I pulled out a set of Autolite Professional & Motorcraft spark plug wires at work yesterday, & could see no difference. Looked exactly the same except the Autolite ($48 - lifetime warranty) are black, & the Motorcraft ($67 - one year warranty) are grey - neither were numbered.
My original Motorcraft wires are a darker grey, almost black, & are numbered.
I had a #3 plug wire (was touching the manifold) go bad at around 1000 miles, so I want to be sure to get super high quality wires that can take the heat for a reasonable amount of time. #1 was also touching the manifold, but no problems - it came from the factory with plastic conduit wrap on it. I have since used plastic ties to get them off of the manifold, & I put Motormite plastic conduit on #3. The other 5 are still original & no problems, but want to change them soon.
I noticed that many of you use FM 9mm racing wires. Are they as good as or better than the Motorcraft? Just wondering why they list for much less than the Motorcraft.
At work we always try to figure out who makes Motorcraft to try to save $$$$$. Some of you have posted (including DemonSVT, I think?) that Autolite makes Motorcraft plugs & Puolator makes their fuel filters. Have to agree w/you here - my manager says he has heard the same thing, & looking at a Purolator & Motorcraft fuel filter for the V6 side by side seems to confirm this - look exactly the same - even have the same red sealant(?) at the top.
Also, at Advance, our Stant thermostats for the '96 V6 are stamped Motorcraft! So some of you might save some $$$$ knowing that. The Motorcraft (Stant) do have the bleed hole, which is important, as I have heard these cooling systems can sometimes be tricky to burp (get all of the air out).
