I am really considering getting some underdrive pulleys, but as always i like to do some research before i mod. I remember reading a thread a while ago about pulleys and people were talking about using underdrive pulleys in conjunction with a pulley from an rsx-s. i dont remember what the rsx pulley was or the reason for using it. The search function sucks now so it didnt give me any help. Does anyone remember that thread or have any idea what i am talking about? Thanks.

 

the unorthodox racing pulley set for the TSX is identical to the one for the rsx type-s. maybe that's what you were thinking of.

 

I personally would take a close look at NST pullies. They have made it so that the crank is underdriven and the alternator is overdriven, meaning that you'll gain power without needing a new belt and without losing charging capacity:

Why mickey mouse when good stuff is available?

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/home.php?cat=3360

Marcus

 

those were the ones i was going to get... and yes, from you. i just couldnt remember what the rsx-s pulley i remember reading about was used for. i really thought it was for something that the pulley kit didnt come with, but i could be wrong....

 

I ordered unorthodox racing pulley set for my TSX and the guy from ultrarev recomended me Ralco pulley set which is according to him: "same quality, CNC`d, and much cheaper.." I trusted him on that and agreed. I am very satisfied with Ralco, original belt fits with this underdrive pulley set. The engine had noticable power gain..that`s it. I contacted NST and they said that there was no possibility to order pulley set..

 

ToyoS, thats funny NST told you there was no posibility for a pulley kit. maybe you contacted them a while ago (before they released the kit) but i suggest you check out this link....

http://www.heeltoeauto.com/home.php?cat=3470

 

I contacted the manufacturer directly and they wrote me that they don`t produce it anymore and that they expect to produce it again soon.. I was in a bit of a hurry so I ordered ralco. Hope I didn`t made a mistake.

 

NST makes their kits in batches I believe -- I received a similar response from the main guy there over AIM one day when I asked him about availability. I think he said at the time that it would be about 3-4 weeks before the next batch would be available. I ended up finding a used set of UR ones from an RSX forum for a great price. One of the best mods I've done to the car -- it changed the responsiveness quite a lot, and I'm happy with them!

 

I talk to NST on AIM once a week or so. This is not the case.

 

I've seen Ralco pulleys on ebay ,seem quite cheap.anyone here know anything about them,good or bad?

 

Hey ToyoS,

Can you show a picture of your Ralco pulley? We can take look at it. I am considering to buy Ralco or NST for my 04' TSX.

George

 

Does the pulleys affect the aircon and powersteering systems?
This sounds like a great mod and def something I want to do on my car.......

 

Ralco, $90 on ebay...worth a try...?

 

The Ralco pulleys look almost exactly like the UR pulleys.

 

No problem.
It is a bit of a problem taking a picture of an already fitted set, but fortunately I have one additional set ordered for my friend`s acura.. I will take a picture later and post pics..

Thay say that pulley set iss the best "bang for buck" modification.. My mechanic says it could effect several things. Battery durability, air condition effectness, engine cooling and so on...

 

ordered the NST pulley set (and the Fastline adjustable rear swaybar links) from HeelToe yesterday..... w00t! i cant wait for them to show up

 

Thanks a lot Worth!!!

 

show us the pics of the ralco i wanna get one too

 

Searching the internet quickly...I found one pic: http://my.is/forums/f99/ralco-rz-per...hipped-367534/

 

just look on ebay. there are some for sale there with pics.

 

He told you that b/c Ultrarev is RZ. They aren't the same quality. Ultrarev marketed Ralco to me and I tried it and the quality was sub par. Firstly, all they do is copy other companies' parts and then they do a poor job of it. The part wasn't machined properly, didn't fit properly, and was missing parts. When I called them about it they told me to look at the instructions and parts list on another manufacturer's website b/c it was the same setup. IMO that is a brand to stay away from b/c they don't do any R&D and they don't back up their product.

 

Josh you are right on and, you must get the same cheesy emails as me. Chinese companies email and try to get me to buy all kinds of stuff. Pulleys, headers, intakes, even coilovers and mufflers. I never even glance at it. Man, its all cheap crap. Look on ebay and its all the same stuff, and I tell you what most of that ebay crap does not actually sell anyway!

