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CatfishCalhoun
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Joined: August 04, 2007
Posts: 364
Location: Way to the LEFT
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 Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:05 pm Post subject: Snake Oil or New Tech Advantage? Pulstar Plugs |
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Saw an ad in Scientific American for these new Capacitor Plugs by Pulstar.
http://tinyurl.com/54l3bk
Would these be of any benefit in a 2.0l FI GD engine? They're only $25 each. 
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". . . In beer there is freedom,
in water there is bacteria." -Ben Franklin |
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calebmelvin
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Joined: July 19, 2006
Posts: 3140
Location: Seattle, WA
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Karl
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Joined: January 29, 2001
Posts: 6170
Location: Coos Bay, Oregon
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| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:19 pm Post subject: |
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Total BS. The last thing you want to do is run resister plugs on a stock VW ignition system. All the resistance the system can handle is built into the spark plug ends.
They are comparing these 'things' to resister plugs: http://www.pulstarplug.com/howtheywork.html |
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wheelhorse
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Joined: July 14, 2007
Posts: 173
Location: Hamtramck, Mi
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| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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Weird...kinda creepy. The site guessed my car before I even entered it in.
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420GOAT
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Location: Wilmington, CA on a nice quiet street but still in the 'hood
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| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:43 pm Post subject: |
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would'nt the engine run hotter? if so not the best for an air cooled. besides way too much cash.
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calebmelvin
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Location: Seattle, WA
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wheelhorse
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Joined: July 14, 2007
Posts: 173
Location: Hamtramck, Mi
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| Posted: Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject: |
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well damn, I am batting 0 for tech savvyness.
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mygreenbus
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Joined: February 14, 2007
Posts: 1154
Location: Palm Coast, FL
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:46 am Post subject: |
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I like to look and see if anyone at the race track is using something that would help produce so much spark. Not. Sounds like the 100 mpg carb of the 1960's only with a better ad.
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67jason
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Joined: August 28, 2005
Posts: 4741
Location: behind my back feet - Pittsburg CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:08 am Post subject: |
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| calebmelvin wrote: |
| $100 for a set of plugs! Damn |
does one even go through $100 worth of regular bosch plugs durring the life of an average engine?!
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mygreenbus
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Location: Palm Coast, FL
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:22 am Post subject: |
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And why it it that these great breakthroughs never come from anyone we have heard of? I can't beleive that Bosch or Champion or NGK isn't trying new stuff all the time, especially if they could get that $$$ for it.
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61Ragster
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GusC2it
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Joined: June 23, 2005
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Location: Orlando, Florida, USA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:30 am Post subject: |
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PURE SNAKE OIL
..and not new either. back in the 50s, JC Whitney sold plug gizmos that went between the wire AND THE PLUG....I bought some, because I understood the principal.
What they did is push the coil to the maximum limit of total saturation time before they fired. they did this by putting a gap slightly larger then the plug gap into the circuit. This forced the coil to build up enought voltage to jump the larger gap, therefore the higher voltage would more easily jump the plug gap. This was a trick that old machanics would use to get a reluctant engine started with a fouled plug. They would just hold the plug wire a 1/4" from the plug end. It works! The downside is the built in gap will burn up your points quicker. With electronic ign. there is no benifit at all......Save your money!
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Air_Cooled_Nut
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Location: Portland, Oregon
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| Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 6:05 pm Post subject: |
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| mywifesghia wrote: |
| And why it it that these great breakthroughs never come from anyone we have heard of? I can't beleive that Bosch or Champion or NGK isn't trying new stuff all the time, especially if they could get that $$$ for it. |
Bingo!
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Did I mention that I'm an original Darksider?
'72 VW Squareback, 2007cc, GB 5-speed, rag top; '76 VW Riviera Penthouse Sundowner 2.0L; 2015 Audi S5 Cabby w/Stage II APR; '06 Ducati Sport Classic 1000; '14 Ducati Diavel Strada
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Nitramrebrab72
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Joined: November 10, 2018
Posts: 484
Location: France
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| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 5:22 am Post subject: Re: Snake Oil or New Tech Advantage? Pulstar Plugs |
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| Fitted pulstar plugs on my 2.0 l cu engine. Running full E85 in the french moutains.. And its removed the low down flame out dead spot |
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
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Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 11:43 am Post subject: Re: Snake Oil or New Tech Advantage? Pulstar Plugs |
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Snake oil is a bit extreme.
Lets call it a working "gimmick"....just like Splitfire plugs. And correct....its nowhere near new.
The Pulstars use a capacitor in the middle section where there is usually in secondary air gap in "X" style plugs like NGK uses.
The air gap technology was in so many plugs that most people whose engine spec'd them did not even know its there. Back in the 70's, 80's early 90's. Its purpose....was for when a plug gap was fouled....the internal air gap becomes the gap or point of ionization and changed how the plug heated and sparked for a short period (i'm being really crude here to not get into it too deep)...which helped to clear the main gap.
So....in that junction.....between the copper main rod (which ALL spark plugs use) and whatever exotic metal is being used at the electrode....the Pulstar has a capacitor which stores voltage being fed to it until it releases it with a more violent arc....again over simplifying it for brevity.
However....because of that action the spark will be shorter in duration and delayed by maybe a millisecond or so. That may have issues with some engines that require long spark duration.
This hotter higher intensity spark can also help coo;er fuel charge engines like alcohol and to a small extent....high compression engines that literally blow out the spark.
The downside...is that organic capacitors inside of something like a spark plug can have a short life. Capacitors die from use and heat in almost all high voltage, high cycle applications.
If you have a high compression engines and this plug helps you....you could have easily done largely the same thing with a higher voltage coil and better gap. Ray |
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Brian
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raygreenwood
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Joined: November 24, 2008
Posts: 21507
Location: Oklahoma City
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| Posted: Sat Mar 07, 2020 1:10 pm Post subject: Re: Snake Oil or New Tech Advantage? Pulstar Plugs |
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I had forgotten all about that thread...even though its on my list of faves.
The PCD system that Alstrup is speaking of is technically what these plugs mimic.
As I noted....it gets a very violent spark....but shorter in duration. Yes...it works. No problem with that. I don't know if the lifespan per plug will be worth it.
As Alstrup noted....the effect of this type of capacitor enhanced ignition or plug....is very similar to the Nology wires from 20 years ago...which worked fantastically if you were set up to use what they offered...and could swallow the short lifespan the capacitors could have.
Here is a reminder of what that system is.
https://www.nology.com/hot.html
Ray |
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