2K3 Mazdaspeed said:Just to throw this in the air...5-8 HP might be a big deal when you are a professional racer, and you need every ounce of HP you can squeeze from your motor. But as a daily driver car, you wouldn't even notice it. I've heard a lot of people say you normally don't notice a "difference" in power from anything less than a 10HP gain. I'm sure different parts(exhaust, header) might give you more top end/low end power, but where are you supposed to feel a difference with a 5+HP pulley??
chuyler1 said:HP doesn't necessarily add up like math in the 3rd grade. Don't asume a 5HP gain from one part plus an 8HP gain from another part are going to give you 13HP total.
I plan to drive my car for a long time...If I wanted an ultra fast car, I would have bought one. We are dealing with a compact car here, not a race car (MSP excluded).
chuyler1 said:underdrive pulleys are not a good solution for daily drivers...it has been disputed more than once in forums so I'm trying staying neutral on this one.
Just keep in mind, when you live in a warm weather climate, having your water pump run 15% slower will cause your engine to run hotter than it was designed.
Your alternator will not charge your battery as well as it should causing the battery to fail sooner than usual. People w/ large stereos should think about replacing their alternator with a high output one if they want to do this.
None of the affects are immediate. Down the road you may see that parts start to fail before they should. If you are alright with this, go for it.
Out of curiosity, what does Mazda say about them? Will they void our warantees?
did your car have a harmonic balancer?Talonted said:
I have been running an UR Pulley on my car for 60k miles, no overheating, or any problems, my brother has had one for almost 80k miles, no problems.
redmption said:<snip> I know plenty of people who drive WRX's that have underdrive pulleys and have no problem at all. I know their pulleys are balanced, they make them specific for each type of car. </snip>
perfworks said:
did your car have a harmonic balancer?
did you replace it when installing the UP?
There seems to be a problem with the UP on the miatas being your taking the dampener off and just adding a different diameter pulley.
Id like to see a pic if someones protege with the pulley if anyone would be so kind as to post one either installed or on the shelf.
thank in advance![]()