Product Review: Alutec Lightweight OEM Size Crank Pulley

[BlueCrush]

I had my Alutec lightweight OEM diameter crank pulley installed today. About dang time, too! My original crank seal was in mint condition so they didn't need to change it out. The pulley cost $150 shipped from Singapore (the only place you can get it). The install cost $112. Worth it for me to have a pro do it. Again I was able to keep using the oem sized belt. What this does is free up horsepower the engine is already producing and sends more of it to the wheels. This does not gain hp.Pulley Weights:OEM = 53.1 oz.Alutec = 26.0 ozIt can only be purchased here. and you ahve to e-mail them to get a price and payment info. Shipping took about a week from Singapore:http://www.motorexonline.com/index.htmlHere is what it looks like:First Impression: I noticed an immediate increase in throttle response, quicker revving and quicker acceleration thruout the rpm range. It downshifts a lot smoother and quicker now too. Sweet, So far.Review: After having it for over a week, the engine still revs quicker, accelerates quicker. Not a ton but its noticable. It works great during freeway driving and needing to downshift to pass someone.

[Kamikaze]

You have an auto right? Nice to know this makes downshifts quicker and smoother, when accelerating have you noticed if it shfits smoother when harder on the throttle?

[BlueCrush]

Yes, I am an auto. There is no noticable difference while upshifting during acceleration. It is still pretty smooth.

[Kamikaze]

Thanks, this will be a must next year for me to do. Maybe it will give me something to do this winter....

[goodvibe]

I'm sorry to rain on the pulley parade but it does more for revving when not in gear than anything else. The few ounces of rotational mass difference is negligible when you've got heavy tranny, diff, axles, CV, ,rotors, hubs, wheels and tires all being driven in parallel with the pulley. Under drive does more but still only a hp or 2. Cool factor counts so why not and that pulley looks great. I just wanted to state what the advantages really would be. Same is true of lightweight flywheels. Not more power but you you can wind faster out of gear and shift faster with a manual so you might gain some time. Other than the overall weight savings which again is the equivalent to maybe 1 hp. 6lb savings gets you about 1 hp in performance.

[Petrucci914]

Would it be bad to have this with a Supercharger?

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by Petrucci914 »Would it be bad to have this with a Supercharger?Vibe Freak has one with his S/C.

[kevera]

I just got one.

[MarkM04]

Less weight and mass to take the harmonics it was designed too. Look for bearing wear to increase. Not worth it IMO.

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by MarkM04 »Less weight and mass to take the harmonics it was designed too. Look for bearing wear to increase. Not worth it IMO. Our engines have an internal harmonic balancer. The OEM pulley is NOT a harmonic balancing pulley. The only purpose the oem pulley serves is as a vibrational dampener to reduce the vibration from pulley to pulley. This pulley does have mass to it. when I first got it it didn't feel like a lightweight pulley but is half the weight of the original. But, to each their own.

[goodvibe]

It can be an issue on GTs but doesn't appear to be on a 1zz.

[ajflan]

I might have to get me one of these.

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by goodvibe »It can be an issue on GTs but doesn't appear to be on a 1zz.yup thats what i hear, no issue with 1zz but 2zz can have issues.

[Petrucci914]

So you're going to remove this and sell it to me, right?

[BlueCrush]

Tell ya what, I will trade it to you for your S/C. Sound good? Yes? OK. Deal!

[Petrucci914]

Seems like a fair trade, haha. I'm still not making the power that I want.

[ProtonXX]

When I put on my OBX crank & alt pulleys I couldn't help to think wow this car feels lighter. Ditto results

[magickarle]

I was looking for a crank pulley as well. Looking at cosmo's: seems the price is too cheap and seems the quality is not good.So I'm looking for the Alutec: I've emailed them and they said it would cost with shipping 200$! I saw yours was 112. Where do you live?Second: did you have problem with the oil pump? Some people are saying it's not worth doing this mod.Approx: how many millage have you done with this pulley?

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by magickarle »I was looking for a crank pulley as well. Looking at cosmo's: seems the price is too cheap and seems the quality is not good.So I'm looking for the Alutec: I've emailed them and they said it would cost with shipping 200$! I saw yours was 112. Where do you live?Second: did you have problem with the oil pump? Some people are saying it's not worth doing this mod.Approx: how many millage have you done with this pulley?My install cost was $112. The pulley cost was $150 shipped. The cost has increased due to the sucky us dollar. no problems with the oil pump, the alutec pulley is not an underdrive pulley. It is the same size as OEM but 1/2 the weight. I have had it on for 1 year this month and have put on about 14,000 miles since. The oil pump issues are with the 2ZZ and the underdrive pulleys only (like Unorthodox Racing, Cosmo Racing, OBX,etc...). also I would recommend using a Goodyear Gatorback belt that is specifically made to reduce vibrations from pulley to pulley.

[magickarle]

Nice to know the pulley's quality is A1!Just to make sure: I got to remove the harmonic balancer with this pulley righ? I'm glad it worked for you.Thank you for your feedback.I'll have to think twice before buying it.I still have to install the CAI.One think at the time loll!Cheers

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by magickarle »Nice to know the pulley's quality is A1!Just to make sure: I got to remove the harmonic balancer with this pulley righ? I'm glad it worked for you.Thank you for your feedback.I'll have to think twice before buying it.I still have to install the CAI.One think at the time loll!CheersNo our crank pulley is only a vibrational dampener. Our engines have an internal harmonic balancer (as I have been told by many others much wiser than I). The price for it is starting to get up there especially if you cannot install it yourself. If you can install it yourself then it would be more worth it. $$ vs. HP is not worth it if the total start to go over $300. That would be my max. I ended up spending $290 for the pulley + install & belt.

