Drivetrain Light Weight Crank Pulley
4th Gear
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 461
Likes: 1
From: Magnolia, Texas
I have an Unorthodox Racing lightweight crank pulley for my Miata that has only been used for a couple hundred miles. I removed it as soon as I found out about the harmonic problems that could occur. I plugged the hole in the bottom and now use it as the world's most expensive peanut dish. 
Several turbo Miata folks blew up their oil pumps because of using a UR pulley on their car. The Miata has a gear type pump (roots style?) that has very close tolerances and doesn't last long with the vibrations that a turbo engine generates. I've never heard of a normally-aspirated Miata oil pump going out because of removing the harmonic damper, but it can't be good for the engine. There was some debate on the Miata boards that a supercharged car has natural dampening because of the belt-driven mass of the blower itself.
Personally, I wouldn't risk the engine or the supercharger.
John
Several turbo Miata folks blew up their oil pumps because of using a UR pulley on their car. The Miata has a gear type pump (roots style?) that has very close tolerances and doesn't last long with the vibrations that a turbo engine generates. I've never heard of a normally-aspirated Miata oil pump going out because of removing the harmonic damper, but it can't be good for the engine. There was some debate on the Miata boards that a supercharged car has natural dampening because of the belt-driven mass of the blower itself.
Personally, I wouldn't risk the engine or the supercharger.
John
4th Gear
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 317
Likes: 0
From: Kirkland, WA
lighter can not always be better, yes lightened flywheels are good but the harmonic balancer is designed to lower engine vibration and if you install one of those things it will cause the engine to run rough at idle. will not help you much
chris
chris
Moderator :: Performance Mods
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 5,427
Likes: 6
From: A Den in Maryland
The MINI engine has a crank-driven gerotor-type oil pump directly behind the crank pulley. Even though the bottom end of our beloved 1.6 engines is extraordinarily strong, some of the things that give it this strength can cause weaknesses without the balancer or one similar to it in place. The MCS engine used a forged crank. Forged cranks will ring like a bell if you strike one that is outside of an engine. A cast crank, not being as rigid, will net a dull thump. The propensity of forged (and cast) cranks to ring is what necessitates a harmonic balancer. Also, the balancer on the MCS engine was not designed soley to dampen crank harmonics, but was specifically engineered to minimize sympathetic harmonics in the drive belt system to prevent supercharger rotor backlash. This fact is spelled out in the MCS engine design report that was part of the Ward's Automotive Top Ten Engines awards.
A long-stroke engine such as this needs a balancer of some sort to supress the twisty oscillations that will happen at certain RPMs. A solid balancer like these performance types re-tune the frequencies at where this ringing happens because of the added mass. a true 'dampener' uses an outer mass connected my rubber to an inner hub, which has a similar effect as touching a finger to a vibrating guitar string to silence it. A solid balancer will act to lower the harmnic frequency, but it will still be there. What ends up happening is that at certain RPMs the crank with the balancer attached will 'wiggle' on it's axis as the crank spins. This vibration will effect the oil pump, the rod bearings on the crankpins closest to the balancer end of the crank, as well as anything driven by the belt, including the supercharger. The belt will absorb some of the oscillations, but especially when it comes to the blower, you end up 'rattling' the rotors at certain speeds.
The outer ring of the balancer that is 'floating' on the rubber is also the pulley for all the accessories. The rubber acts to isolate any wiggle that gets transferred to the rotors, though at idle speeds, some of this can be heard in some cars (such as mine) as a light rattle. It goes away at higher engine speeds. 4 bangers by nature have fewer pulses per revolution than a 6 or 8, which make larger balancers necessary.
Now, like I said before, if you are building a competition engine/car, longevity decreases the more radical you get. Most know this, and do certain mods knowing that they will need to fix something down the road. A light flywheel and one of these lightened balancers will make for a very quick revving engine, but not something that is going to be very practical on the sreet. Someone building a race car doesnt care about how it runs on the street, they want the most power and response they can get. This would make a big difference, but at a trade-off of reliability and longevity.
