So I have a question....I recently found a Dinan Supercharger Kit for sale. The price seems reasonable, so I am currently weighing my options. Has anyone just installed the kit? Is it really worth spending the money?
Any thoughts would be good.

Thanks.

 

No, just go with a standard 15% pulley and do your own upgrades otherwise. The Dinan pulley is like a 14% pulley so you will put out less boost, and the fuel pressure regulator and pump are NOT needed.

 

Thanks. Thats the general idea that I got from some of the posts I read. Just wanted to get it clarified. Didn't know if the Dinan solutions have gotten better, since the posts were somewhat dated. I was actually looking at the alta 19% pulley. It seems it would fit my needs a little better. The hard part is finding one for sale.

 

Honestly, i wouldn't recommend any pulley smaller than a 15%. The 17 is a possibility, but i personally went for the 15%. Even with the 15, i find it hard to keep the tires from screeching, even with wider aftermarket tires/wheels. When i was first getting used to the pulley, i accidentally did a burnout . haha my friend was crossing the street in front of me, and once he was on the sidewalk, i was gonna just shoot off quick, but i let the clutch out too soon, and i pulled a pretty decent burnout. Also, with the 15%, i noticed a little less boost in the middle rpm's, especially at 4k rpm. this, as i understand it, will be even more so with a 17%, and extremely more so with a 19. the difference is that the boost comes right back at like 4200k rpm. And i would not reccomend an alta pulley, i got one only because i bought it off here for 60 bucks plus a craven pulley puller, i would've gone for a WMW (the guy who posted above) pulley, these seem to be the best bet. PS- if you need a pulley puller, i'll sell you mine for cheap. and, you'll love a smaller pulley

 

Thanks for the info. The reason I was thinking about the 19% was because I use it more as a daily driver so the lower rpm gain would be best for me. I was also going to do the 2% crank but the reviews on that have changed much since I last researched it. So Im not sure what I am going to do. Considering I just broke the 100K mark I have to be very careful. I also should come up with a list of items to replace. Any recommendations on that? Ive read around and found a few things. I wish I knew what was replaced on the car by the previous owner.

 

Have you heard of anything bad happening to the Alta pulleys?

 

I have an alta 15 % and am very happy with it. Quick to install once I got the stubborn factory pulley off

 

I haven't personally seen anything bad happening with any pulley(not recently, since they have been produced for so long, the kinks have worked out). The Alta pulley has an advantage over other pulleys on the market, it quite literally has the Great Wall of China on each side of the pulley. You'll never get a belt jumping off that sucker. (but that's not really a common occurrence because everything should be lined up) That being said, 21% reduction is just asking for trouble.

Way will rent(for free, as long as it is returned in a month in good condition.) you a pulley puller if you buy from him. And he has a package with a pulley, belt, plugs, and tensioner stop.

Also take a look at your Engine mounts, front LCA bushings, ball joints. Also, at 100k your struts might be worn.

 

The reason i say no to the alta pulley is that the hub is a pita to get on the shaft. I was under the impression (maybe i'm mistaken) that the way pulley was easier to install. Plus its got 4 bolts instead of 3, which i'd trust more. to be honest, most of the pulleys are the same, just different paint really. if your car has 100k, id reccomend even further to not go for the 19%, but i think i've spoken my mind on that one. Also, you'd definitley need a new belt for this anyways, so thats to be replaced. Also: cold range spark plugs, and powerflex gearbox bushings, along with the other engine bushings (just get the WMW engine bushing kit). and check out the engine mount on the pass. side (the lower one in the engine bay) chances are it's worn out, so you'd be smart to replace it with a tsw replacement (my bushings need replacement bad, and i have 73k miles on my car). I'd also get a belt tensioner stop while you'r at it, but i would not reccomend the powerflex tensioner bushings, as a recent thread showed thee failing, causing mishap to the engine. That will all make a huge difference. and while you're pulling your plugs, pull the wires off the coil pack too, to check the 3rd cyl. terminal for rust. if there is rust, replace the pack with a screamin' deamon or msd, or oem coil pack. I personally use the screamin', and love it. All this will liven up your car, and give you one hell of a smile

 

Thanks for all of the input. This helps alot. I will probably only have the car for another 4 years, so looking for it to last at least that long. Hence why I was considering the 19% and 2%. I don't think temp will be my problem, just if the engine could handle that much boost at that age. Will take your warnings serious and come up with a plan. Those two lists will keep me busy for awhile. Never replaced those parts before, so it should be fun. Im hoping the struts are ok for now, I see that being the most expensive piece. Are the bushings some what easy to replace? I found the pack you were talking about. Should I replace the upper engine mount at the sametime as the lower? Where did you get the tsw replacement from?