It really annoys me that customers are exposed to these parts and are tempted because of cost. Fact is, UR, NST, etc are not overpriced, and they are certainly not expensive.....the other stuff is just CHEAP COPIED CRAP.

marcus

 

Probably worth the $90 to try Ralco vs. $320...I've had fitment problems with products supplied by the forum vendors as well.

 

Fitment problems and quality problems are two different things.

The experience [I think] you are talking about was very out of character for the company in question. And given the circumstances I think it was handled pretty well even though your patience was tried. All I can say is, if you stick with the better companies there is more at stake than a sale. There is a reputation and future loyalty that needs to be maintained also. The difference between crappy parts and good parts.....if something goes wrong, the companies selling the good parts a lot of times want to help out instead of blame you for the problem.

Marcus

 

I didn`t order Ralco because of the price, only because the seller tried and succeded in convincing me. Originally I was gonna order NST or URm but..
I didn`t have any fitment problems and the set looks very good.
Here are the pictures so..


I hope I won`t have problems with them..if I do, I will sell them easily and order UR or NST.
I checked the vendor`s e bay page for feedback and it was very positive d these pulleys..

 

those look identical to the UR set.

i went with UR, mostly b/c ppl here have them in their car, all the feedback has been positive, and they're a good company backed by vendors on a-zine. pricey, maybe. but there is piece of mind too, knowing that it's a proven product.

that's not to say the ralco is junk. it may work fine with no issues. just saying b/c it's a knock-off and not many ppl have had experience with it, i wouldn't want to be the guinea pig.

 

True, but what is the worst that could happen? Not much I guess. Perhaps air cond failure because of the lack of electricity? Or servo failure? I doubt that this pulley set can do some serious mechanical damage to the engine?!

 

If the crank pulley isn't balanced and hasn't been machined properly it could do significant damage. I doubt the A/C compressor will fail. But let's just it did fail, it would end up costing you a lot more than if you had just went with a proven product from the beginning. Maybe it will be fine though; maybe you get one of the sets that has been done properly. The problem is they just copied someone else's design and at half the cost so they must have cut corners somewhere.

 

I paid attention to details, finish and it looked fine.
Now I am a bit terrified. The "regular" price on this Ralco was 200$ per set, UR was 319$ so i tought: "New company, lower prices o gain new customers.." I would newer have bought them if I only knew something about these quality issues..

 

My Father used to tell me:

"Son, you get what you pay for."
"Buy the best, it'll be more now, but it'll last longer, therefore it's cheaper long term."
"Do it right, or don't do it at all."

you know.... stuff like that.
that's why my mod list reads the way it does.

 

I originally ordered UR, I didn`t plan on saving money.. no need to argue..it is done now..

 

What is the price on these UR pulley set.
I am planning to sell my Ralco and order UR pulley set.
I have seen few few people who work in car parts stores, pm me anout price and so on please.đ
Thanks

 

Or pehaps NST? What is the difference?
Do I need a different size belt for either of those two?

 

Why?

I thought...

 

Because few of these guys said something negative about Ralco and now I am freaked out... What if ralco isn`t balanced properly?
Man, I can`t stop thinking about it now..
I would pay 200$ for a new set to have a piece of mind now..

 

Thats why i went with ur and stuck with them. After the e-shift dyno meet and talking to excelerate i was sold.

Still love them ur pulleys. I did replace with a tighter belt after awhile. Pulleys were installed around 50,000 miles and currently at 100,000.
no problems.

 

cheap thing no good
good thing no cheap

 

How noticeable is the power gain, is it really 10-15HP? Outside of the S/C, I'm running out of mods!

 

It's definitely noticeable and overall a very worthwhile mod. I found the power gains to be quite good for the cost, plus, the power is increased throughout the RPM range from 0-7300rpm. Many mods only give gains up top or in the midrange, but the pulleys give a constant increase all over.

 

Its really noticable with it installed. The revs fly, i don't think on a dyno its that much but its a gain for the whole powerband since its constantly running.