I know there's been a lot of debate on lightweight crank pulleys. But I wanted to get more of a quantitative idea of who does or doesn't use one and why. The general consensus seems to be that it doesn't cause any significant engine damage or wear and that most haven't noticed any side effects such as belt squeaking, rough idle or vibrations. But there are a few who disagree.

I had one on my 3G for about 60K miles, and my 4G for about 20K miles with no noticeable engine problems and only a slight belt squeak on my 4G.

I've done a ton of research on the topic and have yet to find any proof that it causes damage on the J-series V6. There are a few occasions where some tore down an engine and noticed increased crank or connecting rod bearing wear. But those were on the K and B series and still can't definitively attributed to the crank pulley vs. normal wear. Also,those are straight 4's, which have a few things working against them - notably a longer crankshaft per cylinder (which can be significant when considering vibration and stress) and a less "smooth" crankshaft load due to less cylinders punching the crank vs a V6 which distributes the crank load more evenly. I should also note that there have been plenty who tore down and engine that used the pulley and noticed nothing out the ordinary with the crank or bearings.

Feel free to comment. But in general, I'd rather not have some gigantic technical posts discussing the topic since it's been covered ad-nauseum. Also, I have a 4G but the 3G forum gets a lot more attention. Plus, both cars' engines would theoretically experience the same effects of the crank pulley.

 

I was always warned about the same, when I had a pulley on my '03 Accord 6MT (J30 engine). I drove with it for about 12000 miles, until I wrote the car off, haha. It's only a short mileage interval, but yeah, no issues in that time period. And I would *mash* that car, all day, everyday, bouncing off the rev limiter all too often, hahaha. Hey, the car would rev up fast to redline in 1st gear. You had to be on point to shift!

So yeah.. 12000 miles... I never had issues. That's my only experience.

 

I dont think it causes damage.
I dont have one because of how expensive it is.

 

I meant to post a poll but waited too long.

Mods - Can you delete this post, or add a poll:1. Yes. I don't believe there is any significant risk or engine wear.
2. Yes. There may be slight risk, but I'm willing to accept that for the performance gains.
3. No. The potential risk or engine/wear damage is more than I'm willing to accept.
4. No. I used to, but had a side effect that resulted in reinstalling the OEM pulley.

 

Sorry guys. Kind of screwed this up. I had to step away from the comp for a sec, then found out the poll couldn't be posted after 10 minutes. Feel free to comment but I'm hoping a mod can add the poll or delete the thread so I can start a new one.

 

Been using one for the last 2 years, winter/summer and I've never had an issue at all

 

had the underdrive and stock diameter no issues that I notice, but I did not do an oil analyze to get definitely results.

 

I honestly don't think I've ever heard of anyone having engine failure because of the pulley. I've heard on other platforms (370z), the pulley actually shattering, but that was more related to poor design and didn't result in engine damage either, when it failed, besides a damaged serpentine belt which takes a whopping 20 minutes to replace.

The logic behind using the stock pulley makes sense... but in reality, I've never come across anyone with issues. And these pulleys have been around for like a decade. You would 100% see failure threads on AZ if they were a problem.

I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. You will be fine!

 

I've been using this pulley for 5 years and the car runs just the same as it did.

 

Your call. I wouldn't get it unless you are looking for all out performance.

Totally aside from performance but I dislike that the aftermarket pulley doesn't have the Hex shape to allow you to hold the crank for loosening and torquing the crank pulley bolt. Something to think about.

 

x2 on the lack of the hex shape to accommodate the special tool.

 

This guy knows a few things

 

Yes, I noticed the lack of the hex to tighten the crank bolt.

I haven't noticed a night and day difference after taking the pulley off. But while the difference is subtle, it's still there. Truth is, I don't push the car very hard. I'll probably stick with the stock pulley for now but switch to the lightweight if I get the itch. Thank you for the responses.

 

UR stock diameter pulley installed April 2008. Close to 10 years/100,000 miles later, no issues.

 

Good to know. Do you push your TL very hard? Frequent higher RPM's?

 

99.9% of owners will likely never touch the pulley ever again, during their ownership time. And if the do, it's not like it's impossible to get off. Just a pain, haha.

This to me shouldn't be a cause for concern for most owners.

 

Can't add pole... sorry

 

I visit high rpms multiple times daily in the RL with the pulley. No drama at all.

 

100% of those people don't know what Acurazine is :P.

Removing it's no really a problem. It's the re-torquing part that will present a challenge.