A long-stroke engine such as this needs a balancer of some sort to supress the twisty oscillations that will happen at certain RPMs. A solid balancer like these performance types re-tune the frequencies at where this ringing happens because of the added mass. a true 'dampener' uses an outer mass connected my rubber to an inner hub, which has a similar effect as touching a finger to a vibrating guitar string to silence it. A solid balancer will act to lower the harmnic frequency, but it will still be there. What ends up happening is that at certain RPMs the crank with the balancer attached will 'wiggle' on it's axis as the crank spins. This vibration will effect the oil pump, the rod bearings on the crankpins closest to the balancer end of the crank, as well as anything driven by the belt, including the supercharger. The belt will absorb some of the oscillations, but especially when it comes to the blower, you end up 'rattling' the rotors at certain speeds.
The outer ring of the balancer that is 'floating' on the rubber is also the pulley for all the accessories. The rubber acts to isolate any wiggle that gets transferred to the rotors, though at idle speeds, some of this can be heard in some cars (such as mine) as a light rattle. It goes away at higher engine speeds. 4 bangers by nature have fewer pulses per revolution than a 6 or 8, which make larger balancers necessary.
Now, like I said before, if you are building a competition engine/car, longevity decreases the more radical you get. Most know this, and do certain mods knowing that they will need to fix something down the road. A light flywheel and one of these lightened balancers will make for a very quick revving engine, but not something that is going to be very practical on the sreet. Someone building a race car doesnt care about how it runs on the street, they want the most power and response they can get. This would make a big difference, but at a trade-off of reliability and longevity.
1st Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
Man you leave a post for a few days and people get fussy and start criticizing spelling. Chill.
I spoke to Randy Webb and George at mini-madness about it. Both of them say a big NO, on either the Alta or the UR pulley. The logic is that it will eventually harm the engine due to the lack of a harmonic balnacer as they said. Seeing as how I see these two as the top 2 MINI tuners in the USA, argue if you you are one of those who must do so, I am going to have to believe them. One interesting thing I learned is that the man from Alta who I spoke to said there is "NOT A HARMONIC BALANCER ON THE STOCK CRANK PULLEY". This is intersting because George said there was. Ok, so then I call Randy Webb, who says technically there isn't a true harmoic balancer. However, he says there is a part of it that functions as one. So, it a way there isn't one and there is one. Either way, the aftermarket pieces DO NOT take the apparent need of harmonically balancing the crank pulley.
On top of that you basically get very little performance and perhaps a little faster throttle response, which many people wouldn't ever even notice. So I have decided to put my money elsewhere.
Now, ifta yu mustr start da correccten ah me speeling monkies.
I spoke to Randy Webb and George at mini-madness about it. Both of them say a big NO, on either the Alta or the UR pulley. The logic is that it will eventually harm the engine due to the lack of a harmonic balnacer as they said. Seeing as how I see these two as the top 2 MINI tuners in the USA, argue if you you are one of those who must do so, I am going to have to believe them. One interesting thing I learned is that the man from Alta who I spoke to said there is "NOT A HARMONIC BALANCER ON THE STOCK CRANK PULLEY". This is intersting because George said there was. Ok, so then I call Randy Webb, who says technically there isn't a true harmoic balancer. However, he says there is a part of it that functions as one. So, it a way there isn't one and there is one. Either way, the aftermarket pieces DO NOT take the apparent need of harmonically balancing the crank pulley.
On top of that you basically get very little performance and perhaps a little faster throttle response, which many people wouldn't ever even notice. So I have decided to put my money elsewhere.
Now, ifta yu mustr start da correccten ah me speeling monkies.
Banned
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 864
Likes: 0
From: So Cal
Originally Posted by jlm
not sure what Randy meant, but upon examining my spare crank pulley:
it is an outer mass connected my rubber to an inner hub, and thus would seem to be a harmonic balancer.
it is an outer mass connected my rubber to an inner hub, and thus would seem to be a harmonic balancer.
