What is a Pulse Plug?
November 8, 2011
Pulse plugs are the latest in performance ignition technology. They are essentially a spark plug with an internal pulse circuit which increases peak spark current by up to 20,000 times as compared to a traditional spark plug.
How is a pulse plug different than a spark plug?
Their physical dimensions are the same as your stock spark plug. However, pulse plugs incorporate a capacitor, which stores incoming electrical energy from the ignition system and releases it in a shorter more powerful pulse of energy. Instead of 50 watts of peak power, typical of a spark plug, pulse plugs deliver up to 1,000,000 watts of peak power. This allows Pulstar pulse plugs to burn fuel more efficiently than traditional spark plugs.
How do pulse plugs operate?
When the ignition signals a spark plug, it begins to ionize the spark gap. This means that the voltage builds in the gap until a spark can be formed. During this ionization phase, which lasts about 5 millionths of a second, the incoming voltage (which has nowhere to go) heats up ignition components including the spark plug. This is wasted energy. When the ignition voltage overcomes the resistance in the spark gap, the spark is created with an initial discharge of approximately 50 watts. Once created, the spark resides between the electrodes at very low power for over a period of 30 millionths of a second. Instead of heating ignition parts during the ionization phase, Pulse plugs store this energy in the integral circuit inside the plug. When the ignition power overcomes the resistance in the spark gap, the pulse circuit discharges all of its accumulated power - 1 million watts - in 2 billionths of a second. This effectively ignites a much greater portion of the air/fuel mixture, making misfires a non-factor. By effectively burning a greater amount of the air/fuel mixture in the combustion chamber, there is a substantial increase in fuel economy, throttle response and horse power.