# Pulstar spark plugs 4 to 12% Torque increase?



## sintrigue (May 14, 2011)

I was looking for performance parts and stumbled across pulstar spark plugs at www.pulstar.com , the website claims quote "The amount of performance will depend on the make, model and condition of your engine. In general, you should expect torque to increase by 4 to 12% and realize a significant improvement in fuel economy." end quote.

I was wondering if anybody heard of these plugs or claims and if so could they be utilized in a Cruze engine?

Thanks!


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## Aeroscout977 (Nov 25, 2010)

Most independent tests I've seen have proven them no better than a set a fresh spark plugs. If you want better ignition then improve the conditions in which the intake charge are under first IMO.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...stick with the stock iridium plugs, the *Pulstar*™ is selling *hype*, not performance.


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## 88ls1blazer (May 3, 2011)

ill sum it up this way... spark plugs have not changed (in essence) for what, 95+ years? there is a reason why... if there was a better design that increased power and efficiency EVERY car would use them. the OEM's invest billions of dollars into advanced research to increase power less than what they claim from these plugs, if it were that simple it would have been implemented by now...


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## sedanman (Dec 10, 2010)

88ls1blazer said:


> ill sum it up this way... spark plugs have not changed (in essence) for what, 95+ years? there is a reason why... if there was a better design that increased power and efficiency EVERY car would use them. the OEM's invest billions of dollars into advanced research to increase power less than what they claim from these plugs, if it were that simple it would have been implemented by now...


They have changed a lot in 95 years. The OEMs have thankfully kept up with the improvements and so if you have a new car with the latest in spark plug technology such as the 2011 Chevy Cruze (iridium 100,000 miles between tune ups) then you really don't need to change them unless something better comes along (it hasn't yet).


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## WHITECO (Mar 31, 2011)

Don't waste your money on that crap


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## 88ls1blazer (May 3, 2011)

sedanman said:


> They have changed a lot in 95 years. The OEMs have thankfully kept up with the improvements and so if you have a new car with the latest in spark plug technology such as the 2011 Chevy Cruze (iridium 100,000 miles between tune ups) then you really don't need to change them unless something better comes along (it hasn't yet).


actually, no they haven't.

you still have an insulator, a center electrode, and ground strap

the materials have changed minimally, but you see the design in and of itself really hasn't. this is what I am referring to.

And truth be told a copper plug is still a better performer than a platinum or iridium plug, they just don't last as long in normal applications.


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## Kaimumma (Apr 14, 2011)

Pulstars are good spark plugs, however I've experienced them as a hit or miss of causing a misfire or not causing a misfire. I currently run them on my Mazda 6 and don't notice anything wrong on 3k miles so far. I have the ScanGuage II modded into my ashtray so I'll know if I get a misfire CEL. I wouldn't count them out just yet though. None of us are 100% sure of how they perform till you see those dyno results.


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## 88ls1blazer (May 3, 2011)

Kaimumma said:


> Pulstars are good spark plugs, however I've experienced them as a hit or miss of causing a misfire or not causing a misfire. I currently run them on my Mazda 6 and don't notice anything wrong on 3k miles so far. I have the ScanGuage II modded into my ashtray so I'll know if I get a misfire CEL. I wouldn't count them out just yet though. None of us are 100% sure of how they perform till you see those dyno results.


how are they good plugs if they are hit or miss? 

TRUST ME, they are gimmicks, but they are very happy that you bought some of their fantastic spark plugs.

every couple of years someone gets a new idea. it never works better

remember split fire? bosch +4's and +2's? e3 plugs?

if you want maximum power/burn get a copper plug, i perfer NGK, but there are numerous good brands out there, ac delco (usually made by NGK anymore, but not always), and autolites are good too

if you want a good spark, but more durable than copper, use iridium

if you dont care much about spark quality, but want long plug life use platinum

a special design on the ground strap, multiple ground straps, etc does not help in any way, in fact, it usually hinders proper spark as it shrouds the electrode preventing proper ignition.


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## 5.0 Junkie (Mar 25, 2011)

This



88ls1blazer said:


> how are they good plugs if they are hit or miss?
> 
> TRUST ME, they are gimmicks, but they are very happy that you bought some of their fantastic spark plugs.
> 
> ...