6th Gear
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 2,253
Likes: 0
From: NY NY
from Fred Aldrich, a balanced point of view:
http://members.core.com/~faldrich/harmonic.htm
"A harmonic balancer modifies the vibration characteristics of the crankshaft and flywheel assembly. They are made from of a heavy steel ring mounted over a thin layer of rubber on the outside of a center hub. The rubber acts as a spring. The ring twists on the rubber to cancel out crankshaft torsional vibration. Some energy is removed as heat in the rubber but the balancer's primary function is to store energy and return it to the crankshaft at just the right time to suppress vibration."
http://members.core.com/~faldrich/harmonic.htm
"A harmonic balancer modifies the vibration characteristics of the crankshaft and flywheel assembly. They are made from of a heavy steel ring mounted over a thin layer of rubber on the outside of a center hub. The rubber acts as a spring. The ring twists on the rubber to cancel out crankshaft torsional vibration. Some energy is removed as heat in the rubber but the balancer's primary function is to store energy and return it to the crankshaft at just the right time to suppress vibration."
Manufacturer
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 995
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
Pulley Questions Answered
When one of our customers called us and asked about " does the MCS crank pulley have a balancer" Our tech answered No because there is no balancer on the engine. The customer misunderstood Harmonic dampener vs. Balancer terminology. There is a harmonic dampener on the mini pulley, does it need it????? (Answers to follow shortly!)
Randy was misquoted as saying "don't use this". I personally spoke to him and he said he hasn't used it yet. Randy is very particular about giving the "WEBB SEAL OF APPROVAL" to any product not fully tested. However, he agrees that the part will produce HP, TRQ and not apply any unreasonable stress to the rotating assembly. (For more information ask him or visit his forums section.)
MYTH: ALTA Performance Lightened Crank Pulley will not produce additional HP and torque. (mini crank pulley)
Yes it does! HP is defined as work done over a certain amount of time. Work relates to a weight being moved. When you remove weight from the engines rotating assembly (pulley, crank counterweights, flywheel, pistons, rods) it will require less energy to spin the assembly; thus reducing the time required to reach any given RPM (read: quicker throttle response, etc.) This translates into more HP and TRQ. In a real world example, you would have your MCS on the dyno, making 160WheelHP, and it takes roughly 15 seconds to do a pull (with a fixed amount of force). Now with lightened pulley installed, the pull will take less time. If you could then place your car back on the dyno for a third time with a lighter flywheel (an the lightened pulley for run #2), with the identical load, it will require even less time to do the exact same pull. Even changing tires/wheels to a lighter combo will further reduce the time required. Again making more Wheel HP.
SCC had a great article a few years ago about how eliminating 10 lbs of rotational weight from the engine can calculate into removing roughly 120lbs of vehicle weight! With the MCS and its extremely heavy flywheel (27lbs) and the crank pulley (7lbs), purchasing our crank pulley, and a flywheel (23lbs of total weight savings) could calculate to 250lbs off the vehicle weight! It would be like removing your large friend from the passenger seat.
When you remove this rotating weight the actual cylinder pressure and combustion efficiency aren't changing. Upgraded exhaust, intakes, IC's, and pulleys will change cylinder pressure and/or combustion efficiency resulting in an increase in engine HP and Wheel HP. Don't forget, in the real world its all about Wheel Horsepower, not estimated engine HP. Wheel Horsepower is what actually moves the car down the road! When it all comes down to it, the MCS that makes the most WHP is the winner!
QUESTION: Is the ALTA Lightened Pulley "better" than the factory pulley?
