Cap & Rotor

[alpinecrick]

Undoubtedly this has been discussed, but I want the latest scoop.

What cap and rotor are you guys liking? After a few fails with aftermarket C&R's I have stuck with AC Delco or OEM for a long time.

For those that recommend the all copper caps, what kind've of lifespan are you getting compared to OEM? ('Cause that's a consideration of mine).

 

[kolgeirr]

When the cap & rotor went out and starting causing misfires on my Suburban I went looking around and found that I could get a Delco cap/rotor combo for around $60 total, or I could get a whole dang aluminum bodied Ultra Power distributor including cap and rotor from Rock Auto for $45. So I just stabbed a new distributor in and called it good. About 15,000mi since then and no issues with the cap/rotor. I do pop the cap a few times a year and hit the terminals with a brush, but so far so good. What brand C&Rs have you used that gave you bad lifespan?

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

I've been pleased with the United Motor Products blue vented distributor cap and rotor set with brass contacts, on both my 5.7 Vortecs. I live in Houston, Texas and humidity is something we suffer with here! So on a distributor like the Vortecs have, that is prone to gathering moisture, to have a way to prevent that is great. The trucks both ran better once those were installed too.

 

[kolgeirr]

I've been pleased with the United Motor Products blue vented distributor cap and rotor set with brass contacts, on both my 5.7 Vortecs. I live in Houston, Texas and humidity is something we suffer with here! So on a distributor like the Vortecs have, that is prone to gathering moisture, to have a way to prevent that is great. The trucks both ran better once those were installed too.

Oh cool, didn't notice they made a vented one. When I need a cap and rotor I'll give that set a go - reasonably priced and if it works for you in Houston it'll work for me here in the FL Panhandle.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

Oh cool, didn't notice they made a vented one. When I need a cap and rotor I'll give that set a go - reasonably priced and if it works for you in Houston it'll work for me here in the FL Panhandle.

Yeah I think the set was around $30 when I bought mine last fall. When I got the crew cab, the seller said it would probably need a tuneup. I did the cap and rotor and it definitely helped, did plugs a couple months later and that helped too. For plugs I used AC 41-993 as that's what was in it from the factory.

 

[alpinecrick]

The only time I've had problems with moisture in the cap with my TBI or Vortecs is when I used aftermarket caps and rotors. And that was when the truck wasn't in the shop and it got rained on or snowed on a lot. I've never had that problem with OEM, ACD, or Delphi. At the moment humidiity at my place in Colorado is 18%. It might get lower tomorrow.....I'm praying for the monsoons to kick in...

MY concern about copper contacts is longevity. In the past copper contacts had noticably less lifespan than the factory aluminum contacts. Was wondering if anybody has ran 40k-50k with the Blue Streak or United copper caps, vented or unvented.

All four of my Vortecs have the original distributors. My 96 G1500 has a hairline crack across one of the screw holes--most likely caused by previous owner's aftermarket caps that often come with out-of-spec Chinese screws. My 96 K1500 has a new distributor gear 'cause the cam gear has some wear--crank-cam correlation wouldn't correlate with one another. New distributor gear addressed that--at least for the time being.

So back to the cap and rotor. Anybody put some significant miles on a copper cap? I"m about to fire the RA parts gun at one of my vans and was looking at the United cap and rotor bundle.

 

[alpinecrick]

HotWheels,
What year is your CC? I didn't know any of the GMT400's originally came with iridiums?

 

[alpinecrick]

So nobody has any miles on their copper caps?

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

HotWheels,
What year is your CC? I didn't know any of the GMT400's originally came with iridiums?

'97, built on September 27, 1996 in Flint, Michigan, GM Truck and Bus plant complex. I really think they are the original plugs, that I replaced in March. This truck had 122K when we got it....I think most everything but tires and battery are what it was born with, except for what I've replaced.

 

[HotWheelsBurban]

So nobody has any miles on their copper caps?

I just checked my fuel and maintenance book,and I changed the cap and rotor in mid January. Got about 3500 miles on them, I believe they did make a difference. Old cap and rotor weren't ruined, but they were close to wore out.