Hello!

Has anybody used this?
ALTA R53 ADJUSTABLE TENSIONER STOP
https://altaperformance.com/i-140071...ed-engine.html

I'm looking for firsthand experience please. I've read speculations about how it might affect this or that, but some of you must have used it before, ya? If there's already a good thread, please point me in that direction!

BACK STORY
I have a 2005 MCS Convertible. I know the belt tensioner, specifically the damper, is an ongoing issue. Why these dampers and their stupid bushings are so fragile, and not available separately....I do not know....but I don't like it!

Anyway, I put in one of those Delco supposedly the same as stock replacements units less than 25k miles ago. The rubber damper bushings were gone a while back (and I've experienced this before as we've had Scarlet for about 80k miles), so I finally sprung for the WMW delrin bushings a few K miles ago. They seem good, but the damper was already leaking and seemed floppy, and now the tensioner is making noises. We're taking a road trip in 5 days, so I ordered a new one from Amazon Prime, a Gates tensioner this time. I'll install it this week with the delrin bushings and see how it goes. (The Delco is listed with a LT warranty, but I'm not sure how and don't have time to redeem it right now.)

But it got me to thinking about this product which I've seen online before. Old school belt tensioning was always manual, with no springs or dampers. I've thought of automatic tensioners as a convenience that always keeps the belt at the right tension without having to mess around with it. But this one is so fragile, I'd be willing to sacrifice that for longevity. Although it has to be the most unfriendly location for performing a tension adjustment...

Thanks!
Jeremy

 

I've done some searching on the forum and found:
- 2 guys who used this product with good results, one for 30k miles and one for 2 weeks at the time of posting.
- 2 guys who used it and removed it due to problems. One had the casting break off at one end of the adjustable tensioner. The other had belt slippage as revealed during dyno testing.
- WMW disapproves of the design because it does not absorb the changes in tension due to different RPM's and loads. I see their point, but I don't understand what causes this change of loads. The belt is a fixed length, the pulleys are a fixed distance apart. How does changing load or RPM change the need for belt tension? I have two vehicles built in the 90's that have manual belt tension adjustments...how is the Mini different?

Jeremy

 

We've removed more than we have installed.

If you go out and have the car running and then watch the tensioner as someone revs the engine you will see the tensioner move out to keep the right tension on the belt. When you fix it with the turnbuckle it can't move and you will either have the tensioner out too far, or not enough tension on it. Very simple test to show how it's suppose to work and how it won't work with the alta design.