Also, has anyone replaced the heat shield above the header or the battery box? I have rust on both.

 

Just FYI our pulley also has a lip on the front and rear of the groves to help hold the belt in place. Honestly the belts don't jump off unless you have the wrong belt, we did the lips to aid in holding the belt during replacement.


We are the owner and manufacture of the TSW products now, including the mounts. Usually the upper mount fails, then we suggest checking the lower to see if it needs replaced. If the lower rubber is in good shape don't worry about it.

 

Ah i see, well if longevity is not a concern, then by all means, go for it, itll probably be one quick little car. although, im not sure it'll even last 4 years with that setup, but thats for you to decide. Yes, i would reccomend doing all of them at the same time. if you want a really good lower mount, consider the BSH lower motor mount, they're about $150 from minimania, and supposedly they make a huge difference. I am not running one, yet. The tsw replacement is available from WMW, let me link it to you. (if you have a 02-early 04, http://www.waymotorworks.com/early-t...4-r50-r53.html if you have an 04-06: http://www.waymotorworks.com/tsw-eng...6-r50-r53.html) If you replace one motor mount, the idea is to replace all of them at the same time, otherwise, the weakest link will fail. Be warned though, after all this stuff, especially the non-dampered crank pulley, there will be a whole lot of vibrations at idle...

I just say that Way had posted. Listen to him, he's the professional

 

Sorry way, didn't mean to sound like yours didn't have one, just meant to say it looks like their lip is biggest. And we all know bigger is better, right?

 

Boost-v-miles isn't the issue, as long as the compression is good. Over boost really shouldn't be your concern. (the stock rings and pistons should be able to handle 20psi, which you won't be near) the concern's with the 19%/2% combo are overspinning the s/c which of course generates the extra heat and in turn puts more stress (for lack of a better term.) on the s/c bearings. Just make sure you don't ever raise your rev limit with that combo.

 

The Alta pulleys seem to have rather sharp edges compared to some others. Hasn't caused me a problem yet, but my Alta Gen 2 17% has only been on for 4 months, where my other vendor (Eurosport) 15% was on for 5 years.

Also I wouldn't go for anything more than a 17%, and don't add an oversize crank pulley on top of that. That's spinning the s/c ridiculously fast, way beyond it's efficiency map unless you only put around low revs. Also keep a crank damper on there...

 

All very good info. I decided against the crank pulley. I need to speed the $400 on brakes before I go spending it on a crank pulley. I have decided to try out the KAVS pulley. I have heard interesting things on it, and would like something out of the box. Deciding on 18%, 19%, or 20%. I found the bushings, and other stuff. Going to wait for the weather to get better so I can figure out what all needs replaced. Suspension is what bothers me. I really haven't found a good semi un-expensive solution for that yet. When talking about all of this heat and wear Im going to but on the engine, is there a gauge available that could help watch levels? Im planning on boost, and am in need of one other. I want something useful, but not sure of which one would be the right approach.

 

Get a Scangauge II, It plugs into the OBD2 port and can tell you nearly everything about the engine. The only exception is AFR, since R53s dont have a wide-band O2 sensor.

What do you want to accomplish with your suspension, I assume that you aren't going to track it, since you are looking for low-end power. If all you are looking for is lowering and a bit more comfortable ride, look at the V-maxx. They are made by Strat, so they are good quality and in other car circles V-maxx are mid-price range Coils.

 

Scangauge II sounds like a great idea. As far as suspension goes I am actually not looking to lower it much. Where I live now is a challenge with stock height. PA roads suck, and the design is horrible. Mainly looking for a replacement with a comfortable ride, but still has a slight stiff side.