The answer is yes! Belt failure and fatigue can be traced to loose tolerances in the manufacturing process. (This is a major concern for aftermarket S/C pulleys and our ALTA Lightened Crank Pulley is no exception!) If you have ever looked at an OEM pulley while the car is at idle, most of them don't run true. You can actually see the belts move back and forth as the pulley wobbles on the nose of the crank. If the wobble is bad enough for you to see, this can and will wear the belt. (For this reason alone I would remove it from any S/C car and replace it with one that won’t wear the belt!) Adding to the belt wear issue is the stress on the nose of the crank that stems from having up to 7.3 lbs of weight off balance and spinning around at up to 7200 RPM! Talk about a concern for bearing life! The ALTA Lightened Pulley, is made on a CNC turning center, with an accuracy of .0005". This ensures that the pulley is always true, straight, and balanced. Combined with the tremendous reduction in weight the crank is actually less stressed than prior to the installation.
QUESTION: Is the HP and TRQ gains considered safe to my engine?
Again the answer is yes! Many people have expressed concern about premature crank bearing wear and, fluid pump wear out. This is simply not a concern with this product.
We do agree that many manufacturers’ stock pulleys have a rubber ring for harmonic dampening. Additionally, harmonics exist in any engine on nearly all parts. The concern for the MINI community is how severe these are within the MINI engine. Since this is a 4-cyl engine it exhibits far less harmonic vibrations compared to longer engines. V-8 and inline 6’s are the worst offenders in the harmonic vibration department. This can be simply traced to the length of the crank shaft itself and the quantity of the weights connected to it. Consider a piece of steel rod that is 12 inches long compared to one that is 24 inches long. Waive either one in front of your face in a rhythmic motion. The longer will show more signs of distortion along the length compared to the shorter. The MINI 4-cyl engine has a crank that is only 17” long! Combined with the near perfectly counterweighted and horizontally balanced crank weights the harmonics are near nil! As further example our parent company has been making, installing and selling lightened crank pulleys for a variety of other 4-cyl engines, for many years. On one PT# alone, millions of miles have been collectively driven with these pulleys with not ONE SINGLE FAILURE, to any internal or external engine component. This is a time proven and tested product.
Consider one other point about harmonic dampening. The rubber ring on the factory part is meant to help isolate this vibration and relieve it from the crank as well as those created by the S/C. Even with this ring removed (after installing the ALTA Lightened Crank Pulley) the rubber serpentine belt and spring loaded belt tensioner will do a very similar job of isolating this vibration. The belt will then transfer and isolate the initial vibration with the spring in the tensioner absorbing and removing the rest.
Finally, the stock pulley is not a balancer!!! A harmonic dampener can also be a balancer if the rotating assembly (crank pulley, crank, rods, pistons, and flywheel/flexplate) were balanced as an entire unit. This was commonly found on high performance engines from the “big three” in the mid 60’s to early 70’s. Again, these are all V-8 (or longer) engines that have intrinsically poor internal balance. By balancing the entire assembly, higher RPM and longer bearing life can be achieved. This is not a problem on a 4-cyl engine. The additional costs required to go through this process would not be useful for a mass produced engine. The original (MINI) crank is precision balanced internally to a standard that does not necessitate external balancing to have it last in excess of 200,000 miles.
As always if we can help in any way please let us know. Feel free to call, e-mail or post any questions here. If you would like to place an order contact us or any authorized ALTA Performance Retailer.
Thanks again for the opportunity to help the NAM community!
When one of our customers called us and asked about " does the MCS crank pulley have a balancer" Our tech answered No because there is no balancer on the engine. The customer misunderstood Harmonic dampener vs. Balancer terminology. There is a harmonic dampener on the mini pulley, does it need it????? (Answers to follow shortly!)
Randy was misquoted as saying "don't use this". I personally spoke to him and he said he hasn't used it yet. Randy is very particular about giving the "WEBB SEAL OF APPROVAL" to any product not fully tested. However, he agrees that the part will produce HP, TRQ and not apply any unreasonable stress to the rotating assembly. (For more information ask him or visit his forums section.)
