PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

I have a question about spark plugs. Now some of you might know I need to put in a new engine in my 93 Bonneville SE and I'm happy to report that I found a healthy 62K engine and am about to go through with the swap. But the reason I'm writing today is because during my research I came across the Pulstar Iridium Pulse Plugs that claim to be the most powerful spark plugs ever. They say they increase performance for a more livelier throttle response better fuel mileage and more horsepower. Has anyone ever used these spark plugs before and would you recommend using them for your car????

Our search function can be your best friend (as can our TECHINFO SECTION).

First topic on Pulstar in our search results:
viewtopic.php?f=12&t=3828

You cannot 'gain' power by 'igniting better'. There is only so much potential energy in a compressed cloud of fuel and air. Differences in types of spark plugs is marginal at best.

Also keep in mind that spark plug companies will say just about anything to get you to buy their spark plugs.

Either use regular copper plugs or get regular iridium plugs if you don't want to change them every year. There's no benefit to Pulstar plugs over any other plug. Well, except the increased power you might feel thanks to a significantly lighter wallet.

AC Delcos, those seem to be the best way to go. I'll admit, the first time in a LONG time, i went to a different brand plug when changing them on the '05 Impala with the 3400. I went for NGK Platinums (I could not find AC Delco copper or platinum, only irridium for that engine, I think it's marketing working against my wallet). The NGKs were cheaper, but are running great! I also found when I pulled the original AC Delco plugs, those were nothing more then re-branded NGK plugs.

I prefer NGK TR55 V-power copper plugs over AC Delco in all 4 of my cars. It's a widely favored spark plug choice on this Forum.

Ive been talking with these guys almost since they started. Theyre serious about theyre products and have done everything they can to improve them over the years. Not only are they constantly improving but theyve also lowered their price to almost half what they were. They have excellent customer service and the developers can give you nays sayers all the details you so vaguely will complain about. Like the previous post stated "weve come to the conclusion they dont work and the test results must have been exagerrated" no proof but plenty of factual opinions as usual. If your trying to get the most out of your car and you need to buy plugs, then buy the ones that will give you the benefits. Not just the same old plugs because thats what everybody else likes. Of course the old coppers work good there is nothing to not work, thats why its 100 year old tech. Ill send my nib iridium pustars to anybody who has access to a dyno and will give honest results to post for the club. Head to head new, to new. Heres your chance to PROVE they dont work. Then you can talk bad about them all you want. Until then, its best to keep the opinions just opinions. In the meantime, there are several magazines and builders that have tested them with positive results you can look for. Custom builders, turbo manufactures, and even motorcycle builders are using these plugs as standard equipment right now with more to come. Why? because they understand about getting every bit of performance you can. And they work, thats why. Sorry to rant but I get tired of the same lame vague excuses why these dont work along with denial of the results that show they do. You want to argue, find a dyno and test them. Then we can talk.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-tech ... ugs-5.html
Please note that 3hp is within the run-to-run variability range of a dyno's accuracy.

http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/ca ... 64017.page

Sparkplugs.com also did a review and found only a 2-3hp improvement (again, 2 or 3 horsepower is considered normal variation on the dyno with no changes to the car). Please note that Pulstar has now removed their specific horsepower numbers from their claims compared to when they first hit the market with wildly inflated data. Please also note their MPG improvement data is geared to a very specific car (Prius) and all other claims are very general now, with no specific numbers (again, a change from their introduction claims).

Amazon reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Pulstar-BE-1-Puls ... B000WMHEBE

The Amazon reviews are real-world real-people experiences ranging from failed plugs, radio static, and mechanics bills. We can safely assume that these people were primed and ready to see an improvement, as they were likely replacing old used plugs, not comparing new to new. Horrible reviews. These Amazon reviews alone should be a valid warning to anyone considering these things, even if the price alone doesn't give you a clue.


I could go on and on, but this is real data from actual consumers who tried them, and it backs up my original reply. I don't care how serious Pulstar is about their product, or how much they lowered their price. Their product is mediocre at best, and crap at worst. No spark plug in the world is anywhere near worth what they charge for those things.

Interestingly, this Pulstar plug isn't the first plug they've marketed. http://www.lo-ko.com/direct_hits.html was their first, and it sold like gangbusters due to their claims, then sales dropped off as people started complaining publicly. The internet is a powerful tool for that reason, and shortened the profitable lifetime of that waste of money. The end result is that they re-named the junk, changed it up, and introduced Pulstar (same company, different name). Again, it sold like gangbusters due to their over-inflated claims, and the fact that the average American Consumer is stupid and doesn't research claims before buying, and once again, as the complaints grow on the internet (see Amazon reviews above), sales drop off, they drop their price, and eventually, they'll probably come out with yet another 'totally new' design under a different company name.

There's one born every minute. I'd be willing to bet that 10% of the angry 'directhits' plug customers fell for the Pulstar, too.

Ironically enough I was just talking to a friend of my had the pulstars installed in his 1998 Lincoln Contential and he said that not only not notice any difference but he said they didn't last as long as his previous set of spark plugs. But than again I talked to my mechanic and he said that he installed them in a few of his customers cars and also has a set in his 2002 Nissan Maxima and he said he noticed a difference in mileage and smoother ride and got no complaints from his customers. So I don't want to rule them out quite yet. Maybe it might be the people not maintaing their car the way they are suppose to, or perhaps it's people that purposefully write bad things about them ( this happens to every new product that hits the market). I'm a keep researching. But it seems like the only way to really know is to buy them and see for myself.