[magickarle]

then in this case,I could go with cosmo's pulley (since the harmonic stays on the crank)? I got a 1zz

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by magickarle »then in this case,I could go with cosmo's pulley (since the harmonic stays on the crank)? I got a 1zzNO! Re-read my previous post. Everything is explained very well in there. OEM crank pulley has a vibrational dampener.Our engine has an internal harmonic balancer.By changing the crank pulley you are removing the vibrational dampener no matter what other pulley you put on.

[magickarle]

Sorry, I'm french and I was thinking an underdrive pulley was another way of naming a crank pulley.So underdrive pulley means the diameter is smaler than the OEM pulley.And when changing to another pulley, the vibrational dampener is removed automaticaly (either case of underdrive or OEM)Sorry about the confusion :S

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by magickarle »Sorry, I'm french and I was thinking an underdrive pulley was another way of naming a crank pulley.So underdrive pulley means the diameter is smaler than the OEM pulley.And when changing to another pulley, the vibrational dampener is removed automaticaly (either case of underdrive or OEM)Sorry about the confusion :SYes, underdrive pulleys are smaller diameter than oem and they underdrive all the other pulleys to free up power. Not always a good thing. Yes, the vibrational dampener is removed in either case. No Worries.

[magickarle]

Hey, it's me again.I've bough the pulley and I'm having proble removing the old one:I removed the center bold but can't pull the pulley.A near garage told me it should be fairly easy to remove it (without any special tool). They told me to try with deep penetrating oil, try couble of plastic hammer snd it should be easy to remove.Well, not: Still stuck in there.Did you use any special tool to remove it (ie: pulley puller?)Thanks

[BlueCrush]

Quote, originally posted by magickarle »Hey, it's me again.I've bough the pulley and I'm having proble removing the old one:I removed the center bold but can't pull the pulley.A near garage told me it should be fairly easy to remove it (without any special tool). They told me to try with deep penetrating oil, try couble of plastic hammer snd it should be easy to remove.Well, not: Still stuck in there.Did you use any special tool to remove it (ie: pulley puller?)ThanksMine was installed by a shop. I was going to suggest the same as the shop you called did. Maybe try renting a pulley puller from an auto parts store.

[kevera]

You need a puller to get that off.You can beat it all day,it ain't going anywhere.

[magickarle]

Ahhh, another mod done I used a 2 jaws puller (4 inch). It was preaty easy to pull.I didn't see a big difference (compared to the CAI) but it might help to free some HP with other mods.Next mod: emanage piggy back.

[silverbullet]

ok this is why my gf hates this website, i told her i would take a modding break for a while and next thing im telling her i just bought alt and crank pulleys. she was a little annoyed, lol. anyway to the important part. does anyone know what the torque ratings would be for both pulleys. and has anyone had trouble with turning the engine over while trying to torque the crank pulley down? im thinking if that happens would it help to tighten as much as i can, install the belt, and then would that give it enough hold to be able to torque it on? or maybe a rubber strap wrench to hold the pulley from rotating? not sure when i will get to getting it done but just wanna figure out how i will be doing it before hand

[4azdmunky]

LOL... i hear you brother, my wife hates me modding too..I just braced my socket wrench and tapped the ignition to turn the engine a little and that easily removed the bolt.For putting it back on, I tightened it as far as I could, then did the same thing again with the socket reversed. *USE LOCK-TITE*I didnt the first time, or torque a little more and the pulley walked off in 3 days, spun the crank and wrecked all my valves.

[magickarle]

here a copy paster of http://www.chiltondiy.com.Install the crankshaft pulley retaining bolt using J 8614-01 to prevent crankshaft rotation when tightening the bolt. Tighten the bolt to 105 ft. lbs. (142 Nm).

[Salsa Guy]

An impact wrench works wonders for both removing and installing. I tried with a strap wrench (my buddy was helping) but we couldn't get it to move. I took it to the shop and had them do it, $50. The Torque is 150 ft/lbs for the TRD bolt. Not sure for the stock one.

[silverbullet]

ok so hopefully the 105 is right, thanks for telling your source that gives me reason to trust it. still no idea on the alternator specs from anybody? when i do the job ill have to see if i can rent the pulley holder from autozone, and i suppose a puller as well based on magigcarls post. i was hoping i would not need one but o well. i want to have everything i could need for the job, even if it ends up being extra. better than needing it with the car taken apart and not having it handy

[magickarle]

You can try without a puller but... it is quite tightly pushed in once screwed and with watter .. rust can make it even harder to remove it by hand.I missed your post about the alternator ... what are you looking for?

[silverbullet]

I have lightwieght crankshaft pulley and lightwieght anternator pulley. Hoping to find proper torque specs for both for the install. Thanks.

[silverbullet]

big light bulb just light up in my head! before i take off the old alt pulley i can take my torque wrench and start at a low setting. start going up waiting for it to stop clicking and turn a little. then ill the torque is a little less than whenever that happens. anyone think this would work? or am i nuts? actually dont answer that last question.