Pulstar sparkplug- developed at Sandia National Labs….

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Location
Sandia Park, New Mexico
Anyone have a commit on these? They are quite spendy at $25 a pop.:eek:
I considered them on my 71 GMC, but thinking a good HEI and good'ole NGK will do just fine!
Dean
 
Supposedly they were developed at Sandia labs….a friend at work had asked me if I heard of them so I goggled Sandia Labs sparkplug and got the name of them. I only seen Sandia mentioned in some forums. So not sure how true it is. We get a SNL news letter circulated at our work and haven’t seen them mentioned in the 13 years I worked there.
But at 200 a set, I don’t think so. They would have to guarantee some big time performance & fuel economy for me to switch.
DMX
 
Probably the same difference as regular to premium gas comparisons. I would be surprised if the 2UZFE is sub par in burning the fuel being delivered. I haven't done the plugs on this engine yet and I don't even know what they are, but I know I just spent 12 bucks a pop for my wifes Jetta and the OEM NGK Laser Platinum plugs. Makes you wonder why a jetta comes stock with a plug like that??
 
Snake oil.
 
The company is headquartered here in our backyard, so it does sound very plausible, they even address that in the "about us:"

"Enerpulse is headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We're a 10-year old company that specializes in developing environmentally friendly ignition products through the application of pulse power technology. With the assistance of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, we developed Pulstar™ to increase the peak power of the spark by 20,000 times and ignite gasoline in the engine's cylinder more completely, with less cycle-to-cycle variation. "
 
I read their ad on the March 2008 issue of Road & Track and I was wondering if anybody has tried them and if ever, what were the results. From the looks of it, nobody has tried them yet :).

I have a FJ80 so I suppose it will only be $150 for me but then again, it's still $150... not unless the plugs bring about an advantage worth more than that.
 
Ok, I looked up the company and decided to go and pay them a visit…..especially since they were directly across the street from my work! :D
I must say they have a very nice shop staffed with some of the nicest people. I was greeted at the door right away and asked if I needed help.
I said I had some technical questions & she offered to help me,- she was very knowledgeable and helped with my questions.
Later she asked if I wanted a tour and I took here up on the offer.
The shop is very large & clean. She showed me a demo setup. It had a coil hooked to a regular plug with a pulsstar on the other (facing each other). It was very impressive! You could see the difference.
We moved on through the shop and seen the dyno in the back room and everything else they did.

I asked about the spark being such that burning through the piston was a concern I had with hypoeutectic pistons. Some how using Plasma sounded like it would burn the piston to me. She wasn’t sure about the hypoeutectic pistons and asked if I wanted to talk to an engineer.
That’s when I meet Michael G. (Manager of Engineering). It was a joy to talk with him, and he explained how the system works and there was not danger of melting or burning.
After a short while we diced we would put my freshly built 383 stoker (71 GMC) on the dyno and run the numbers. My truck isn’t complete just yet but will be soon.
I got a set of plugs for the cruiser, and on the way out he introduced me to Nathan K. (product testing & technical service) he is the guy I’ll be setting up the dyno with.

He asked about the Land Cruiser and said he was a founding member and ex-president of High Desert Cruisers and knew C-Dan along with a few others.
He said they did a fuel economy test on a 100 series and came out with ~ 3% increase (1 MPG). Their dyno isn’t a AWD :crybaby: so no dyno results w/the 100.

I wanted to call back to ask Nathan a question about his test with the 100. Because if he just popped in the plugs and didn’t reset the ECU he wouldn’t get the best results, due to the timing being pulled from bad gas etc.

I’m figuring 3% @ 30000 miles year = $192 savings. So not quite paying for themselves with that analogy, but if it helps with torque and hp it’s a good to me. Like I mentioned if he didn’t do anything to reset the ECU, maybe that the 3% could improve?

I get them installed and report back. If anyone has any specific questions I’ll contact Michael and find out. :cheers:

Dean
 
80 tech has nothing on this thread!

Thanks Dean.
 
80 tech has nothing on this thread!

Thanks Dean.

I'm thinking a HDC Club member (that knows Nathan) should go and talk to him and see what they have to offer for the 80's (or any other cruiser) :cheers:
DMX
 
[ILater she asked if I wanted a tour and I took here up on the offer.

Dean[/quote]

I assume she is a pretty girl..:D
 
[ILater she asked if I wanted a tour and I took here up on the offer.

Dean

I assume she is a pretty girl..:D[/QUOTE]

Oh Snap! :clap:
I'm not telling.......:hhmm:
DMX
 
Ok, I looked up the company and decided to go and pay them a visit…..especially since they were directly across the street from my work! :D
I must say they have a very nice shop staffed with some of the nicest people. I was greeted at the door right away and asked if I needed help.
I said I had some technical questions & she offered to help me,- she was very knowledgeable and helped with my questions.
Later she asked if I wanted a tour and I took here up on the offer.
The shop is very large & clean. She showed me a demo setup. It had a coil hooked to a regular plug with a pulsstar on the other (facing each other). It was very impressive! You could see the difference.
We moved on through the shop and seen the dyno in the back room and everything else they did.

I asked about the spark being such that burning through the piston was a concern I had with hypoeutectic pistons. Some how using Plasma sounded like it would burn the piston to me. She wasn’t sure about the hypoeutectic pistons and asked if I wanted to talk to an engineer.
That’s when I meet Michael G. (Manager of Engineering). It was a joy to talk with him, and he explained how the system works and there was not danger of melting or burning.
After a short while we diced we would put my freshly built 383 stoker (71 GMC) on the dyno and run the numbers. My truck isn’t complete just yet but will be soon.
I got a set of plugs for the cruiser, and on the way out he introduced me to Nathan K. (product testing & technical service) he is the guy I’ll be setting up the dyno with.

He asked about the Land Cruiser and said he was a founding member and ex-president of High Desert Cruisers and knew C-Dan along with a few others.
He said they did a fuel economy test on a 100 series and came out with ~ 3% increase (1 MPG). Their dyno isn’t a AWD :crybaby: so no dyno results w/the 100.

I wanted to call back to ask Nathan a question about his test with the 100. Because if he just popped in the plugs and didn’t reset the ECU he wouldn’t get the best results, due to the timing being pulled from bad gas etc.

I’m figuring 3% @ 30000 miles year = $192 savings. So not quite paying for themselves with that analogy, but if it helps with torque and hp it’s a good to me. Like I mentioned if he didn’t do anything to reset the ECU, maybe that the 3% could improve?

I get them installed and report back. If anyone has any specific questions I’ll contact Michael and find out. :cheers:

Dean


I know its a pain but just pull the front drive shaft and dyno in 2wd :D. It would be interesting to know the results for the 2UZFE.
 
Hey, I just did a quick search, and found an AWD dyno in Rio Rancho. Cost around $65 for two pulls, $10 after, or $120 for a full hour, regardless of the # of pulls. Perhaps, you can get PUlstar to pony up some money to do testing for them on the LC.
 

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