MYTH: ALTA Performance Lightened Crank Pulley will not produce additional HP and torque. (mini crank pulley)
Yes it does! HP is defined as work done over a certain amount of time. Work relates to a weight being moved. When you remove weight from the engines rotating assembly (pulley, crank counterweights, flywheel, pistons, rods) it will require less energy to spin the assembly; thus reducing the time required to reach any given RPM (read: quicker throttle response, etc.) This translates into more HP and TRQ. In a real world example, you would have your MCS on the dyno, making 160WheelHP, and it takes roughly 15 seconds to do a pull (with a fixed amount of force). Now with lightened pulley installed, the pull will take less time. If you could then place your car back on the dyno for a third time with a lighter flywheel (an the lightened pulley for run #2), with the identical load, it will require even less time to do the exact same pull. Even changing tires/wheels to a lighter combo will further reduce the time required. Again making more Wheel HP.
SCC had a great article a few years ago about how eliminating 10 lbs of rotational weight from the engine can calculate into removing roughly 120lbs of vehicle weight! With the MCS and its extremely heavy flywheel (27lbs) and the crank pulley (7lbs), purchasing our crank pulley, and a flywheel (23lbs of total weight savings) could calculate to 250lbs off the vehicle weight! It would be like removing your large friend from the passenger seat.
When you remove this rotating weight the actual cylinder pressure and combustion efficiency aren't changing. Upgraded exhaust, intakes, IC's, and pulleys will change cylinder pressure and/or combustion efficiency resulting in an increase in engine HP and Wheel HP. Don't forget, in the real world its all about Wheel Horsepower, not estimated engine HP. Wheel Horsepower is what actually moves the car down the road! When it all comes down to it, the MCS that makes the most WHP is the winner!
QUESTION: Is the ALTA Lightened Pulley "better" than the factory pulley?
The answer is yes! Belt failure and fatigue can be traced to loose tolerances in the manufacturing process. (This is a major concern for aftermarket S/C pulleys and our ALTA Lightened Crank Pulley is no exception!) If you have ever looked at an OEM pulley while the car is at idle, most of them don't run true. You can actually see the belts move back and forth as the pulley wobbles on the nose of the crank. If the wobble is bad enough for you to see, this can and will wear the belt. (For this reason alone I would remove it from any S/C car and replace it with one that won’t wear the belt!) Adding to the belt wear issue is the stress on the nose of the crank that stems from having up to 7.3 lbs of weight off balance and spinning around at up to 7200 RPM! Talk about a concern for bearing life! The ALTA Lightened Pulley, is made on a CNC turning center, with an accuracy of .0005". This ensures that the pulley is always true, straight, and balanced. Combined with the tremendous reduction in weight the crank is actually less stressed than prior to the installation.
QUESTION: Is the HP and TRQ gains considered safe to my engine?
Again the answer is yes! Many people have expressed concern about premature crank bearing wear and, fluid pump wear out. This is simply not a concern with this product.
We do agree that many manufacturers’ stock pulleys have a rubber ring for harmonic dampening. Additionally, harmonics exist in any engine on nearly all parts. The concern for the MINI community is how severe these are within the MINI engine. Since this is a 4-cyl engine it exhibits far less harmonic vibrations compared to longer engines. V-8 and inline 6’s are the worst offenders in the harmonic vibration department. This can be simply traced to the length of the crank shaft itself and the quantity of the weights connected to it. Consider a piece of steel rod that is 12 inches long compared to one that is 24 inches long. Waive either one in front of your face in a rhythmic motion. The longer will show more signs of distortion along the length compared to the shorter. The MINI 4-cyl engine has a crank that is only 17” long! Combined with the near perfectly counterweighted and horizontally balanced crank weights the harmonics are near nil! As further example our parent company has been making, installing and selling lightened crank pulleys for a variety of other 4-cyl engines, for many years. On one PT# alone, millions of miles have been collectively driven with these pulleys with not ONE SINGLE FAILURE, to any internal or external engine component. This is a time proven and tested product.
