GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

while browsing the net i came across this company, pulstar. i guess you can call their product a new technology spark plug. according to their site their plug emits a pulse of sparks that is much stronger than "normal" spark plugs. they also state that their plug gives an increase in power and economy. they're pretty expensive tho at $25 a pop.http://www.pulstarplug.com/index.htmlthoughts? anyone willing to be a guinea pig

http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=28724 Already discussed and so far they seem to be not worth it. It would also be noted to take a look at the NGK sight. Here and an excerpt from their FAQ:Q: How much of a performance improvement can I expect from changing plugs?A: A common misconception is that changing spark plugs will result in a large power increase. In most cases, removing even seriously worn out spark plugs will only result in very modest power gains, typically about 1-2% of total engine output. This could be even less for computer-controlled vehicles, primarily because most newer vehicles have more powerful ignition systems and the vehicle's computer can make adjustments so that vehicle operation seems smoother and more seamless.Many people think that simply supplying more spark to the firing tip can and will combust more fuel. What they don't understand is that most newer cars' engines are so efficient that they are already burning all of the available fuel. Simply adding more spark voltage can't burn more fuel because there is no more fuel to burn.When a stock or near-stock engine is given a fresh set of spark plugs, peak efficiency is restored. The power gains that come from this restored state of tune are usually minimal. Any company that tells you that their spark plug will provide significant gains in power in a stock or near-stock engine is making blanket statements that may not be supportable. More info:http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/t...e=nmlBottom line, our cars already use Iridium which is the best OEM plug you can get, so stick with a set of NGK Iridium IX. They go for around $6-8 a plug, save yourself $70 on that stuff and you will be much happier.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan » Bottom line, our cars already use Iridium which is the best OEM plug you can get, so stick with a set of NGK Iridium IX. They go for around $6-8 a plug, save yourself $70 on that stuff and you will be much happier.+1 I replaced mine with the oem NGK's and they are great.

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »+1 I replaced mine with the oem NGK's and they are great.Once I get my car back in operation I'm gonna pickup a set.

Quote, originally posted by Whelan » http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=28724 Already discussed and so far they seem to be not worth it. It would also be noted to take a look at the NGK sight.oops, i did try to search for pulstar on here but nothing came up at the time

The Bosch Platinum Ir Fusion plugs are working great for me for the past 2 months.

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »The Bosch Platinum Ir Fusion plugs are working great for me for the past 2 months.I didn't know Bosch made an IR plug.

BlueCrush.Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush »The Bosch Platinum Ir Fusion plugs are working great for me for the past 2 months.Back in May I changed to these as well. I either had a fouled plug (Denso) in the first place or these really did help. I changed out the Denso's after about 28,000 (I got the shorter life replacements, not the OEMs). No increase in MPG but accel and idle has been much smoother overall.Quote, originally posted by Whelan »I didn't know Bosch made an IR plug.They're iridium plated and are relatively new. They're as pricy (if not more-so) as the Denso's but was a good purchase.DaveDave

Heres my pulstar story.The Orderordered on JUNE when I first heard they was coming out. Also, they had a 100% money back guarantee. Had to wait until the end of the August to get them cuz of Quality Assurance issues. Got the blugs in and 2 were broken because they wasnt centered properly in my sparkplug socket & they snapped. They replaced them no questions asked.TestingRan 25 miles on a full tank and saw the worst mileage ever....EVER. Mileage dropped in half however my power was up. It might of went up from changing to clean plugs but its just a mystery I dont know. Power up & mileage down. After testing.Put my iridiums back in after cleaning them & they ran terrible & power was down again. Then I realized that maybe the pulstars wasnt gapped correctly. Pulstar say not to gap their plugs but I did it anyway.Re TestI only did slight tests to see how far I can push the gap. I did an increase form .04 to .06 .08. My spark plug gapper only maxed at .080 so I did my test run there. Power seem to go up a but & the mileage did too. I have to test how far I can push the gap then do a final test there.I think the plugs are still going thru QA problems but they have good potential since Ive been regapping them. If I can get away with a .100 gap or something bigger then I'll know the full potential but that will maybe take a few months because Im out of town now

I think one of my pulstars broke lol. I was driving home & got a flashing CEL & it also felt like I was driving a 3 cylinder. Lucky no damage. So I cut my experiment short & put my old regapped iradiums in & the Vibe ran better than before.I thought one of the plugs exploded but after taking them out and checking the gaps, everything was normal. Maybe the circuit in one of them fried.

Umm .8 GAP? They aren't supposed to exceed .45They specifically tell you to run a few tanks through to let the computer adjust to the new plugs. Also to disconnect the negative from the battery to help reset it. What gap is the 1zz supposed to be at?

I found a 25% Off Coupon code until 4/1/08 on all Pulstar Pulse Plugs from http://www.pulstarplug.com

I am about to install a set of Pulstar Plugs. To see any performance/efficiency improvements, you have to wait for the ECU to adjust to the new plugs. Sometimes that takes 2-3 tanksof fuel. You can speed that process by disconnecting the battery - which resets the ECU. That being said, the test results from Pulstar state that the Corolla 1.8L engine will see a 2.2 % improvement in fuel economy. All of the other cars on the list (6 others - ranging from 4 - 8 cylinders) are at least double in their gains. That should make you feel good on how efficient the engine is already. The cars with gains in the 8-10% range are 8 cylinders - which makes sense. If you take a 2% fuel efficiency gain over 50,000 miles (their stated plug life) - thats a savings of about 40 gallons. At $3/gallon - it pays for the plug. Any other performance gains are gravy.

.044 is the vibe gap spec.My car vibe hates smaller gaps and likes the large ones cuz if the fuel heater I got put in.Im running .07 right now on NGK Iridiums IX.

I just put a S/C intake tube on the car, and so far have noticed in just a half a tank a gain of 15 miles to the tank. So I am estimating now that I have a full one that I will be able to pull at least another 30 pushing me back into my higher range. Cost was $40.