BS or BS?

[Chopper]

Stick with the iridium plugs. They are working for you at something like %99.99927 efficiency... You would have to drive a very long way to recoup the difference in cost, and they will have no performance gains at all, that you will be able to feel any way.

[JAFO]

I haven't researched this a lot but the senior editor of OffRoad.com speaks highly of the DireckHits spark plug which is a related product, created by Combustion Technology Products Corp.

DirectHits product review
http://orc.off-road.com/offroad/arti....jsp?id=298130

Pulstar claims that a standard spark plug produces a 50 watt spark for 30 millionths of a second. Their "Pulse Plug" produces a 1 million watt spark for an unspecified, but drastically shorter, length of time.

The question is "Is a high intensity spark over a short period better at igniting fuel, than a less intensive spark for a longer duration?"


Side note: Wankel rotary engines use two spark plugs per chamber. A leading and a delayed trailing.

[Ldub]

I haven't researched this a lot but the senior editor of OffRoad.com speaks highly of the DireckHits spark plug which is a related product, created by Combustion Technology Products Corp.

DirectHits product review
http://orc.off-road.com/offroad/arti....jsp?id=298130

Pulstar claims that a standard spark plug produces a 50 watt spark for 30 millionths of a second. Their "Pulse Plug" produces a 1 million watt spark for an unspecified, but drastically shorter, length of time.

The question is "Is a high intensity spark over a short period better at igniting fuel, than a less intensive spark for a longer duration?"


Side note: Wankel rotary engines use two spark plugs per chamber. A leading and a delayed trailing.

The direct hits looks to be an add on that wouldn't fit under our coil packs...not trying to rain on your parade...just skeptical.

[Dino]

I love how they claim to just pull "watts" out of thin air!!

I call a big ol' BS on this one. Put them on the shelf next to the Split-Fire plugs!

[JAFO]

The direct hits looks to be an add on that wouldn't fit under our coil packs...not trying to rain on your parade...just skeptical.

Good point. However, as reference to proof of concept it is still valid.

I love how they claim to just pull "watts" out of thin air!!

I call a big ol' BS on this one. Put them on the shelf next to the Split-Fire plugs!

They're not pulling energy out of thin air. They embedded a capacitor inside the spark plug. The energy input to their "Pulse Plug" is the same as a normal spark plug. However in the "Pulse Plug" the capacitor stores up the energy and releases a higher wattage of electric current for a drastically shorter period of time.

So back to my original question, actually let me rephrase the question. "Is a high intensity spark over a short period better at combustion, than a less intensive spark for a longer duration?"

[JAFO]

I believe the theory behind the PulStar Pulse Plug's plasma ball is as follows:

"With your spark plug, as you raise the voltage across the metal electrodes, an electron avalanche will cause a region of plasma to "ignite." This typically occurs at a sharp edge, but if there is a dust-mote floating between the electrodes, it can start at the surface of the dust. The region of plasma grows. It grows in somewhat the same way that a forest fire grows: it causes the air adjacent to itself to "ignite" and form more plasma. Plasmas in strong e-fields tend to form into narrow filaments. They are very much like growing crystals: crystals can grow like "frost" rather than like bulk polyhedra. "Frostlike" growth occurs when the growth is very fast, and the tip of the crystal grows faster than any other part. With plasmas, if growth is slow, you get a region of glow-discharge or "saint elmo's fire", while if growth is fast, you get narrow spines or treelike fractal shapes where the tips grow the fastest. Remember that sparks are conductive. A narrow spark is like a wire, and when you place a high voltage upon a wire, you will see an electric discharge at its tip. When the "wire" is MADE of electric discharge, then the tip grows longer and longer by converting the air into "more spark."

As the "plasma tree" grows outwards, remember that plasmas are conductive. The growing "tree" is like an extending wire. When this "plasma wire" touches the other electrode, it explodes! It creates a bridge across the high voltage power supply, and the power supply suddenly creates an enormous current through the conductive spark. The flash and noise of a spark is the same as the flash and noise of a wire placed across a large battery: a spark is a short-circuit. Yet sparks can also grow outwards without bridging the gap between the electrodes. In this case they look like silent blue plasma fingers, not noisy incandescent explosions."

William Beaty, Electrical Engineer

For further information please see the complete article at:
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...3778.Ph.r.html

[Ascinder]

That sounds very interesting...I myself just watched the video comparison of the traditional plug and the Pulse plug, and how much faster the flame front moved. To me it makes sense to want that so that more gas could theoretically be burned in the same time period. More complete combustion and sooner=more burned fuel/less waste, etc. Burning faster also equals burning hotter, so more pressure, and consequently more power. The claim that the Iridiums are 99.999% efficient is a somewhat relative term. They may be very efficient from a conductive standpoint, but that doesn't necessarily make them ideal. What are the so efficient in doing? I find it absolutely naive to believe they can be so close to 100% efficient at burning all the gas off in every different type of cylinder/piston/valve system that they are used in-sorry,but I'm calling some heavy BS on that. Also, higher horsepower can lead to higher efficiency if other factors are right. The only concern I have about the spark kicking off the flame front so much faster is detonation. There's a reason gas is used in engines the way it is. So you get a "slow", even burn, not an sharp, severe explosion like in a gun. I think the jury is definitely still out on this.