Underdrive pulleys: YAY or NAY?

[Andrew1990]

So, do underdrive pulleys make a noticeable difference, and if so, are they worth the price?

 

[Zenmervolt]

If you're going all-out, then yes. For street use, I'd rather have the added comfort of knowing that my alternator and water pump were running at spec. Basically, if I were making a serious or semi-serious street/strip car where it wasn't my daily driver then yes. But if I were looking for a little more oomph out of my everyday car, I'd look at other options.

ZV

 

[thedarkwolf]

Just annoyed me in the mustang I bought with them. The biggest problem was my a/c didn't work worth a damn at idle. The blower motor and lights dimming weren't exactly great either but I could live with those.

 

[JulesMaximus]

On a V6? Hell no.

 

[HannibalX]

If it's for the car in your sig, forget it, waste of money.

 

[Kirby]

you'd be better off buying a wing and a ton of stickers, because that's what really gives you the competitive edge racing civics.

 

[Unheard]

Just annoyed me in the mustang I bought with them. The biggest problem was my a/c didn't work worth a damn at idle. The blower motor and lights dimming weren't exactly great either but I could live with those.

QFT. Had them on my old truck for a while. AC sucked, and dimming of lights was bad.

 

[Exeodus]

I had a set of March underdrive pulleys on my 383 SBC. When it idled in drive and the rpm's went under 800, the lights would dim a bit. Park idle and driving charging and cooling was never a issue. I do believe the small gain in power may not worth the cost though.

 

[LordMorpheus]

I believe the OP has been having us on for a few threads now ...

Anyway. My car eats alternators and has enough problems keeping the battery charged, so hell no. Also, with a big heavy luxobarge like my town car, if you wanted to do performance mods you'd need to do a whole lot more than an underdrive pully to even notice it.

 

[Vetterin]

So, do underdrive pulleys make a noticeable difference, and if so, are they worth the price?

Only if you put them on a Ford Fiesta or Chevette! You would be better off with a fake dual exhaust.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Only if you put them on a Ford Fiesta or Chevette! You would be better off with a fake dual exhaust.

His camaro already has that.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

I always thought the 3.4L V6 in the Camaro was the 215HP Z34 DOHC motor.

Glad you cleared that up for me.

 

[compcons]

I had an unorthodox pulley on a galant VR-4. The horsepower wasn't all that great (maybe 5 HP on a 300HP/350ft-lb build), but the throttle response was improved somewhat. Keep in mind that this is a turbo 4cyl, so going from the stock (195HP/203ft-lbs) turbo to a larger turbo necessitated as much throttle response improvement as I could get. The Mitsubishi 4G63 turbo has a harmonic balancer that will separate eventually, and a timing belt problem is not something I was going to deal with at 20 psi. For the money, it was worth it.

That said, there are probably more beneficial upgrades to your car.

EH

 

[JulesMaximus]

I had an unorthodox pulley on a galant VR-4. The horsepower wasn't all that great (maybe 5 HP on a 300HP/350ft-lb build), but the throttle response was improved somewhat. Keep in mind that this is a turbo 4cyl, so going from the stock (195HP/203ft-lbs) turbo to a larger turbo necessitated as much throttle response improvement as I could get. The Mitsubishi 4G63 turbo has a harmonic balancer that will separate eventually, and a timing belt problem is not something I was going to deal with at 20 psi. For the money, it was worth it.

That said, there are probably more beneficial upgrades to your car.

EH

Like an LS-6? Of course, he will need to upgrade the suspension, the brakes, and all the bushings could probably stand to be replaced to make it safe to drive.

 

[CraigRT]

Had one on one of my older cars. Would not go that route again.

 

[Apex]

Depends on the car.

 

[Viperoni]

Most cost-effective thing you can do for the 3.4L V6 is boost or swap.

 

[Gillbot]

no

 

[Regk]

I had the exact same car in firebird trim, with a 5 speed. From my experience, yes you will feel a bit of the SOTP gain, however if you have a sound system be prepared to beat on your electrical system at stoplights. one of the most noticable bolt ons that I did to increase performance was going with a K&N Fipk.

here was my list of Mods

B&M Ripper shifter (Awesome, awesome shifter)
Accel coil packs and wires
K&N Fipk
Underdrive pulleys
TB heat exchanger bypass
Hi flo cat
Z28 catback exhaust
3.42 rear end

it was my first car I ever got to wrench on, I kinda miss it! If you ever have any questions about the car just LMK

 

[geno]

IMO lightweight pulley > UDP

no messing with special belts or possibly underdriving your accessories

 

[Gillbot]

yes you will feel a bit of the SOTP gain

it's in your head. Your "butt dyno" can't detect a couple HP difference. Sorry, not buying it.

 

[alkemyst]

Better pulleys are just lighter and don't really underdrive that much. Depends on car though for gains...some get good results...some only 1-2hp.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

If you want to do anything with that engine in your sig, You need an aftermarket intake, headers, exhaust and a new ECM tune.
From there you'll start having to do real work. There are cam's for the 3.4L that will help, but it would be easier to put 1.6 roller rockers in place of the stock rocker arms.

The easiest way to boost that car is get an STS turbo kit.

 

[geno]

Better pulleys are just lighter and don't really underdrive that much. Depends on car though for gains...some get good results...some only 1-2hp.

Better pulleys won't underdrive at all if they're the same diameter as stock But reducing mass attached to the rotating assembly allows more power to the wheels, your gain estimates are pretty much spot on though, the gains aren't that high.

 

[alkemyst]

Better pulleys won't underdrive at all if they're the same diameter as stock But reducing mass attached to the rotating assembly allows more power to the wheels, your gain estimates are pretty much spot on though, the gains aren't that high.

well they usually aren't the same diameters. They make the crank smaller and the accessories a little larger as the weight is easier to play with that way.

I can't remember the car, but there was a set that netted 10HP (I think crank though) and that is pretty impressive for the price of these things.

Other differences that don't always = more peak power like throttle response and the like are harder to measure, but can be perceived.

Not to mention the cosmetic enhancement.

There is a lot of talk on harmonic balancer types and engine failures...I only think BMW and their race cars have documented this though.