Pulleys

[Vaporizyed]

One of the next upgrades I would like to do on my 08 Mustang GT is the underdrive pulleys. I have read all the advantages of doing this upgrade and it seems like an inexpensive upgrade to do. My question to everyone would be; Are there any disadvantages of upgrading the underdrive pulleys and leaving the stock ones in? Second, is a retune required after the pulleys are changed out? Third, what is the best brand of pulleys to get. I have heard, "hands-down" that Steeda is the way to go. I would like to know if anyone has used BBK as well. If anyone could guide me in a good direction, I would appreciate it. Thanks!

 

[Mach1Marauder]

Change any pulley that you want, but leave the stock damper alone.

 

[IgottaV8]

No new tune is needed, I have not heard of any disadvantages, and it is the only mod that I haven't done. I know that I should get a new belt, but with your car being so much newer, i'm not sure.

 

[ears]

well,,, what i have heard is this,,,,,,

steeda is the way to go,,, get a new belt and or over drive pulleys to compensate for the underdrive pulleys

i had bbk and i was satisfied but ive never had steeda so i cant really compare, the good thing about the bbk is you dont need a new belt and the customer service is unbeatable!! but i have heard that the steeda pulleys are far superior!!

 

[yosemiddysam]

Steeda pulleys are great. I have all billet flow ones on mine but I bought them as a set.

 

[Tommy]

Red changed his pulleys a few months ago. He should have some feedback

here's a write up he did on the install

http://www.wickedstangs.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8723

First of all make sure your car engine is cool so you can work on it.
1.On my car we first took off the cold air intake.

Take off the power steering fluid, radiator reservoir, radiator cover and remove the fan.

3.Remove belt and the water pump pulley.

5. Remove the driver's side lower alternator bracket bolt and stud.

6.Remove the harmonic balancer bolt and the crankshaft with a crankshaft puller.

7. Line up the new crankshaft pulley and use the longer bolt to install the pulley. DO NOT TIGHTEN THE BOLT ALL THE WAY. Remove this bolt and use the factory bolt to tighten the rest of the way.

8.Install the new bolt for the alternator supplied with the pulleys.

9.Install the new water pump pulley.

10. Put the belt back on.

11. Install your fan, radiator cover, cold air intake, power steering fluid and radiator reservoir back on.

12. Start your car and check that the belt is running correctly. Shut the car off and inspect the belt to make sure that it is aligned and tracking right.

 

[Mach1Marauder]

Alright guys, Here's the straight dope.

I see that Red also changed his crank damper(it's not a harmonic balancer All mod motors are internally balanced). This is only good if the damper has the same over all mass as the stock. Since the oil pump in directly driven by the crank and has such tight tolerances, it is sensitive to harmonic vibrations/oscillations. Given the powdered metal composition of the oil pump gears, it's not a good idea to subject them to these events.

The damage occurs at high rpms. To explain to those with limited mechanical engineering backgrounds, engine harmonics are cyclical and increase in amplitude with rpm. Conventional dampers are designed to be operated in a given rpm range. Most stock applications do this with a given mass and by location on the crank snout. When operated outside of this intended range, the crank driven gears can oscillate. This can plainly be observed by the more prominent marks on the coast side of the crank flats that drive the oil pump gears. What this essentially does is bang or slam the gear against the crank. Over time, this will fatigue and break the hard yet brittle oil pump gears. The failure will ALWAYS occur at high rpms when your attention is in driving and you have a very small window to shut the engine down to limit damage.
THis is why you will always see very fast ModMotor car with dampers from aftermarket companies such as Innovators West or ATI. Their dampers are designed for higher operating rpms. You will also see either billet steel oil pump gears OR an external belt driven oil pump. A stock example of an external belt driven oil pump is the Ford GT SuperCar. The race car I crew chief on is and aftermarket example of an external belt driven oil pump. I have a custom set of billet steel oil pump gears in my engine and Melling now has an oil pump with billet gears.

I hope this helps to to make an informed decision on choosing an underdrive pulley system.