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## 72buickgs (Mar 20, 2011)

70AARCUDA said:


> ...stick with the stock iridium plugs, the *Pulstar*™ is selling *hype*, not performance.


X2. all hype..


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## vitgia78 (Mar 9, 2011)

Hi, have you tried Denso Iridium IK20? I've installed IK20 in my 1.6L Cruze (AT) for nearly 6 months. However I feel IK20 spark plugs are not good at acceleration as same as stock spark plugs. They have more lag than stock spark plugs. How do you think?


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## sedanman (Dec 10, 2010)

Not one to fall for the hype machine, I'm sticking with stock.


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## jsharp (Nov 19, 2012)

I know this is an older thread however I purchased a set of these plugs for my Escape (Ford) and it bumped the gas mileage from 20~21 highway to 24~25 consistently. Performance was noticeably different on my daily commute with lower RPMs at cruise speed, and less down shifting on cruise control for the series of hills that I go over daily on the commute. 
The plugs use technology developed by Sandia National Labs and that technology is as real as it gets. 
I have just ordered a set for my sons 2007 Cobalt and trying to get a set for my daughters 2013 Chevy Spark. 
The difference before and after installation of these plugs is profound. I hope that the performance gains I have for my Escape are equally as good for the other two cars. I will post an update after the install to let everyone know.

Joe Sharp
Carlsbad New Mexico


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

jsharp said:


> I know this is an older thread however I purchased a set of these plugs for my Escape (Ford) and it bumped the gas mileage from 20~21 highway to 24~25 consistently. Performance was noticeably different on my daily commute with lower RPMs at cruise speed, and less down shifting on cruise control for the series of hills that I go over daily on the commute.
> The plugs use technology developed by Sandia National Labs and that technology is as real as it gets.
> I have just ordered a set for my sons 2007 Cobalt and trying to get a set for my daughters 2013 Chevy Spark.
> The difference before and after installation of these plugs is profound. I hope that the performance gains I have for my Escape are equally as good for the other two cars. I will post an update after the install to let everyone know.
> ...


That could be nothing more than a properly and consistently gapped set of plugs. Just changing the gap on my ECO MT from 0.023x2,0.025x2 to 0.035x4 made a huge difference in low end power.


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

obermd said:


> That could be nothing more than a properly and consistently gapped set of plugs. Just changing the gap on my ECO MT from 0.023x2,0.025x2 to 0.035x4 made a huge difference in low end power.


I wonder if pulstar would send me a free set of plugs to review...

Sent from my SGH-T999 using AutoGuide.Com Free App


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## Hammer47 (Oct 11, 2012)

Guys I put a set of these pulstar plugs into my Cruze. FOr about 24 hours under light conditions the car ran fine. Then I went to work, as I went to get on the highway I hit the gas and ran the car up to 4k and BOOM, the car bucked and ran like crap! I barely had enough engine power the get back off the highway and back home. I got home, let the car cool down, and changed the plugs and put the original plugs back in and the car ran ok again. Moral of the story PULSTAR plugs suck!


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## XtremeRevolution (Jan 19, 2012)

Hammer47 said:


> Guys I put a set of these pulstar plugs into my Cruze. FOr about 24 hours under light conditions the car ran fine. Then I went to work, as I went to get on the highway I hit the gas and ran the car up to 4k and BOOM, the car bucked and ran like crap! I barely had enough engine power the get back off the highway and back home. I got home, let the car cool down, and changed the plugs and put the original plugs back in and the car ran ok again. Moral of the story PULSTAR plugs suck!


I wonder if you had an issue with your specific plugs. Perhaps a defective one?

Sent from my SGH-T999 using AutoGuide App


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## Hammer47 (Oct 11, 2012)

Considering they are asking premium prices for them, and people are getting iffy results I'd say the quality control sucks too.


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## GMMASTERTECH (Dec 24, 2011)

Its all snake oil and garbage....Put our air freshner in gain 8% cooler air from a/c and 62% more freshness...Change your plugs at 50 k torque to spec and gap them correctly...not all plugs come pregapped!!!! And stay away from imitators...Delco oem...


