Plug wires

Unless the boots are of a unique (non-standard) design, which many cars are these days, the Accels come with extra long wires and unassembled, i.e., you cut to length and stake the terminals on the end with a special crimp tool that comes in the set.

But - yeah - if the boots are not of the universal type, then the Accels are a no-go.

Do a search no "MSW wires" and see what you come up with. I will add that, typically, OEM wires that are of non-standard boot design are pretty good these days, so unless the dealer prices are ridiculously high, you might do Ok with those.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Pardon me for asking but I am curious why would a 2003 Forester need new plug wires?

I would stick with the OEM wires and not mess with aftermarket. There are many dealers on the net that have good prices on OEM Subaru parts.

Some discussions that I've read speak of better performance, gas mileage, etc.

One would have to be pretty careless to screw up the assembly of the Accel spiral-wound wires. The spiral-wound solid-wire cores are pretty indestructable - and once you have them trimmed, you fold the core back to fit underneath the terminal that gets crimped into place using the tool that comes with them. My guess is that you made that statement without having seen how it's done. I've assembled and used them on several of my cars over the years, and they literally last a lifetime.

Bill Putney (to reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with "x")

Yeah, modern ignition systems are so good these days that anything other than OEM is a waste of time.

Upgrading your ignition on an otherwise stock car is a waste of money.

-Dave