Consider one other point about harmonic dampening. The rubber ring on the factory part is meant to help isolate this vibration and relieve it from the crank as well as those created by the S/C. Even with this ring removed (after installing the ALTA Lightened Crank Pulley) the rubber serpentine belt and spring loaded belt tensioner will do a very similar job of isolating this vibration. The belt will then transfer and isolate the initial vibration with the spring in the tensioner absorbing and removing the rest.
Finally, the stock pulley is not a balancer!!! A harmonic dampener can also be a balancer if the rotating assembly (crank pulley, crank, rods, pistons, and flywheel/flexplate) were balanced as an entire unit. This was commonly found on high performance engines from the “big three” in the mid 60’s to early 70’s. Again, these are all V-8 (or longer) engines that have intrinsically poor internal balance. By balancing the entire assembly, higher RPM and longer bearing life can be achieved. This is not a problem on a 4-cyl engine. The additional costs required to go through this process would not be useful for a mass produced engine. The original (MINI) crank is precision balanced internally to a standard that does not necessitate external balancing to have it last in excess of 200,000 miles.
As always if we can help in any way please let us know. Feel free to call, e-mail or post any questions here. If you would like to place an order contact us or any authorized ALTA Performance Retailer.
Thanks again for the opportunity to help the NAM community!
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,957
Likes: 2
From: a canyon, south Bay Area
Wow, I don't think I've seen such a thorough and well-written post in quite some time. Much appreciated.
For clarification, what is the weight delta between stock (I think you referenced 7 lbs), and the Alta pulley? I see where you mention a 23 pound reduction, but I believe that includes a lightened flywheel...
With regard to installation, what's involved?
For clarification, what is the weight delta between stock (I think you referenced 7 lbs), and the Alta pulley? I see where you mention a 23 pound reduction, but I believe that includes a lightened flywheel...
With regard to installation, what's involved?
Manufacturer
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 995
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
TonyB,
The Alta pulley weighs 1.1 pounds, and the stocker is 7.3! What we were trying to give the example of is how much weight, both the lighten pulley and flywheel will remove.
One problem that i think the mini has, as do other people, is how heavy the engine rotating assembly is. Compared to other cars, the mini is roughly over weight by about 10lbs! This is why the thing free revs so slow. What i mean is the how quickly the engine revs when you are just sitting there.
The idea with the pulley is to help with this problem and free up some Wheel HP!
Jeff
503-643-4677
Alta Performance
The Alta pulley weighs 1.1 pounds, and the stocker is 7.3! What we were trying to give the example of is how much weight, both the lighten pulley and flywheel will remove.
One problem that i think the mini has, as do other people, is how heavy the engine rotating assembly is. Compared to other cars, the mini is roughly over weight by about 10lbs! This is why the thing free revs so slow. What i mean is the how quickly the engine revs when you are just sitting there.
The idea with the pulley is to help with this problem and free up some Wheel HP!
Jeff
503-643-4677
Alta Performance
Originally Posted by TonyB
With regard to installation, what's involved?
I like mine. It helps get rid of that low end stumble.
Dave
6th Gear
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,957
Likes: 2
From: a canyon, south Bay Area
Thanks for the fast reply!
Thinking back to my LandCruiser inline 6, I remember how rough that baby was, so I certainly can relate to what you said above. But, after I did a V8 swap in it (289 then 350), as well as another V8 I had an F250 (460), they were by far the "smoothest" running engines I ever had. So, I always was under the belief that 4-bangers (and the inline 6) were the most harsh when it comes to harmonics...
Now, I guess an opposed, boxer-like 4-banger would be different. Isn't that what Perrin, I think Alta's parent company produces these pullies for - like for Subarus or Porsches? With the balancing in those boxer engines, such a crank pulley might not have them concerned as much as we are. Just thinking out loud, trying to rationalize this...
Thinking back to my LandCruiser inline 6, I remember how rough that baby was, so I certainly can relate to what you said above. But, after I did a V8 swap in it (289 then 350), as well as another V8 I had an F250 (460), they were by far the "smoothest" running engines I ever had. So, I always was under the belief that 4-bangers (and the inline 6) were the most harsh when it comes to harmonics...
