Pulse plugs..., who's heard of and/or using them? |
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Pulse plugs..., who's heard of and/or using them? |
dbgriffith75 |
Jun 5 2008, 12:48 PM
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#1
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TheGrif Group: Members Posts: 509 Joined: 25-July 07 From: Iowa, USA Member No.: 7,945 Region Association: Upper MidWest |
So I was at the auto parts store today picking up some new tools, and as I was standing at the counter I noticed a layout advertisement for a newly designed spark plug called a "pulse plug." Basically its the same concept as a spark plug, only with an added internal capacitor to create a spark 10 times more powerful than your average plug. It's supposed to burn feul more efficiently, resulting in increased mileage, HP and torque.
I was just curious if anybody's heard of and/or using them, and if it actually holds up to the claims? I'm not specifically talking about a 914 either, because I wouldn't mind using them in my DD if it's really true. Here's the website I found on them: http://www.pulstarplug.com Thoughts? |
Tom |
Jun 5 2008, 07:26 PM
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#2
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Advanced Member Group: Members Posts: 2,139 Joined: 21-August 05 From: Port Orchard, WA 98367 Member No.: 4,626 Region Association: None |
OK , after further thought, in certain circumstances a capacitor could "automatically" discharge.
This must be what is happening with these plugs. As a the cap charges up, it at some point overcomes the ability of the resistance of the air gap on the plug to prevent current flow. Then it completely discharges very quickly as a spark. I see another possible issue with these plugs. Caps don't instantly charge up. It takes time. The time period for the cap to charge to 90% of it's capacity is called TAU and in usually in micro seconds. A cap is considered to be fully charged after 3 TAU. So, depending on what the time period for the cap to charge to a level high enough to discharge, you would need to retime the engine. As the caps is charging, the engine is still turning- waiting for the plug to fire. These look like another thing to break down in the middle of nowhere. Keeping it simple is usually more reliable, although maybe not the best way when searching for extra HP or mileage. Just my thoughts anyway, Tom |
ericread |
Jun 5 2008, 11:11 PM
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#3
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The Viper Blue 914 Group: Members Posts: 2,177 Joined: 7-December 07 From: Irvine, CA (The OC) Member No.: 8,432 Region Association: Southern California |
OK , after further thought, in certain circumstances a capacitor could "automatically" discharge. This must be what is happening with these plugs. As a the cap charges up, it at some point overcomes the ability of the resistance of the air gap on the plug to prevent current flow. Then it completely discharges very quickly as a spark. I see another possible issue with these plugs. Caps don't instantly charge up. It takes time. The time period for the cap to charge to 90% of it's capacity is called TAU and in usually in micro seconds. A cap is considered to be fully charged after 3 TAU. So, depending on what the time period for the cap to charge to a level high enough to discharge, you would need to retime the engine. As the caps is charging, the engine is still turning- waiting for the plug to fire. These look like another thing to break down in the middle of nowhere. Keeping it simple is usually more reliable, although maybe not the best way when searching for extra HP or mileage. Just my thoughts anyway, Tom Tom; Thanks for your comments. I thought I was going to have to re-state the properties of a self-discharging cap. Thanks for explaining it better than I did. Eric |
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