set of spark plug heat socks on eBay that sound pretty cool so I scored a pair. They've got some sort of volcanic material woven into them and have much higher heat resistance than fibreglass ones. I became much more interested in heat socks since I got my Torque Monster Headers installed in July and in keeping the plug wires safe as a result. I did manage to toast one of my new Motorcraft wires lately when I didn't safely cover it so I'm paying a lot more attention these days.

eBay seller "gopracer" has socks for sale they call:

"VULCAN LAVA PROTECTOR SLEEVE SPARK PLUG WIRE BOOT"

Sounded pretty "cool" (reverse pun intended) so I scored a set recently. Not on the cheap side, but I like their heat ratings. Mine arrived today and they look pretty cool. Sort of a "gold carbon fiber" look to them. No photos yet and the listing doesn't let me direct link, but they do have pics on the listing (current item is 370245261137).

Here's their spiel on the socks:

You paid dearly for that new spark plug wire set, protect your investment with the best on the market. These VULCAN LAVA Fire Boots are designed for extreme protection of spark plug boots and wires, in excess of 2000°F (1093.3 C) continuous and 3000°F (1648.9 C) of radiant heat. They can be used from ultimate race cars, street vehicles, to motor homes. There is not a boot protector on the market today that will take temperatures higher and last longer.The Boots are woven with two layers of crushed lava rock filament fiber. Keep your wire and boot cooler in a high temperature environment.

ó Fit is universal for most angled and straight boots.
ó Helps reduce misfires
ó Enhance Performance
ó Extends life of wire & boots
ó Non-Flammable
ó Resists damaging chemicals
ó 25% stronger than fiberglass Boots
ó Custom look of carbon fiber
ó Looks great
ó Easy installation

Anyhow, between trashing two Motorcraft wires in the past few weeks (one heat related) and finding a sliced Magnecor wire in my spare parts bin (and another with a singed boot before the headers went on), I just got a new set of Aurora wires and want to set them up nicely. I've got a pile of those loom/separator things to tie them all together and keep them out of harms way.

Anyone ever use these socks? They seem like the real deal and when you see them in person, they seem to be a high quality item. I've been in guinea pig mode lately (re: Screamin Demon coil packs on 5.0 applications), so here I go again.

 

[celly]

UPDATE:

I have had these socks on my trucks for several weeks now. They're a very interesting fiber. Sort of a gold look to them and much more pliable than fibreglass so you can get them to sort of stick where you want them. I meant to take some photos this past weekend but never got around to it. I'll try and get some up in due course.

Here's a stock photo from their eBay listing:

 

[Turdle]

Those are interesting. The socks I have now got smudged a bit and look like those in spots. Definitely an improvement, although the normal socks seem to work well enough. I haven't burned a wire for some time now.

If I was to buy another set I would try these for sure.

 

[CDW6212R]

Interesting Brad, show us some more pictures when you can.

BTW, how do you have any bad Magnecor wires, they should be warranted for life? Regards,

 

[celly]

Those are interesting. The socks I have now got smudged a bit and look like those in spots. Definitely an improvement, although the normal socks seem to work well enough. I haven't burned a wire for some time now.

If I was to buy another set I would try these for sure.

Jon, these were a bit more pricey than the fibreglass ones I got from Summit that we put on in July when I was down there, but I did it for peace of mind. I still use two of the old socks for more protection higher up on two of the 8 wires (I'd have to look under the hood to see which ones....both on the drivers side). The only downside I saw about these are that they're 6" long vs the 8" socks I had from Summit hence why I "doubled up". The two wires seemed a bit more exposed than I liked with the new socks.

If you believe the heat ratings on these things, they're about triple what the fibreglass ones are!

 

[celly]

Interesting Brad, show us some more pictures when you can.

BTW, how do you have any bad Magnecor wires, they should be warranted for life? Regards,

Don, the stock photo shows the socks fairly well. In person, they look more gold. They leave little gold fibers on the wires as I put them on. The feel of the material is like nothing I've ever felt before. Almost feels like putty.

The one Magencor had a big slice in it. No idea how that happened, but I sense it was the cause of the big misfire I had just before I left Wisconsin for Kansas in late June. There is a slight chance it may have happened when I had a tire changed in Northern Wisconsin (although I can't see how). I never had a misfire before the tire was changed but it did materialize the day after as I left for Milwaukee (and day after the tire was changed after I discovered my driver's side front tire had finally gone flat when I slight cut I had in the sidewall finally gave way). Might just be coincidence, but the cut was very clean and looked new.

I contacted Magnecor about replacement wires and obviously they weren't going to warranty the sliced one. I didn't expect it. I had another wire in which the boot felt a bit mushy, but I'm pretty sure it was because it was too close to the stock manifold and it may have been made worse when I used them with the headers (with fibreglass socks).

Magnecor admitted that the 302 on our rides is a bit tricky because even without headers, it's a tight fit. He said heat socks aren't a bad idea. I was going to get a few replacement wires from Magnecor, but when I factored in shipping and exhange, it was cheaper for me to get a new set of Aurora. I wanted a complete set. I now have 6 good Magnecor wires in reserve as well as 6 Motorcrafts too.

Magnecor does have killer customer service. I really appreciate that company. I'll probably stick with Aurora from now on because their quality is equal, if not higher than Magnecor and they're cheaper for me. They're standard 5.0 wireset is just under $100 CAD which is about $95 USD at today's rates (which is as close to par as it's been in a while).