Now, I guess an opposed, boxer-like 4-banger would be different. Isn't that what Perrin, I think Alta's parent company produces these pullies for - like for Subarus or Porsches? With the balancing in those boxer engines, such a crank pulley might not have them concerned as much as we are. Just thinking out loud, trying to rationalize this...
Manufacturer
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 995
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
Yes our parent company is Perrin, and the Subaru is one of the many vehicles we make the pulley for. We have an EVO, SCION, Protege, and Vette, crank pulley that is made the same as the Mini pulley. None of them have ever had issues with any internal or external part failing. The vette is the newest one, and it is a soild type also. So far one of our test vehicles has about 30k on it with no issues at all! This is on a car that does 10's!
The Subaru's opposed engine is still a 4cylinder, and still fires every 180 degrees. The only difference is the Subaru crank is shorter because of the design of the opposed engine. Look at the EVO, and compare its internal to the Mini. It has a longer stroke, bigger pistons, crank length is close to the same, oil pump is driven the same as the mini, higher redline, and makes more HP. By some poeples thought process, all these things make the Harmonics issue a lot worse. But its not!
Please keep the questions coming, we are here to show that the crank pulley is a part that will give you nothing but HP!
Alta
The Subaru's opposed engine is still a 4cylinder, and still fires every 180 degrees. The only difference is the Subaru crank is shorter because of the design of the opposed engine. Look at the EVO, and compare its internal to the Mini. It has a longer stroke, bigger pistons, crank length is close to the same, oil pump is driven the same as the mini, higher redline, and makes more HP. By some poeples thought process, all these things make the Harmonics issue a lot worse. But its not!
Please keep the questions coming, we are here to show that the crank pulley is a part that will give you nothing but HP!
Alta
Manufacturer
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 995
Likes: 0
From: Oregon
D1JL,
It doesn't surprise me that it got rid of the lowend stumble. Our shop car doens't have a lightened flywheel on it,just the pulley, and when i got to drive one of our customers cars that had the pulley and flywheel on it, it was amazing how much smoother it drove at low RPM, and yes the stumble we gone. It wow the difference in excelleration was very noticable. Once again, the flywheel and pulley on these cars are very heavy, and there are noticalbe gains to be had by replacing them with lighter parts.
Alta
It doesn't surprise me that it got rid of the lowend stumble. Our shop car doens't have a lightened flywheel on it,just the pulley, and when i got to drive one of our customers cars that had the pulley and flywheel on it, it was amazing how much smoother it drove at low RPM, and yes the stumble we gone. It wow the difference in excelleration was very noticable. Once again, the flywheel and pulley on these cars are very heavy, and there are noticalbe gains to be had by replacing them with lighter parts.
Alta
Alliance Member
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 4,100
Likes: 229
From: York, Pennsylvania
Nice to know that my lowly MC has a stock "lightened flywheel and pulley."
MC dual mass flywheel - 16.9# vs.--- MCS - 26.9#
MC vibration damper - 3.0# vs.---- MCS - 7.3#
total - 19.9# vs 34.2#
MC dual mass flywheel - 16.9# vs.--- MCS - 26.9#
MC vibration damper - 3.0# vs.---- MCS - 7.3#
total - 19.9# vs 34.2#
6th Gear
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,816
Likes: 2
From: New Jersey
Many of the automotive 4-cylinder engines don’t require such an absorber, primarily because of their inherently higher stiffness-to-mass ratios. However, several automotive manufacturers have initially omitted a torsional absorber from early engine runs, only to find that crankshaft life was unacceptably short. The Nissan folks discovered this with the early 240-Z engines, which didn’t have an absorber, and therefore lasted only about 100 hours in automotive (i.e. VERY LIGHT DUTY) service.
From: Torsional Absorbers
From: Torsional Absorbers
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