[EEZATOY]

Thanks Brian, I'll wait for your report back.



Sam

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[SILVY968]

The plugs have increased my fuel economy (lol) from about 17ish to about 20ish MPG.

I saw a review on Horsepower TV that dyno tested the plugs on one of their cars. I believe that they got 4-5 HP and 7 PFT increase from the plug change.

I like mine and would recommend them.

Brian

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[ds968]

[quote name='SILVY968' post='63502' date='Nov 25 2008, 06:37 PM']The plugs have increased my fuel economy (lol) from about 17ish to about 20ish MPG.

I saw a review on Horsepower TV that dyno tested the plugs on one of their cars. I believe that they got 4-5 HP and 7 PFT increase from the plug change.

I like mine and would recommend them.

Brian[/quote]



Brian, not sure if another 4 or 5 ponies would be felt in this car but guessing a 7 ft/lbs increase in torque would most certainly add to the seat of the pants sensation .. can your butt-o-meter really tell the difference ?

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[SILVY968]

[quote name='ds968' post='63503' date='Nov 25 2008, 07:18 PM']Brian, not sure if another 4 or 5 ponies would be felt in this car but guessing a 7 ft/lbs increase in torque would most certainly add to the seat of the pants sensation .. can your butt-o-meter really tell the difference ?[/quote]

No. There are some days when the air is crisp, that I can feel the power but I do not know if I am just feeling good and enjoying my 968! But I am always looking for todays technology to improve the car when anything breaks or wears out. Sort of like better tires, oil, K&N filters and DME chips. It is a bit more power and they will pay for themselves in fuel costs so what the hell?

Brian

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[Anchorman]

I have to admit to some doubt that the plugs alone could cause such an increase in your fuel economy - 15-20% improvement, as you're reporting, is BIG! I also wonder why your mileage was so poor - at least in comparison to my experience. I've kept careful records for the 5 years I've owned my 968, and my long-term average (a bit over 100,000 miles, including a dozen or so track events) is 22.4 mpg.



However - if you're happy, I'm happy. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[ds968]

I definitely noticed a seat of the pants difference in response/performance with the NGK Iridium I have been using for several years now vs. the OEM plugs ( and the OEMs were less than a few months old when I decided to switch plugs ), although I'm pretty sure my gas mileage actually suffers a bit with these <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/blink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> So it's likely Pulstar's advertised results were measured against the older Bosch plugs, and I'm guessing Bosch also has some new uber-plug now which may produce similar results.



Anyway, if I thought the Pulstars would be an improvement over the NGKs, I'd buy them now, but I think the difference, if any, is negligible so I'll wait until it's time to chage plugs and then I'll give these a try

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[RS Barn]

I tested a car on dyno with NGK Iridium and then Pulsar. I think I picked up .8hp and lost 1 ft/lb torque.

I didn't do a pre NGK test though.

Pete

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[flash]

this one makes me about as crazy as the chip companies and their tests did



the plug companies always come out with these tests that show big gains - what they don't do though is lay out a fair test - you know, like one between performance plugs, and not one matching a standard copper plug against a performance plug - of course the performance plug will show gains over the copper plug - the question to all of us is which performance plug is best



bottom line, yes, you can definitely do better than the stock bosch plug - many of us have been enjoying the gains of the NGK iridiums, or the increased life of the platinum plugs (which is closer in performance to stock, but lasts longer)



i think dan nailed it though - there is likely little to no difference between the NGK and the Pulsar, and testing would probably be an expensive waste of time



still, i'd love to see a test

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[Cloud9...68]

I agree with Flash's assessment, and would like to reiterate my earlier-stated point that if these things (along with the turbonator air intake gizmo, magnetic fuel line surround, hydrogen bubbler, etc.) actually worked, they would be in every new car on every dealer showroom in the country. Magazines like Consumers Reports and Car & Driver, and many investigative TV shows have run tests on every fuel saving gizmo ever dreamed up, and to my knowledge, not a single one has ever demonstrated a quantifiable improvement on an engine in a good state of tune. No offense to those who have tried these things out, but for the reasons stated above, the odds of any of them actually working (assuming your engine was in a good state of tune beforehand) are not in your favor.

