So, I'm looking at a 17%, smaller belt, larger injectors, and a GIAC chip. My question is which pulley? I had originally thought that I would go with the Helix because they work so closely with GIAC and their pulley/chip/injector combos seem to be very popular. I also like the fact that I can update to a 19% easily with their changeable system. However, I read Randy Webb's reasons behind recommending the Alta pulley on his site, and it's not that everything made sense so much as that this guy seems to know what he is talking about. Additionally, he doesn't seem to pull punches with product reviews and isn't necessarily loyal to a specific brand (he obviously loves a lot of the Alta stuff, but doesn't use their exhaust, etc.). Anyway, the two things that struck me about his review were that 1) the Alta pulley will always align itself to the hub correctly (do other pulleys not do this?) and 2) that the Alta is all steel, which means it will stay in the same temp range as the shaft and hub. So does that mean that the Helix, which has aluminum parts, could compromise something by expanding at a different rate or eventually corroding? I'd like some technical input here from people who can tell me what the key attributes needed in a pulley are, and which are superfluous. Also, I'd love to hear from people with real experiences with either of these products. Maybe someone running the GIAC chip with a 17% Alta.

http://www.helix13.com/html/products...ew.php?p=6&h=m

http://www.altaminiperformance.com/p...ey/PULLEY.html
http://www.webbmotorsports.com/performance.php

 

I was contemplating the 17%, injector,Giac route too before going for a 19%, injector, Giac setup. After several conversations with Erik at Helix, I'm under the impression that the Giac, injector package was developed for the 19% pulley and there is no 17% specific, injectors, Giac software. The 19% pulley I just got from Helix is all stainless steel. My previous reduccion pulley was the old style heat on type with a steel hub and 15% aluminium bolt on belt track. That 15% pulley went 31,000 miles and looked in perfect condition, it was also completely trouble free and dead on reliable. I think you'll find out that belt failure can occur wether you have a 15%, 17% or 19%, I was concerned about belt failure and 19% pulleys until I found out that guys with 15% pulleys at the track suffer belt failure too. I hope that helps, it's good to do the homework. I just did it and as a result I'm very satisfied with my decision.

 

I think the Helix is a great product too. I prefer the Alta because of the reasons you had already read about, but Eric certainly knows his stuff as well.

I like the Alta positive stop on the inside of the pulley, but other than that, the Helix has all of the other attributes you would want in a pulley - all stainless steel, taper bore fit, capped end.

Hope that helps!

Randy

 

This is incorrect. There is a GIAC program for the 15%, a GIAC program with injectors for the 17% and a GIAC program with injectors for the 19%. The 17% and 19% both use the same sized injectors.

My theory is if you're going to go over 15%, make the big really noticeable jump. Go to 19%

 

point of information, to correct Mr. Webb's comment: the current P&D pulleys used by Helix have a positive stop so they will go on the correct amount and they are all stainless steel.

 

Thanks jlm - the one I had seen did not. I appreciate the info!


Randy

 

I didn't think that Alta has come out with their 17% pulley yet.

 

That's interesting greatgro, on an email I asked Erik if there is a 17% specific, bigger injector Giac setup. He never answered that question directly, instead he recomended going 19% for the best results. To that my take was that there was no optimized 17%, bigger injector Giac software. You are saying there is, so there you go. Thank you for the clarification.

 

Man, everybody with 19% swears by it and wants to convert everyone! There must be something there...

I'm not so much worried about belt slippage as I would definitely go with a smaller belt no matter which pulley I got. Similarly, with an aftermarket pulley, I would treat the belt like any other maintenance item on the car i.e. oil, filters, tires, etc., and would change it on a regular basis. However, I am worried about overboosting with a 19%. I've read that during front wheel traction loss a 19% can cause the SC boost to raise to dangerous levels. If done repeatedly over the years, I imagine it's just a matter of time before you compromise something. I have an 05 MCS with about 3000 miles on it, and I want it to last as long as possible (doesn't everyone?). If I put a 19% on now and I experience just routine wheel slippage over the years, what condition will my SC/engine be in at 50k?

Surely there are always risks in upping the performance of your engine, but I just want to make sure that the risks I take have minimal consequences. Purchasing an MCS was a little bit of a financial stretch for me. Modding it will only happen on special occasions (like tax return day!). But repairing/replacing parts that would otherwise be fine if I didn't run the car at uber-psi levels is something I don't want to do. Now, I see we have some of the gurus on this thread, so if the idea that a 19% reduces the life of your SC/engine is wrong let me know. Also, to Randy and jlm, I appreciate the fact that you guys can answer questions here and talk openly about your preferences. It helps to hear opinions from guys who have tested umpteen different products and can just express their opinions, not badmouth competitors. Leave the badmouthing up to us customers! No really, it makes for a nice informative community here. Thanks.

 

Well to me (and maybe to Eric also), if you're going to go for more, why not go for a lot more? I personally never understood the 17%. You need a smaller belt and you're getting a little more power than the 15% but not a whole lot. Plus the 19% really is just a hair under 20% so there's a big performance difference over the 15%.

Maybe b/c the way you worded it. "a 17% specific, bigger injector Giac setup". Although the GIAC software is unique to each pulley, they use the same injectors as the 19% does. And in this case, I think going all the way to the 19% makes more sense again. The pulley costs the same, the injectors cost the same (and are fairly expensive) and the GIAC costs the same. So for the same money (and almost the same parts), you might as well get all the power. He gets paid the same either way but you get more power and fun with the 19%. If anything he'll sell you less stuff after you go the 19% route b/c you're more likely to find that you have enough power. So he's probably losing sales by recommending the 19%.

 

I recommend the 19% b/c I've driven both and the 19% is clearly better. Especially in the summer months. In the cold they're both pretty fast but with power loss in the summer, the 15% feels like a stock pulley in cool weather while the 19% loses power and still feels like a 15%. I also recommend it b/c I know what all daily drivers really want. And that's torque. And the 19% delivers. Once you've gone the standard pulley, intake, exhaust and ECU, to get the additional amount of torque that the 19% provides over the 15% would require at least a thousand or two more. Thus the 19% (for the same price as a 15%) makes a lot of sense. Reason three is I never run into any modded MINIs running around. If I did, I'd probably want to keep the 19% hush-hush. Or at least the GIAC part. But since most of the daily MINIs I see are Coopers and the few weekly MCSs I see have stock exhausts, I don't think I'll be running into any MINIs faster than mine any time soon.

Just so you know, I have 63k total miles now...

 

Greatgro, I think you are right about Eriks response as to a specific 17% setup. At that point I still had concerns about going to the more extreme pulley size and running into problems. I don't doubbt Erik's honesty as he's demonstrated plenty honesty in my dealings with him. I didn't question his reasoning and went with his advise because he is the expert and from my previous experience with him he had steered me in the right direction. All I can say is thank you for your help and I'm glad I listened.