Hey guys,

I think I've reached the end of the road of bolt-on mods: the underdrive pulley. You can get this little gem from RSS for $179 and it promises +5 hp. So, my voodoo mod math now has my little 3.4L pulling about 360hp! Amazing right? (cough cough).

Anyway, I installed the sucker. It should be a no brainer except you have to grind about 3/8" of the timing boss off, requiring a little Dremel grinder or the like...not too bad, but unexpected.

I'm not sure it does anything at all except maybe quiet things down just a bit. And it gave me an excuse to play with my car!

 

Reminds me of a piece I read many years ago when miracle fuel-saving devices were highly touted. 15% for one thing, 20% for another, and so on. The author said after installing all of these devices, he took a trip from L.A. to San Francisco and had to stop 5 times to drain gas out of the tank.

 

IIRC, it slows down the power steering pump and alternator as well. Battery might not charge properly. For track, you won't overheat the PS pump any longer. Mostly used in race converted or hardcore track cars. HP gain is unclear, but other benefits are well known.

-td

 

I've read many posts from people who have done the pulley and noticed gains. Real or imagined, I can't say. To me the real tell of a modification is - afterwards, would you do it again. This time it sounds like no. Maybe it depends on whether it's the first mod or the last mod for you to see any gains from the pulley.

 

A further update on this mod: I would do it again. What I've noticed is a slight improvement in spool up...so much so that I hit the fuel shut-off the first couple of times out. The butt dyno says the car is a bit quicker. And the whole motor is a bit quieter. There doesn't seem to be any effect on charging or engine temp, even in traffic.

In addition to this little mod, I also have a complete Fabspeed exhaust system, the Fabspeed cup intake, the IPD plenum and a lightweight clutch/flywheel in the mix. Overall, I'm very happy.

Get the pulley. It will give you something new to do.

G

 

maybe you can dyno ur car? sounds like a great setup

 

Agree. Simple, easy, cheap mod you can feel right away. Increased HP? Not sure. Slightly quicker rev/more responsive? Yes.