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[flash]

well, there is some quantifyable gain to be had from a number of "simple" devices, but unfortunately many companies have taken those things, and tried to make a mental connection to their gimmick product



here are some great examples:



the good: throttle body spacers - we all know they work very well - i had been doing that for decades, and got it from the mustang guys - i got HUGE gains with the one on my denali - $40 and i got nearly 40hp - that was incredible - very noticeable



the bad: turbonator - taking the idea of the extension and venturi effect of a known success, and trying to cross apply that to a gadget - "sounds" logical enough - sure wish it worked



the good: cold air intake - the volant i have on the denali makes a documented 22hp - very nice - more cold air is better - we all know that



the bad: those budget cone filter kits that stick the filter right in the engine bay - people are led to believe it is the filter that does all the work and that the placement and separation of hot engine bay heat from the intake air is moot



the good: free flow cat back systems - done right, a free flow cat-back can make hp up top



the bad: manufacturers of these frequently tell you all about the gains, but not about the losses that accompany them - they also fail to tell you that it may easily cause your mixture to be off, and cost you in fuel, plugs, rings and valves



the good: chips - done right, a chip can make power across the band, and even get you better mileage - i gained over 30hp with the programming on the denali - i gained economy on the freeway, but it did cost me in city economy though (likely due to my foot)



the bad: everybody and their brother thinks they can make a chip - many don't bother to test any of them - a chip can easily show a power gain by manipulating the mixture or timing, but can also just as easily burn up your engine by going too far one way or the other on either



so, really it's about showing evidence in fair and controlled tests, on the specific vehicle model, before saying that something works - unfortunately the public just wants an easy quick tap into undiscovered power, and isn't willing to do the homework - these guys know that



this is exactly what got me into making parts and testing stuff



some plugs will produce more power - how much depends on a lot of things - they also come with a cost - is it worth it? for me, yes - for others, likely not - do the pulsars work better than the iridiums? who knows?

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[DaveN]

[quote name='flash' post='63592' date='Nov 28 2008, 09:38 AM']well, there is some quantifyable gain to be had from a number of "simple" devices, but unfortunately many companies have taken those things, and tried to make a mental connection to their gimmick product



here are some great examples:



the good: throttle body spacers - we all know they work very well - i had been doing that for decades, and got it from the mustang guys - i got HUGE gains with the one on my denali - $40 and i got nearly 40hp - that was incredible - very noticeable



the bad: turbonator - taking the idea of the extension and venturi effect of a known success, and trying to cross apply that to a gadget - "sounds" logical enough - sure wish it worked



the good: cold air intake - the volant i have on the denali makes a documented 22hp - very nice - more cold air is better - we all know that



the bad: those budget cone filter kits that stick the filter right in the engine bay - people are led to believe it is the filter that does all the work and that the placement and separation of hot engine bay heat from the intake air is moot



the good: free flow cat back systems - done right, a free flow cat-back can make hp up top



the bad: manufacturers of these frequently tell you all about the gains, but not about the losses that accompany them - they also fail to tell you that it may easily cause your mixture to be off, and cost you in fuel, plugs, rings and valves



the good: chips - done right, a chip can make power across the band, and even get you better mileage - i gained over 30hp with the programming on the denali - i gained economy on the freeway, but it did cost me in city economy though (likely due to my foot)



the bad: everybody and their brother thinks they can make a chip - many don't bother to test any of them - a chip can easily show a power gain by manipulating the mixture or timing, but can also just as easily burn up your engine by going too far one way or the other on either



so, really it's about showing evidence in fair and controlled tests, on the specific vehicle model, before saying that something works - unfortunately the public just wants an easy quick tap into undiscovered power, and isn't willing to do the homework - these guys know that



this is exactly what got me into making parts and testing stuff



some plugs will produce more power - how much depends on a lot of things - they also come with a cost - is it worth it? for me, yes - for others, likely not - do the pulsars work better than the iridiums? who knows?[/quote]



Had a look around to educate myself on a few of the do's and dont's you list and most make sense however I came across this quote about throttle body spacers-



I can't stress this enough: under *controlled* circumstances with a 350 cid Chev motor producing 180 hp and every engineering student submitting a design NO measurable hp or fuel economy gains were recorded at under approximately 1 meter. This was using an assortment of aftermarket products as well as the shop designs. It did lead however to massive throttle lag.

