Pulstar Spark Plugs

Has anyone else toyed with the idea of putting these new Pulstar spark plugs in their XJ? The testing data looks pretty good, if you can believe anything a company Web site tells you. Then again, the info does come from independent sites.

I know, I know, they're gawdawful expensive. But ya gotta wonder. :wink:

Anyway, I emailed the company and they said that the NGK BP7ES cross references to the Pulstar BE-1. Only problem is that it doesn't have the removable terminal nut.

Who's gonna be first to tell me I'm nuts? :lol:

 

I will - yer NUTS!

$25 per plug to add a micro-capacitor inside the plug? I'm sure an engineer will chip in here, but I'm still going to pass.

 

I'll chime in on the 'nuts' side.
this has snake oil written all over it.
Saw an ad in one of my auto mags and if i remember correctly, their data shows that their plugs are worse than standard plugs below something like 5k rpm. after that they were marginally better.

May be the best thing ever, but i'm guessing poo.

 

Oh great! Another gimmick for people to throw their money away on. :roll:

Listen, I've been selling auto parts since about 1991 and I've learned one thing in that time about these types of products. If they're so great and save so much fuel and create so much extra horsepower, don't you think the auto makers would be using them right off the factory line? As demanding as the EPA and CAFE requirements are, auto makers are always looking for new ways to squeeze better mileage out of their new vehicles.

If you see the big three running them then buy them. If you don't... well, I'm sure you can figure it out.

Even Pulstar's own web site admits that their plug is nothing special. The heat created (which is negligible) in polarizing the gap still exists in both instances. (...unless they're claiming to have created a superconducting spark plug at engine temperatures, but I don't think so.)

The first quoted paragraph isn't quite right. A potential difference builds between the anode and cathode of the gap, not in the gap. It's this potential difference which ionizes the gaseous molecules in the gap through an electric field creating the electron pathway for current to traverse the gap. (See electrostatics and spark gap.) Time is consumed in the discharge of the ignition coil and the building of the potential difference at the spark gap. This time constant is factored in when engineers figure ignition timing (or dwell) when creating your vehicle's timing curve. Now, imagine what would happen if you suddenly changed that time interval. Can you also go inside you control module and remap your timing curve to account for this variation? Oops, I guess you just lost some of your efficiency.

In electronics, there are many forms of storage devices. A battery is one, an inductor is another, and so is a capacitor. With an ignition circuit, you're storing energy in the ignition coil--an inductor--until you're ready to use it. All these folks are doing is dumping that storage container into another container--a capacitor--then releasing it to the plug. And they're calling the process unique. It's not unique. It's the same basic circuit used in strobe lights.

And what would happen if the capacitor should short out? It would probably work as a normal spark plug and you'd never be the wiser. Oh, and running the voltage up to a million or even a billion volts isn't going to make that much improvement over your conventional ignition system. The most voltage you'll need is that which ionizes the gap under the most severe conditions, i.e. at high Rpms and heavy throttle. Once the pathway is set up, the current will move. And that threshold is usually somewhere between 50 to 100 thousand volts.

Hope this information helps anyone looking at these plugs. Let them go the same way Splitfire Plugs went before them.

 

The difference between a Cap and an Inductor are the way that it discharges the voltage... A Cap is slow to charge and quick to discharge (used in tasers).. and an Inductor or coil is quick to charge but slow to discharge.. so I understand their theory and I'm sure in with a high performance machine like a dragster or something like that - you'd take anything you can get to add to the performance... but with these old bikes... I don't think it would be worth it.. I'll stick to $2 a plug that works great for my application which is riding the hell out of it.. Like Gamuru said.. it might actually affect your timing in a negative way

I fix electronic components for a living... caps do blow out on circuit cards( dielectric material gives and "pops" the cap)... but so do inductors (the coils weld together)... but it's rare with the cards I work with.. it's usually a diode,a transistor, or microchip that blow first or I'll melt or "smoke check" a resistor every now and again

 

I am relieved to hear someone gets it! Thought I was the only one for years!

 

I guess there is a sucker born every minute or is it every second I forgot.

 

:roll:

Hell, it seems like most guys in here can't get iridium plugs into their bikes fast enough. I wasn't quite expecting the voracity of the comments I'd get by posing a simple question about these things.

Lesson learned.

 

Well - Iridium plugs have something going for them -- real science.
The reason iridium plugs cost $8/ea is simple - it's an expensive metal. "Pulstar" plugs cost $25/ea why? who knows, I doubt a small capacitor is worth that...
Iridium plugs have an electromechanical advantage -- because of the conductivity and hardness of the metal, they can create a micro-fine tip that doesn't wear, creating optimal conditions for a controlled spark gap, and consistant spark generation. From the images and lack of knowing what metal they make them from, I'm going to say the Pulstars don't have those advantages either.

 

Don't be Crazy and waste your money on a gimmick Spark Plug.

Just buy a four-pack of a good Brand Name set of sparklers, gap 'em right and stick 'em in the Old XJ.

Your Bike is going to run as good as the Mixture from the Carbs will allow.

You'd be better off spending the C-Note on Carb Kits or a Brand New Petcock, Fuse Panel or Seals for your Forks or Brakes. Brake Pads. Something worth the dough!