Bolto, people have been talking smack about the Pulstar since they came out, and there's no way the Amazon reviews are 'group biased', as they don't allow you to review a product you didn't purchase.

There's no way 'improper maintenance' can cause people to have early spark plug failures in modern vehicles. If you want to waste your money, that's your choice, but we reserve the right to tell you "I told you so" later.

Well we are gonna have to save the " I told you so " Speech for another time because I saw the price fo those plugs and they can kick rocks with open toe sandals if they think I'm paying that much for those. Especially if they don't do what they advertise. Ok you win majority of the results say they don't work and ran into problems after installation. That would only complicate things further for me and my bonneville.

Its like the Bosch Platinum... Bosch Knows they have major issues with the GM DIS system yet they continue to sell them for the GM DIS system...

Some of those amazon reviews date back to 08. There have been many design improvements since then. BTW a majority of the reviews were positive. So they only get 3mpg on certain engines? Its still an improvement. And whats the point of dynos if your not going to trust the results? My offer still stands. When I have nothing better to do I'll link up the articles that showed positive results from 3rd party testing. ...or you could if you truly want to present a fair and true arguement. Its funny that people will talk about how much better it is to cut a hole in their airbox because it helps . But the same people will argue the waste of time it is to use a ram air intake because out engines are supercharged.... curiously the restrictive stock intake seems to work well enough. If they run fine with the stock set up why bother? Most stock set ups with a clean filter can support up to 400 hp engines. Swap out your intake next time your at the track. Make sure to post those huge results for me. Most people have no problem jumping on the K$N bandwagon even tho its been shown over and over again how the gauze breaks down and doesnt filter properly, not to mention maf issues after cleaning. Oh wait thats owner failure. And the fact theyre 4x the cost of regular filters. See, its not hard to ripp on products. I actually believe Properly maintained k&ns are great filters. You can find anything on the internet. I wasnt trying to start an arguement here, I was trying to open your eyes a bit is all. I never said they didnt have issues when they first came out either. I have a feeling if I put them in the vette and showed dyno and mpg increases you would attribute it to a one time event or a fluke right? Fixed dyno numbers? I dont see the point in going back and forth with you which is why I stated earlier, just do a dyno test yourself and then we can talk. Sorry for the commotion.

Your arguments one at a time:

1. Opening stock airbox. The OEM airbox was not designed for performance. It was designed to damp acoustics (engine/air/supercharger sounds). It's very easy to gain power and efficiency by gutting it.

2. Paying 4x the cost of an air filter for a K&N (proven performance for years in professional racing applications as well as on/off road and the street) is worth it when the K&N filter can out-last a dozen paper filters that have lower flow numbers. In addition, the claims of poor filtering have never been attributed to premature engine wear.

3. The INTENSE FWI is the most popular intake setup for our cars, bar none. It's been dyno proven countless times.

4. 3whp is considered well within the range of normal dyno variation with any car/dyno combination you can dream up. This is a well-known fact, which leaves any product claiming UNDER 5hp gains out in the cold. At the 5hp threshold, multiple dyno runs and averages are required to prove it.

5. Show me the bad reviews for the most popular traditional plugs we use on this Forum (AC Delco, NGK, etc), and I'll show you a bunch of people who aren't willing to spend over $100 on spark plugs with bad reviews, especially when our L67 engines are very sensitive to the type and condition of spark plugs they use.

When I look at a new product for consideration in my car, I don't rely solely on the manufacturer's claims. That would be foolish. I dig deeper into forums, independent reviews, and consumer reviews. I base my decision on the data I find from those sources. The majority of what I read are negative with regards to these plugs, which I firmly classify as 'snake oil' simply because of the history of that company (previous product, poor reviews, resultant company name change to release another product that gets bad reviews....and on and on) regardless of the negative reviews. I also find it somewhat humorous that they drastically 'trimmed' their wild claims from the last time I looked at their website 6 months ago until yesterday. What happened to all those claims they were making with regards to efficiency and performance?

I was wondering about the ram intake thing also. How much difference as oppose to the stock air filter does it perform on a car? Now I know the depends on the car the system goes in but what about Bonnevilles? Is it worth it?

RAM air is not effective below 100mph, and has been proven. The RIGHT cold air intake is a proven performer, but has no ram effect. What Ram intake are you referring to?

For example I went to this website http://www.streetbeatcustoms.com/1993/Pontiac/Bonneville/Air-Intakes/
and I came across something called the Turbonator Supercharger and it said that "This product will allow you to burn fuel more efficiently resulting in better MPG. This SuperCharger will increase air flow and provide additional horse power and torque by 5-7% to the wheels." Now this takes us back to the spark plug debate as far as determining whether it actually works or just blowing hot air. They have other air intakes and other various parts for your car. Thats where I got my clear corner lights for my Bonneville SE from. It's a good site but I'm not to sure about this particular item. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Just another case of "snake oil". Anything of that nature is a pure sham. In many cases, most engines actually outflow those electric superchargers at wide open throttle. Same thing with the Tornado fuel saver, fuel line magnets and eBay performance "chips" (really just a resistor in a box).... all snake oil.