[Gmezz4]

I believe that my mustang is due a new set of spark plugs. My question is this: Who is familiar with Pulstar spark plugs and is it worth putting them into my 70 mustang?

Here is the pulstar site: www.pulstarplug.com/

Gmezz4

[Cobrajet67]

An internal capacitor huh? I don't know-it could be a gimmick. I've never heard of them before. I'd do a search on the internet to see if anyone has rated them or tested them independently. I'd just recommend getting NGK Iridiums or Autolite XP Iridiums-I've had awesome results with both.

[MizzouMike76]

I think for $25 EACH, no, it's not worth it. Maybe if a set of 8 were $25 I'd say go for it. There are a lot of gimmicks and some legitimate products out there for increasing performance and efficiency; most are probably a waste of time and money. Alternative fuels and energy has been a hobby of mine since I was a kid and read about Chrysler's gas turbine car they developed in the early '60s. So I do have an open mind about products such as this, but for their asking price I say no way. The Corvette they tested only gained a bit over 2% fuel economy!

I smell a rat when they say a spark plug can only put out 50W or power.....ok, spark plugs aren't batteries, they don't 'make' energy. They're simply a 'gap' over which high voltage electricity flows. If plug output were rated, as say, lightbulbs are, then no amount of MSD ignition or high power coils would ever make a difference. So they've really got their math wrong there. Also, they say their plugs deliver up to 10X more energy; again, plugs don't actually create energy, they just conduct it. This statement could be true if we were discussing batteries or even ignition coils, but we're not. Now maybe the energy released is 10X more than the standard plug, but they aren't saying how LONG the energy is released. Like a camera flash, the energy is built up and released in a burst; but not in a long (comparatively speaking) spark like a standard plug. Again, fishy math!! What this plug is supposed to do is release more intense sparks than standard plugs. Fair enough. Again, go out and get a high energy coil or MSD box or Pertronix or whatever, and get the same effect. And be going with something proven. When we start seeing Pulstar plugs in NHRA I may change my mind

My mechanic said the best plugs you can buy are the OE plugs that were spec'd by the people who built the engine. Get yourself a set of Motorcraft BF42s or whatever your engine calls for, gap them properly, and you're set.

Thanks for bringing up a great topic. In $4 per gallon gas days, there's gonna be a lot of these discussions popping up.

Michael

[The Greek]

My opinion is that these plugs are another J.C. Whitney type of gimmick. Don't waste your money. What bothers me is just when does this capacitor recharge after it is discharged. Capacitors will store energy, but how could they store more energy than what is required to jump the plug gap. What a bunch of B.S.

The crowd of hotrodders that I communicate with, and including myself, use the good old resistor type regular electrode plugs. We don't leave our plugs in the engine for 100K miles anyway. If I did, I'd use platinums.

The fine wire type of plugs can lead to preignition as they will maintain heat in the electrode and act much like a glow plug. If you are considering performance, use regular resistor plugs.

I prefer Motorcraft. Autolite plugs are made by the same people that make Fram filters. I have heard of numerous quality issues dealing with both. Honeywell bought these brands from Allied Signal a couple of years ago. Honeywell is an aerospace component supplier for the government. I figured that the quality of their automotive products would improve, but I haven't seen this happen. Seems to me that they need to trim the budget for advertising and invest in quality and component improvement. Of course, this is my opinion.

On the Chrysler turbine car, my English teacher in jr. high school got to have the use of one for 3 months. She let me ride in it and go all through it. She was cool, she'd let me thoroughly look it over as she knew I was a car nut. The only thing I wasn't allowed to do was to drive it, a real personal let down. This car was definitely an engineering masterpiece.

[Kebean]

I was on the forum for my other car ('86 Merkur XR4Ti) and someone asked the same question. Well, a racer with some money and free dyno time tested a set against the motorcraft stock. There was a 1.5hp gain (on a 2.3L turbocharged motor, same as SVO mustang). Not worth it at all. He didn't notice any negative effects, but they also were only ran for maybe an hour.

I'd say get the old style plugs.

[STERLING351]

If you want some good plugs that will last a while get the Platnium 4, thats whats in my car and people tell me good things about them.

[badidea]

Unless you really need hot burning plugs, there's no since buying expensive plugs that really don't perform any better than the best price performer. (Motorcraft BF 42)

[The Greek]

Be careful with the Bosch brand plugs if you are using cyl. heads such as the cast iron and aluminum GT40. These heads require an extended reach plug which has a longer thread than the plugs for the standard factory stock heads.

The length of the threads is about 2 teeth short, for some reason, on the Bosch. This exposes the threads on the head which can create hot spots in the combustion chamber. The hot spots will cause pre-ignition and possible thread damage. It's the hot spots that bother me over the thread damage, though.

This is for the smaller plugs (14mm) that are used in the newer heads, not the older, (18mm) larger plugs. You might want to check this out before buying this type of plug.