2001CL

Just checking with all of you members out there that have installed the Unorthodox racing pulleys on your car. Wondering about all that crap people say about it not having a harmonic dampenering and how it will ruin your engine. All feedback welcome.

Thanks

ChucksTL_RENAMED

No problems so far, and I like the gains. I got just the crank pulley as it weighs 1.5 lbs verses 8 lbs for the stock one. No it will not affect the engine, the heavy stock one helps give that smooth idle feel which only changes alittle bit with the new one.

NighthawkBlack

I ve had them for 8 months now no probs thus far.

mattg

if it does wreck the motor, i'll just do a 3.5L.


no problems so far.

bullaculla

how about those with six speeds? would just the Alt, P/S pulley help much?

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

I have the AEM ones, those are just the Alternator, & power steering pully. Can't say if I feel any difference. I heard most of the power gains from the UR pullies are in the crank pully. If you getting the UR's I'd get all 3.

johntypes

i have had them for 13 months no promblem 13650 miles

RaptorCLS

whats a good place to get them from?

also, if you plan on putting a system in your car, would this affect the power in any way?

thanks
Raptor

Bulldog01

I'm not sure the harmonic balance is really affected in our cars. It can be affected in other cars, though. My buddy has a Supra TT, and he did pulleys, and it screwed up his idle like a bastard. He went back to stock.

Slimey

Has anyone with the crank pulley done an oil analysis to see if their slowly eroding their engine?

moomaster_99

The whole thing is not that it will destroy your car in an instant..but rather how long will the motor last....ask after 100k of useage.

allmotor_2000

No problems, but I don't think they are really doing anything for me! Felt no gains...

Doom878

VaV6 in www.v6performance.net did this on his Accord 6 months after install with no evidence of damage to the internals of the engine. I'm another Accord checking in reporting no problems.

Samer007

about 20k on them no probs

mattg

Nashua did.

zigzagzig

and?

Titand19

Had it on my 6 speed for 14 months, no probs so far.

fusionnv

If you go to the website that make the Pulleys such as AEM, they will have a disclaimer that there are studies or cases where long term use (years) will damage the engine. They make it hard to find. You have to go to a bunch of links to find them.

My friend that did lots of research on it says the vibration (from having a lighter non shock absorbing pully) will damage the internal parts over a period of them (years). So you might not see a problem until like 7-10 years coming from it. It basically if you not keeping the car forever (next owners problem) or don't care etc. Then go for it.

Quote from AEM:

Why doesn’t AEM make a crank pulley?

"Virtually all of the cars we make Tru-Power pulleys for come equipped with a vibration dampener mounted to the crank from the factory. Aftermarket crank pulleys require the removal of these dampeners, which are required for engine life. Their removal can cause damage to your engine over time. If the manufacturers could save on vehicle costs by eliminating this device they would have done so."

underdrive pulleys good, crank pulley bad. Unless u looking for an excuse to do a 3.5 down the line, hehehe.

r10apple

I ordered mine from a local shop (UR crank pulley only) and am having it installed by the end of the week...
They advised the other two pullies were really cosmetic more than anything and honestly, not to bother...
You can get them from Nopi for like $203 and I pain $205 or $210 (can't remember) at my local shop...Shipping was the same for Nopi and the shop...

Zapata

straight from the horse's mouth

mattg

what do you expect aem to say? come on

showgunz

Well you guys are forgetting that an expert on Honda engines (a Honda tech, I think) said that harmonic dampeners in the crank pulley were put in to reduce NVH to the driver's steering wheel and cabin. At idle, that dampener helps reduce the vibrations that you'd feel on your steering wheel. So of course Honda would want to have this on their crank pulley. That rubber harmonic dampener doesn't seem like it would cost Honda too much money plus it'd help the car feel more smooth at idle. So if you don't mind a rougher idle, then get it!

nvpscore

ya i have had mine on for 15-16 months now, no problems here, runs great, sounds good, and power

fusionnv

I found one more tip of information. It is from NTPOG, I used to own a prelude. This website has lots of info on them, but they have info about pulleys. In beginning they start out how well they work etc etc. But u read the update u see.

http://www.ntpog.org/reviews/underdrive/pulley.shtml

"While we aren't going to detail all the arguments for or against pulleys, or tell you what you should do with your daily driver or track-only car, we (and Larry feel that the damage in Billy's engine far outweighs the benefits seen by the pulleys. We (including Larry) feel that the "accessory" pulley kits offered by companies like Unorthodox should NOT cause the same damage we think the crank pulley did- the harmonic balancer is weighted and damped to absorb the impulse energy created by the accessories as well as the crank itself; while changing the pulleys on the accessories will alter the characteristics of the load, we feel that any change would be a positive one. - Todd Marcucci "

Doom878

AEM quality=

Doom878

Here's something else they said:

I have now had the pulley on for about 10000 miles, and I have had absolutely no problems. I have been sent e-mail concerning the AEM ad that states that the crank pulley contains damping material that is "critical to engine life." True, the stock pulley is potted in a rubber compound, but I suspect this is to damp vibration from the p/s pump, the alternator, and the A/C kicking on and off. I haven't noticed any increase in engine vibration and engine sounds fine at idle and WOT. I am not saying that the guys at AEM don't know what they are talking about, but on our particular application, I don't think that changing the crank pulley will affect life at all. Also, the crank pulley is not a harmonic balancer; that is what we have the twin balance shafts for. There is much debate on this topic, and this is just my opinion. If you ask three different people, you will get three different answers!

fusionnv

That was their opinion before the extensive research they did. Need to find some more stuff.

lightningman

50,000 km no problems

Doom878

Wasn't that whole page after their research?

Chaptorial

Getting ready to do this mod. Gonna buy a set of all three (3) UR SS Pulleys.

Any new problems come up since June?

ChadT

Here is another quote from that article:

Seems there are possible wear issues with removing the damper. Damping torsional vibrations is important. Not necessarily something you will feel. Hard to tell what the long term effects are until someone tears down an engine that has had the damper removed for several thousand miles.

TL_Type_S

My things is this: I'm getting rid of the car in about 20,000 miles, so I'm not too worried about it. I agree that it'd be pretty hard to determine engine wear and tear w/o a controlled, scientific study to compare .. for instance, 30 cars w/ stock pulleys to 100,000 miles, vs. 30 identical cars w/ the UR crank pulley to 100,000 miles. It just won't happen.

My installer has the pulleys on his Suburu, and several guys I know have them on their cars. Now, does that piece of info help you sleep at night? If not, don't get the mod.

TL_Type_S

Not to mention that I'm always more worried about my tranny freaking out on me for the fourth time... i don't have a worry in the world about the engine having had to deal w/ the tranny so many times.

ChadT

Yeah hard to tell if there is any detriment to installing them. I would think the torsional vibration would be minimal on a V6 as torsional vibration is created by the twisting and springing back of the crank as it is loaded and unloaded by each cylinder and a V6 crank is fairly short. A straight six is another story. I would think the torsional vibration on a Subie with the flat four would be negligible but I don't really know.

flint

iTrader: (2)

15,000 miles no problems, no rough idle, and I gained probably about .05 to .10 at the track from what I can tell in before and after runs. I got all 3 from UR and I would recommend them. Engine response seems all around better.

mattg

my car is idling smooth as ever. i would guess i have 15k on my pulley set.

Chaptorial

This is the 3 piece set, correct?

TL_Type_S

yup, and that's the cleanest they'll EVER look.... so save that pic.

I have the red set.

Chaptorial

How could they get dirty in the engine bay?

mattg

my engine bay is the cleanest part of my car. especially right now. :o