The stock motor, especially the later models, has a more than adequate ignition system. Even when you start piling on the modifications that put more air into the motor, increasing the amount of fuel the computer injects, keep the following in mind: the stock ignition is more than adequate for any amount of fuel the stock injectors can flow. This doesn't mean you don't need an upgraded ignition! The moment the engine runs a little rich, or you overgap the plugs, advance the timing, or do anything that upsets the balance between the components, then you should start considering working on the ignition. You will also run a little better and cleaner, even on a stock motor, with an upgraded ignition.

So what should you do with the ignition? Start with the wires, then change the spark plugs. After that, replace the coil with an aftermarket version, and advance the timing.

If you're going to upgrade the wires, go ahead and move to 8mm. I highly recommend you purchase the $29.95 Accel 4040B Universal Fit custom wire set. The kit comes with enough parts to rewire a Honda dealership. While you're at it, pick up a can of WD-40, a crimper tool, and wire stripper. To install it, remove one wire from the engine, and cut one of the new wires about 4 inches longer. Saturate the new boot with WD-40, and push the wire through it. You might have to straighten the boot somewhat to get the wire through. Strip one inch of insulation (that includes the white stuff) off the wire, making sure you didn't damage the conductor (it should be black). Fold the conductor over the side and crimp on a connector. Saturate the inside of the spark-plug boot with WD-40, and pop it on the plug. The connector will click when it is on tight. Now plug the other end into the distributor cap. It might not click - just make sure the connector is not jutting out, and you should be fine. Repeat the process for each wire, including the high tension (coil) wire. Don't get frustrated if the wires look like crap and you can't crimp on the connectors without breaking them, just finish the job and go buy another kit. Chances are you won't get it perfect the first time, so don't fret.

I have tried a number of spark plugs, and have come to the following conclusions: ACDelco RapidFires last a long time, and improve engine response slightly. They tend not to foul up easily. SplitFires don't last as long, and they foul up a lot, but they do noticeably improve engine response. SplitFire Platinums are much better than the normal ones, but are outrageously expensive. Bosch Platinums are the ones I recommend. They don't foul up, they last quite a while, and can handle huge amounts of spark voltage. If you are going to keep the ignition stock, select a stock gap of .035. If you are upgrading with higher-quality parts, then select a .039 gap. If you are going to have a high-output ignition, then select a .044 gap. Increasing the gap increases the amount of spark and helps reduce the chance of fouling, assuming you have enough voltage to bridge the gap.

You are going to need a spark plug socket and a wobble extension to get at the annoyingly located spark plugs. The socket size for the plugs is 13/16", get a deep spark plug socket, not a plain-old deep 13/16". A spark plug socket will grip the plug so it does not fall out of the socket. Don't use the cheap spark-plug tools they sell at PepBoys, march yourself down to WalMart and get one of those ratchets you can spin from the end of the shaft - it will make your job so much easier and prevent you from over-torquing the plugs into the head. Get a tube of anti-seize or go home now and never work on your car again.

If you like to cross-thread spark plugs into 5" deep cavities, then don't bother with any of the tools and save yourself some money for the engine-hoist and tap-and-die set you'll need when you strip out your aluminum cylinder head. Although the plugs are the easiest and most basic of things you can do with your car, they are the easist thing to screw up in your car!.

When removing the plugs, you might have to move the coolant tank out of the way for the #2 cylinder by removing the one bolt that holds it on. Also, cylinder #1 is extremely annoying because the moron who designed this car put the alternator bracket right in front of it.

When installing the plugs, put a blob of anti-sieze onto the threads of the plug, and put it in the socket. The plug goes in the cylinder head electrode first, so keep that in mind. Tighten the plug into the cylinder with your hand. If it becomes impossible to tighten by about the 3rd turn, you are cross-threading the plug (that is why you are doing it by hand, right?), unscrew it and try again. Now use the special ratchet tool I told you to buy, and turn the crank until it is difficult to tighten any farther without assuming an obscene position. Make sure you are actually screwing the plug in, and the extension is not jutting into the side of the head, making it difficult to turn. Absolutely do not overtighten the plug, or you will strip the aluminum, which is a serious problem when it occurs in the head. Now reconnect the wire (which should click on when tight), and repeat the process for the other cylinders. Start the car and hope it doesn't explode. If you get any misfires, or the car breaks-up at high RPM, then check your plugs.

Now that everything else has been upgraded, its time to change the coil. For stock replacement, select an Accel 4150 SuperStock, or an MSD Blaster 2. For high-output, choose an Accel 140001 Super Coil, or MSD Blaster 3. Remove the old coil coil by unplugging the harness, and unscrewing it from the bracket on the plenum. If you bought one of the smaller coils, you can just hose-clamp it to the bracket. With the larger ones, use the lower left (driver's side) bolt on the bracket to hold the coil on by the bracket that came with the coil. You will have to cut the harness off the stock coil-input wires, just make sure you do a good job and keep as much length as possible. There are three ways to determine the polarity (positive or negative) of the wires. The first, trust me, is the two-color wire is positive, and the flat-color is negative, I don't recommend for two reasons: it could have been wired backwards at the factory/shop, or your car might be different. I would recommend you hook a multimeter to the wires and have someone crank the motor (ie, try and start the car). If you get a reading that has a negative sign, then whichever wire the positive (red) lead of the multimeter is connected to is negative, and the other is positve. If you don't get a negative sign, then the positive lead of the multimeter is connected to the positive ignition wire. The third method is to look at the inside of the harness. Hold it so the two prongs look like a right-side up T. The prong running horizontal is the ground, and the other is the power (positive).