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## Hammer47 (Oct 11, 2012)

GMMASTERTECH said:


> Its all snake oil and garbage....Put our air freshner in gain 8% cooler air from a/c and 62% more freshness...Change your plugs at 50 k torque to spec and gap them correctly...not all plugs come pregapped!!!! And stay away from imitators...Delco oem...



You're right bro. I put the original plugs back in, gapped them correctly and the car ran.


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## gt_cristian (Apr 7, 2012)

GMMASTERTECH said:


> Its all snake oil and garbage....Put our air freshner in gain 8% cooler air from a/c and 62% more freshness...Change your plugs at 50 k torque to spec and gap them correctly...not all plugs come pregapped!!!! And stay away from imitators...Delco oem...


GMMaster what is your opinion on Delco's Synth Blend oil for someone who who wants the car to last for at least 100k miles?


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## Eleandrus (Nov 3, 2012)

I used these on my 06 Pontiac G6 GTP and at $24 for one of them i can say it was a rip off. The tech however is new there called pulse plugs because there's a built in capacitor thart stores up a charge and then releases it every so ofter. there claim is that this extra pulse of electricity burns more fuel instead of it being wasted.


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## 70AARCUDA (Nov 14, 2010)

...sorry, but a *capacitor* "couples" or "transfers" AC-voltage, not DC-voltage, and once the "arc" has been established it becomes a continuous DC-discharge with inductive-discharge ignition systems. Capacitive-discharge systems operate differently, but nobody today uses them.


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## GMMASTERTECH (Dec 24, 2011)

9Here is my take on the oil question....Dexos is a superior blended motor oil with an additive package comparable to MOBIL1 and is made by Mobil (only the delco dexos brand)Conventional oil should still be changed every 3k or 3 months,Blended Synthetics every 5k or 6 months, and most fully Synthetics 7,500 or 12 months I still to this day have never seen any oil that still protects an engine by going by the oil life monitor without some sort of failure related to engine oil..examples are sticking Variable valve timing actuator,excessive carbon on valves,stretched timing chains to the dreaded engine failure...(damageged bearings to scored cyl walls due to lack of lubrication)...The most economical way to keep a combination of best protection,lowest emmisions and best fuel economy is dexos oil changes every 5 to 6 k with a tire rotation and tires will last 45 to 50 k and engine will be more than protected...If you wanted to squeez out a little more mpg's use Fully synthetic..I do (Mobil1) and have noted a 1.5 to 2.0 mpg diffrence than dexos and dexos gives you 2.0 to 3.5 mpg over conventional....(just a little test the guys in my shop have been doing for about 14 months now since dexos came out).Conventional bulk oil is 2.75 to 3.50 a quart. Dexos runs 3.99 to 4.99 depends on where you shop and Most fully synthetics are 5.75 and up.... Hope this helps!!!!


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Thanks.


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## WhiteAndBright (Mar 4, 2013)

GMMASTERTECH said:


> 9Here is my take on the oil question....Dexos is a superior blended motor oil with an additive package comparable to MOBIL1 and is made by Mobil (only the delco dexos brand)Conventional oil should still be changed every 3k or 3 months,Blended Synthetics every 5k or 6 months, and most fully Synthetics 7,500 or 12 months I still to this day have never seen any oil that still protects an engine by going by the oil life monitor without some sort of failure related to engine oil..examples are sticking Variable valve timing actuator,excessive carbon on valves,stretched timing chains to the dreaded engine failure...(damageged bearings to scored cyl walls due to lack of lubrication)...The most economical way to keep a combination of best protection,lowest emmisions and best fuel economy is dexos oil changes every 5 to 6 k with a tire rotation and tires will last 45 to 50 k and engine will be more than protected...If you wanted to squeez out a little more mpg's use Fully synthetic..I do (Mobil1) and have noted a 1.5 to 2.0 mpg diffrence than dexos and dexos gives you 2.0 to 3.5 mpg over conventional....(just a little test the guys in my shop have been doing for about 14 months now since dexos came out).Conventional bulk oil is 2.75 to 3.50 a quart. Dexos runs 3.99 to 4.99 depends on where you shop and Most fully synthetics are 5.75 and up.... Hope this helps!!!!


 A+!!


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