A long straight tube on the air side of the carb or TB with no vanes, few bends, no internal sources of turbulence, a cold air source and a large, quality paper element returned the best HP and fuel economy gains without modifying the mechanics of the engine.



Also a link to a dyno of TBS shows now change at all:

http://www.jpmagazine.com/techarticles/eng...o/photo_04.html



One wonders why, as stated earlier, if they worked wouldn't all manufacturers have remedied this error by now?

I have never dabbled into this arena so it was a bit of a conundrum considering your experience. What say yee?

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[Cloud9...68]

There's no doubt that given the limitations of the auto manufacturer's resources (time, money, people), there's usually some room for improvement through the work of smart, enterprising individuals in the aftermarket arena. But even here, there's usually some compromise (e.g. increased intake noise with cold air intakes, exhaust noise with freeer flowing exhausts) which the manufacturers may deem undesirable to a majority of their particular demographic. But something as simple and inocuous as a super-duper spark plug would, imho, be under the hood of every car if it really worked as advertised.

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[flash]

not sure what was up with the testing there, but i can tell you for a fact that they work very well on a ford 289 and 302, a dodge 440, and a gmc 6.0 - i've used them on those with remarkable success - the gmc was nothing short of amazing - i was skeptical, but at 40 bucks and 10 minutes i figured "what the heck" - i was very pleasantly surprised - the increase in torque was the real telling - between the 3 things i've done, the engine went from a respectable though docile truck motor to a roaring "get out of my way" monster - i still have to go and time it, but i think it's now quicker than the 968 20-70 - i let pretty much anybody drive it, because i know they won't believe it until they do

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[SILVY968]

[quote name='flash' post='63590' date='Nov 28 2008, 08:32 AM']this one makes me about as crazy as the chip companies and their tests did



the plug companies always come out with these tests that show big gains - what they don't do though is lay out a fair test - you know, like one between performance plugs, and not one matching a standard copper plug against a performance plug - of course the performance plug will show gains over the copper plug - the question to all of us is which performance plug is best



bottom line, yes, you can definitely do better than the stock bosch plug - many of us have been enjoying the gains of the NGK iridiums, or the increased life of the platinum plugs (which is closer in performance to stock, but lasts longer)



i think dan nailed it though - there is likely little to no difference between the NGK and the Pulsar, and testing would probably be an expensive waste of time



still, i'd love to see a test[/quote]



flash,



http://www.pulstar.com/pdf/epep.pdf



Brian

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[flash]

not sure what that link is supposed to show me - i don't see a test between performance plugs - was it supposed to have one?

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[xrad]

I have a question about the effects of a very short duration high energy pulse on the shock wave and burn fronts developed at our compression ratios. A higher energy spark of shorter duration will not necessarily equal a better burn.



although I did notice a slight subjective improvement with a higher energy multispark discharge and Bosch platinums over stock.

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[S_Cal968]

+1 on the scepticism

The performance of a plug is highly influenced by the capabilities of the coil, [voltage & rate of discharge] . If they required a special high output coil, the concept would be more believable. I noticed they don't go into detail on what the pulse circuit consist of, [or I missed it]. Most likely it's a capacitance circuit that would provide a slight delay and then a quick discharge. From a chemical standpoint, the fuel/air mix will only burn [re-act] so fast. So whether there's an advantage to a quick hi-intensity spark vs. a a slower longer duration spark is debatable. There are a few Phd's where I work that specialize in combustion - I'll have to ask them what their take is on this product.

From a cost standpoint [most bang for the buck], I'd opt for a HP coil [higher voltage] and good quality plugs & wires. Unfortunately I don't think there's a lot of coil choices for the 68.



Another trick I'm sure many remember is indexing the plug to the exhaust valve. And, many hp heads have angled plugs, with the electrode positioned next to the exhaust valve. The idea being to start the flame propagation at the exhaust valve to get the most out of the A/F mix.

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[xrad]

+1 on indexing plugs....have not heard that in two years or so...so long that I forgot about it!

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[flash]

i remember doing that when i was dealing with old 2 valve heads - not sure how much effect there would be on a 4 valve head, especially with a small electrode plug like an iridium, and with the contouring of the chamber due to the increased number of valves - might be worth playing with though

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