Connect the positive wire to the positive terminal on the coil, and the negative to the negative terminal on the coil. Reconnect the high tension wire to the coil (it should click), and make sure the car starts. If not, check your connections. If something explodes, smells, or burns, you probably hooked the coil up backwards.

Advancing the timing causes the ignition system to spark earlier in the combustion cycle. When the spark occurs too late (the timing is retarded), by the time the air-fuel mixture ignites, the piston will have already started moving back down, and you will lose compression. If you time the spark so the ignition occurs before or just when the piston is all the way up, you maintain the compression. Also, the fuel stays suspended in the mixture better. Advancing the timing is a cheap way to increase compression during combustion, because the ignition occurs when the air is most compressed. If timing is over-advanced, the spark occurs too early, causing detonation, or pinging. The reason is the piston is still moving up when the air-fuel mixture ignites, which tries to push the piston back down. This causes cylinder temperatures to increase, which could cause even more detonation, and blow a head gasket or bend a connecting rod. To avoid any problems, make sure you read all of these instructions before you start:

When you consider advancing the timing to make more horsepower, keep in mind you will have to forever use 92 or 93 octane gasoline, which you should be using anyways if you care about your motor. That means if a friend needs to borrow your car for a day, he must know to fill it with 93, and when the shop works on your car, their courtesy fill-up must be a 93 octane fill-up. There are no exceptions! If your car has nitrous or a turbo/blower, then this modification is not for you (and you should know that anyways). If you run low on gas and can't find a gas station with 92/93 or a bottle of octane booster engine additive, then turn down your timing or get your car towed because this is one of those 'be-carefuls' where you really should.

To begin the process, run your car past empty, take a moment to contemplate the permanent change in gasoline octane that advancing the timing requires, and fill the tank with 93 octane. Now pull up to a store with a sidewalk in a parking lot that you can run into to stop the car from moving when you put it in drive. If you don't want to make a fool out of yourself, pick a location like Pepboys or AutoZone and not a local supermarket like Publix. Roll up to the sidewalk (slowly) until the tires run into it, and engage the parking brake (mash it all the way down).

The reason for all of this foolishness is we are going to advance the timing with the engine loaded, like it usually is when you're driving, using trial and error. To tell someone to advance the timing on their car by 3 or 4 degrees is not always a good idea because it might already be there. If you have a manual transmission, don't even bother trying to do it this way. Do it by trial-and-error.

Now have someone sit in the car and start it. With the car in drive, hold the motor at about 2000 RPM. If you don't have a tachometer, that's about the speed the engine will be at 50 mph (its not a big deal as long as the engine is loaded at an RPM between two and three-thousand). If the car is going to torque itself up onto the sidewalk, you probably want someone in the car to hit the brakes, and find yourself a new sidewalk. If the car is not rolling up the sidewalk, then release the brake pedal (not the parking brake) so that the engine is pushing the car into the sidewalk (putting a load on it).

With the engine at this speed, trace the large upper hose coming from the radiator back to your engine. See the small sensor (coolant) sitting right next to it? Disconnect it. After a few seconds the engine should change RPM and the fan should turn on. Loosen the bolt holding down the distributor. It is the only bolt in front of the distributor within 2 inches of it. Now slowly (think about what 3 degrees is on the distributor) turn the entire distributor clockwise (always against the arrow). If it won't turn, the bolt is still too tight so do not man-handle the distributor. If you hear any type of noise that you normally don't hear from the engine like a metallic dink-dink-dink or a slight thunking noise coming from below the intake plenum, turn the distributor back a little immediately because if you don't you will destroy your pistons, valves, and head gaskets. A slight drop in fuel economy may also result from too much detonation. After you have turned the distributor a few millimeters, go ahead and tighten it back down, making sure not to move the cap while you do. If you are really sure you will never in your life forget to put 93 octane in your car, you can go ahead and slowly turn the distributor until the engine starts knocking (pinging) and then back it down two degrees (not one).

Now turn off the car and reconnect the sensor. Start the car and drive around with the socket ready so that you can immediately jump out and retard the timing if you hear any odd noises. Remember to disconnect the coolant sensor again if you do. Keep the windows open and the stereo off. Don't floor it at first, try gradual increases in RPM, but do work your way up to full throttle. Keep testing the engine until it is good and warm and you have floored the car and hit the rev-limiter a few times. Don't take chances - if you think you hear knocking even once, then turn the timing down some.

Keep that socket handy for the next week or so while you drive the car around normally. Advancing the timing achieves an excellent horsepower increase, but you will forever for the life of the engine have to be weary of and listening for knocking. If you ever perform modifications to the car that change the compression (like supercharging, turbocharging, different piston and connecting rod lengths, etc.) or cause a massive increase in the air or fuel the engine uses (like nitrous), then the timing has to be retarded back to normal, at the very least.