May 16 2008
According to the California Energy Council, only 15% of the gasoline in a car's tank moves it down the road. A large part of this inefficiency is due to the friction in the motor and tires. These losses are compounded by the motor itself which generally only produces 35% efficiency.
Albuquerque-based Enerpulse, Inc. recommends two very simple solutions. The first is the easiest, most overlooked and is practically free: tire pressure. By simply keeping the tires inflated to the recommended pressure, fuel consumption may be reduced by 10%. The only requirements are vigilance and a digital tire gauge -- a handy item to have in the glove box. They cost less than $20 and should be used every time you fill your tank.
The second recommendation is to replace old technology spark plugs with pulse plugs. Pulse plugs are the newest breakthrough in spark plug technology. They look and fit like spark plugs, but contain an electrical device called a capacitor, which intensifies the spark much like a camera flash intensifies light.
The visibly larger spark ignites fuel more efficiently and therefore increases fuel economy by an average of 6% compared to spark plugs. They cost $25 each and generate a 300% return in fuel savings. Once they are installed there is no maintenance. Just forget about them.
In addition to the impressive fuel economy of pulse plugs, acceleration tests (from 40 to 80 miles per hour) demonstrate that they can improve overall acceleration by as much as 10% compared to the factory-installed spark plugs. http://www.pulstarplug.com/howtheywork.html.
Together, tire pressure and pulse plugs can shave up to 16% off your gas bill and over a four year period can eliminate nearly 4 tons of greenhouse gas.
According to Daniel Parker, CEO of Enerpulse, Inc., "We, of course, want motorists to buy our product, but they need to know that the benefits from fuel economy products like Pulstar(TM) can be defeated by poor vehicle maintenance. And tire pressure is the easiest maintenance that anyone can do."