Pulstar Ignition Plug
Enerpulse, Incorporated
2451 Alamo SE
Albuquerque,
New Mexico 87106 USA
TEL: 888.800.6700 (1-505-842-5201 for International calls)
FAX: 505.842.6592
email: info@enerpulse.com
Pulse Plug vs Spark Plug
$25 each
Caveat emptor --
Then this happens -- twice to me ---
But they have good customer service and will replace them
...
http://www.gizmag.com/go/7594/
June 10, 2007 Significantly increased torque and horsepower for almost any petrol vehicle, exceptional fuel economy benefits, a five minute screw-in installation process, no decrease in longevity or reliability and a miserly US$25 per unit price. These may sound like outrageous claims, but Pulstar are confident their "pulse plugs" are the next step in the evolution of the spark plug. Pulse plugs use a pulse cycle to draw the same amount of power as a normal spark plug, store it and release it at about 20,000 times the wattage. The fuel in your cylinders burns much more quickly and completely, creating extra cylinder pressure and resulting in more horsepower and torque for each revolution, not to mention wasting much less fuel in the process. They screw right in where your old plugs came out, and require no further modification. As a performance mod, they deliver more horsepower for your buck than just about any alternative - and their increased economy should see them paying for themselves within 12 months. Fantastic stuff!
Pulstar is a new ignition technology that looks and fits into vehicles like spark plugs, but is 20,000 times more powerful, improving both fuel economy and performance in almost any type of vehicle.
"We originally targeted Pulstar to the automotive performance market, but with the high price of gasoline and Pulstar's ability to improve fuel economy, we expect a significant percentage of our customers to be those who are concerned about fuel costs," said chief executive officer Daniel Parker. Pulstar Pulse Plugs are currently available for purchase online and in August will be available at select automotive parts stores in the Los Angeles market.
Pulstar’s difference lies in its built-in pulse circuit, which stores the ignition's electrical power and then discharges it in an intense plasma ball. In fact, spark plugs can be compared to the low-power output of a flashlight, while pulse plugs generate intense power like the brightness emitted from a camera's flash.
The US$25 pulse plugs last around as long as a standard spark plug - about 50,000 miles - and fit straight into any ordinary engine with no adverse side effects or other modifications required, making them about the easiest, quickest and cheapest way to make a performance modification to your vehicle.
Independent testing yielded impressive results - fuel economy improved between 2.2% and 10%, 0-60 mph times improved between 5% and 10%, and torque improvements were between 3.8% and 11.2% across a range of different test vehicles when compared against brand new spark plugs of the conventional type.
The revolutionary plugs will work with most other aftermarket performance accessories, and have no adverse effects in terms of heat buildup, cylinder damage or electrical interference with the vehicle's inbuilt computers.
The potential market for the product is huge with spark plugs selling at an estimated rate of at 1.5 billion units per year. We can't wait to get our hands on a set!
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/07/02/daily23.html
Spark Plug Maker Lands $5.5 Million Investment
Enerpulse Inc. has secured $5.5 million in its second round of financing for the consumer launch of Pulstar Pulse Plugs, spark plugs the company says provide 20,000 times the power of traditional plugs.
The company's Series B investors are SAIL Ventures Partners and Altira Group.
Pulstar is a drop-in replacement for the 1.5 billion spark plugs sold each year. The new ignition technology looks and fits into vehicles like spark plugs, but its greater power improves both fuel economy and performance in almost any type of vehicle, according to a news release. Pulstar's difference lies in its built-in pulse circuit, which stores the ignition's electrical power and then discharges it in an intense plasma ball.
"We originally targeted Pulstar to the automotive performance market, but with the high price of gasoline and Pulstar's ability to improve fuel economy, we expect a significant percentage of our customers to be those who are concerned about fuel costs," said chief executive officer Daniel Parker.
According to testing reported in 2005, Pulstar plugs increased a 2004 Chevrolet Avalanche pick-up truck's fuel efficiency by 2.7 percent.
"Investing often depends on market timing and with gasoline over $3.00 per gallon, we feel the time is right for this new technology," said Altira Group partner Jim Newell.
Pulstar Pulse Plugs are currently available for purchase online and in August will be available at select automotive parts stores in the Los Angeles market.
Albuquerque-based Enerpulse was founded in 1996. Its Web site, from which the plugs can be ordered, is: www.pulstarplug.com
http://www.redherring.com/Article.aspx?a=22806&hed=Spark+Plug+Defies+Climate+Change§or=Industries&subsector=Energy
It’s the small things you don’t think about that make money.
Or so hopes Albuquerque, New Mexico-based Enerpulse. The startup said Friday that it raised $5.5 million in funding from Altira Group and SAIL Venture Partners to bring to market a high-tech spark plug—of all things—it said can dramatically boost both automotive performance and fuel efficiency.
“Virtually all spark plugs today have 50 watts of peak discharge power,” said Enerpulse Chief Executive Daniel Parker. “What we’ve found out is that by putting a pulse circuit on top of a spark plug, we can increase spark plug output by [up to] 1 million [watts].”
And with Congress poised to crack down on the automotive industry with the biggest boost in fuel efficiency standards in two decades, U.S. car companies are scrambling to do what they can to improve fuel economy after years of sating Americans’ appetites for gas-guzzling sport-utility vehicles and trucks.
Enerpulse seems to take the slow approach to tackling that problem. While Japanese automakers have advanced gas-electric hybrid cars and startups are working out the kinks of electric vehicles, the big American car companies are stuck with trying to improve the fuel efficiency of vehicles with five-liter, six-cylinder engines, the sort of cars Americans seem to love. Instead of coming up with an entirely new type of vehicle, Enerpulse wants to use its pulse circuit spark plug to improve the fuel economy of conventional cars by 4 percent to 12 percent, Mr. Parker said.
“American companies have had to do some catching up,” Mr. Parker said. But “to increase fuel economy by half a percent or a percent is a monumental task in the automobile world. And it’s complicated by the fact that big SUV models are very popular among consumers.”
Enerpulse says its Pulstar pulse plugs, launched in June, increase combustion efficiency by burning fuel more completely and at a faster rate. Ultimately, that means getting more energy out of the combustion process and higher performance on hills and such. Other startups, such as Venrock-backed Transonic Combustion and Italy’s Nevis Engine Company, are also working to improve the efficiency of conventional cars, mainly their engines.
Prior to Pulstar, Enerpulse, which was founded in 1996 with angel money, sold about 100,000 units of a kit that came with a spark plug and pulse circuit, mainly for the aftermarket. But the package was complicated to install and took up too much space, according to Mr. Parker, who sees it as part of Enerpulse’s development phase.
In 2004, Altira invested $2.6 million in the company to fund the development of the Pulstar pulse plug, which is pre-assembled and is the size of a state-of-the-art spark plug (about 3 inches long and a half-inch in diameter). Working out the bugs took more than three years, even with the help of testers at Sandia National Laboratories. “You have to put an awful lot of technology in a very small package,” said Mr. Parker, who added that a European and an American car company have agreed to test the product on their vehicles.
Though the SUV and light truck market is Enerpulse’s long-term target, the Pulstar won’t likely go into new cars through OEM agreements for at least another two years, Mr. Parker said. Early adopters are more likely to be drivers of sporty cars who want a little more zip.