I wouldn't replace the OEM pulley with anything other than a stock pulley or and ATI pulley, that's my . I will take what Honda's Engineers came up with and it came with the car.

 

For what it's worth, the OEM J37 pulley is a couple pounds lighter than the OEM J32A3 pulley. I have a J37 pulley on my J37 (obviously) and my J32.

 

I appreciate the feedback. The conclusion (which is usually the same with the other dozen lightweight pulley threads) is:

1. Noticeable gains in lower gears, but not over the top.
2. Theoretically, damage may occur, but likely minimal over time. Not likely enough to likely cause engine failure (bearing or crank failure).
3. No reported failures on the J-series.

However, for now, I'm sticking with stock. But only because I'm planning on keeping this car for a long time. I'm going to see if I can push it to 300K. Although the risk is still low, I'd rather not do anything to chance it.

Thanks again for all the input.

/thread IMO

 

Obviously this is an old thread, but I might as well share my experience. I ran a UR pulley on my J32A2 for a few years, for a total of 70 thousand kilometers (that would be maybe 40K miles?), didn't have any issues. But I also didn't notice any horsepower gains. I guess one good thing that came out of using one of these pulleys would be that it doesn't fall apart (I've had that happen to me twice, when the rubber layer fails and the two pieces constituting the pulley separate). As long as the pulley doesn't damage the engine internally.
But that's the part I'm not so sure about. In 2021 I converted my J32A2 to 3.5 liters (by fitting rods and a crank for a J35A1). That engine failed in about 40K kilometers. The crankshaft was examined under a defectoscope, they found microscopic cracks in one of the journals right in the middle of the crank (which might indicate that the crankshaft was getting twisted).
Now it might not have been the pulley in the first place, because after repairs that engine later failed a second time (it spun a bearing, again). And this time it was running the stock pulley. So it might've failed the first time due to something completely unrelated. Though the damage to the crankshaft in that instance I still find to be slightly suspicious.

 

Did you also install a lightweight flywheel?
The issue with only doing one side and not the other is that the crank is balanced from the factory on both sides.

When you install lightweight on one side it puts more pressure on the opposite side of the crank.

To rebalance the weight distribution on the J series engine and increase reliability, you must put lightweight components on both both sides.

 

^
Interesting.
I have had a UR lightweight crank pulley & a stock LUK DM flywheel / clutch set-up on my S/C'd CL-S6 since 2005 and, knock on wood, have had no issues.
I can also attest that I don't beat the he!! out of it from stop light to stop light either, so I .
Mainly because of 'heat soak' down here in blazing FL.

 

Speaking of heatsoak!


This information was given to me by Andy (Gerzy Bear) years ago. It made sense to me at the time, so I thought I’d share it.

I suppose in normal driving the engine won’t wear prematurely? *Shrug*

 

This is a load of crap. I would expect better from Gerzy since he has an engineering background. The idea of "imbalance" is untrue. The factory masses, crank pulley and dual mass flywheel, together with the crank itself result in a specific tuned frequency. In general, anything rigid has a specific resonant frequency. Any mass attached to said rigid structure will dampen and shift the resonant frequency. The cylinders firing in an engine are a major excitation source. Adding mass to the crank reduces the self resonance and so when each cylinder fires, the amplitude of the self resonance is lower. This improves NVH as well as long term durability. Reducing any of the masses, such as a light weight flywheel and/or a light weight crank pulley will also reduce the damping effect. "Balancing" doesn't really play a part. If masses are reduced, so is the damping effect.

 

So with a lightweight pulley/flywheel, more frequency is created, which is absorbed primary by the crank bearings during each revolution.
Does it then make sense to use OEM crank bearing which Andy said are more durable than aftermarket to the increase reliability and duration of use?

P2R sells a crank pulley dampener. Does this only damped the frequency primary on the crank side?

 

InspireJ32A didn't provide enough info. I think the cause of spinning the bearings is completely unrelated to the crank dampening. Most likely spark knock or pre-detonation. This condition puts a tremendous load on the crank and is far more detrimental than lighter crank pulleys or flywheels. I've never heard of anyone breaking a J-series crank. Worrying about the lack of dampening from a light weight crank pulley or flywheel is probably unwarranted. But I would be damn sure that the calibration is finely tuned and there isn't any risk of spark knock or pre-detonation. And also make sure to always run premium fuel that is fresh (less than 3 months old). And make sure the injectors are clean.