I'm from around the Appleton/Fox Cities area...

Underdrive Pulley:
Talked to "a popular import performance company", and basically they could set something up with a minimum of forty deposits (of course they'd have to become CL vendors). Pulleys would be $200-250 a piece. Or they could do a one-off for $520-680. I've gotten my hand slapped in the past for gathering interest posts so I've left this generic. I've asked the company for expeced performance gains from this, and if worth it, to become vendors on CL so a group buy can be done.

UPDATE: The company has dyno graphs from installing lightened pulleys on previous cars, and although none are V8s, the V6s are getting 10-20 horsepower from it at the wheels...not bad for the money. They're not interested in being vendors, though, so we're on our own. The big giant heads are fighting...

Intake gasket:
Yeah, I'm looking for a high-temp plastic, too...hard to find, but I think I may have found something for around $50 for a 12" x 24" sheet of 1/2" stock. I think being plastic, it could function as a big gasket. I'm gonna trial it with cheap 1/2" plastic first, and re-make with high-temp stuff if worthy.

 

This is good news. Keep us posted on how everything goes! I'm wondering if an intake spacer would give our cars any gains? Let us know how the prototype goes, Also why did you opt out of using aluminum?

So since the company is not interested in becoming vendors, We are on our own for the lighweight pulleys?

 

Harmonics are vibrations that change in intensity with RPM. Certain RPM points will create harmonics that can be destructive. Anyone see glass shattered by a harmonic sound note?

Our engines have a harmonic balancer as part of the main drive pulley. Replacing it with a lighter pulley of smaller diameter will turn the accessories slower and therefore have slightly more power left over which will go to the transmission and then wheels. BUT... you will loose the engineered harmonic dampener. This is really not a good way to make more long term, smooth, reliable power.

Different engines have different harmonics and some can get by without a balancer/dampener BUT ours have one for a reason.

 

Haven't opted out yet, I just like plastic's heat insulative properties better than aluminum

Pulleys -- yeah, I'm back at square one with this. Maybe a local place can do a custom one-off...

Unorthodox Racing says this (not sure to what extent it hold true for the 1uz):
Is my crank pulley a harmonic/torsional/vibration damper or a harmonic balancer?

People are getting their crank pulleys confused with the harmonic dampers found on some domestic V6 & V8 engines. "Harmonic Balancer" is a term used loosely in the automotive industry. Technically, this type of device does not exist. The "balancer" part comes from engines that are externally balanced and have a counterweight cast into the damper. None of the applications we offer use a counterweight as part of the pulley, as these engines are all internally balanced.
The pulleys on most of the new import and smaller domestic engines have an elastomer (rubber ring) incorporated into the pulley making them look similar to a harmonic damper. The elastomer in the OEM pulley serves as an isolator, which is there to suppress noise from the engine accessories; the A/C compressor, P/S pump, and alternator. This is what the manufacturers call NVH (Noise Vibration & Harshness) when referring to noticeable noise and vibration in the passenger compartment. It is important to realize in these applications, the elastomer is inadequate in size and durability to act as an effective torsional damper. If you look at the pulleys on some imports there is no rubber to be found at all. We have samples of these, mostly from Acura/Honda B & D Series engines, Nissan Altima, 1.8L Eclipse, 2.3L Fords, Chrysler 2.2L's, and 1.8L VW's just to mention a few. Most owners who have installed our pulleys notice the engine actually feels smoother. This is result of replacing the heavy crank pulley with our crank pulley. NVH is variable and unique to every car. NVH will increase with the installation of an aftermarket intake and/or exhaust, for example. Think of OEM intake systems in newer cars, they use baffles and resonators in the intake to quiet all the intake noise. Aftermarket intakes eliminate these resonators and create dramatic increases in engine noise from the throttle opening and closing. So to most tuners, certain types of NVH can make the driving experience more enjoyable.
The purpose of a traditional harmonic damper is to protect against crank failure from torsional movement and frequencies of high amplitude. This is not necessary in most modern engines because of the many advances in engine design and materials. Factors such as shorter stroke length, smaller displacement, piston dwell time, piston pin off-set, power output, etc., do determine when and how these harmonics and torsional movements occur. More importantly the actual tune of the engine, espcially with modified vheciles, is the biggest factor in potential engine damage. Poor tuning leads to detonation which is an engine killer that no damper can stop.
Again, there is a lot of internet hearsay about solid crank pulleys. When engine problems occur, too often people are quick to blame the pulley first, rather than taking the time to look logically into why there was a problem. We hope that after reading this you will understand our crank pulleys better.

 

If the pulley is not an issue and some weight can be saved, then I might be interested. I've noticed that the v8 gs is pretty front heavy or my shocks are not dampening very well. (Battery relocation is a good option for me).

 

FYI...I could be wrong but I NEVER HEARD of anyone doing pulleys on V8 engines...I just haven't heard of it. Mostly (almost always) on 4 cyl and some 6 cyl. Perhaps there is a reason why a lot of manufacturers of these products stay away from V8's; maybe the little extra power it yields there is a huge negative that comes with it - who knows?

 

I remember last year when i eliminated the PS,AC pulley my car would kill the tires right off the line. Hwy pulls felt really good and picked up fast. I bet with a nice set of pulleys we could see some gains in hp/tq for sure.
Frank, Have you ask any of the company that makes these manifold gaskets to see if they could possibly make one for our cars. For the manifold gasket Yes high temp plastic would be best. Keep us updated on this, hope you can come up with something.

 

Unorthodox sells pulleys so their motivation is sales. The above quotes are referencing 4 cylinder engines and specifically excludes V6 and V8 configurations.

Here is some easy to read information of torsional and harmonic dampening/balancing

http://www.hi-flow.com/HPEC5.htm

The bottom line is the dampener is on the engine for a reason. Removing it to make a little power may cause the engine to fail prematurely. Your choice.

 

Well guys, here's my journey to where i'm at now and the results in video. couple 0-80 blast and the performance of the mods that was added to my car. I think it made a difference compare before to after. The launch was all done around 1500 rpms.

In this video all i have is the L-tuned mufflers and a custom intake i made. stock rims, stock 3.2 diff.
0-60 @ 6.1sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql2ouWHe784

Injen intake with L-tuned mufflers, stock rims, stock 3.2 diff
0-60 @ 5.8sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOIloNHANx8

Injen intake, L-tuned mufflers, Afc NEO, GS300 3.9 gears, 19x10 275/30, Tuned.
0-60 @ 5.7sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFbuFBFGlgQ

Injen intake, SS headers, 3" Magnaflow exhaust, 2 1/2" custom cat-back w/x-pipe, 19x10 275/30, 3.9 gears, Tuned.
0-60 @ 5.2sec
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw-XQkXIgiA

To be continue.....

 

Thanks for sharing and documenting. You don't have LSD in this vid right? You probably can drop that time some more and launch at a higher RPM with LSD on and VSC off.

I'm not sure though, that's a lot of torque going to the diff.

 

Denut -- thats one of the coolest posts I've seen in awhile! Why? Cause I have a 400, with L-tuned mufflers, an intake, S&S headers are on the way, and I'm hoping to find a Supra or GS300 diff here soon (hopefully with LSD). Then, a NEO and a tune. You have what I'm going for!

PS. You don't have a torque converter, do ya? Ohhhhhhh duuuuuuuuude...

 

Very Nice!
Between you Frank and I looks like we will have a midwest Trio.. I think 3uz and Kyle are lurking too.. but not sure on their performance asperations... guys?

I love how you can hear the tires break more and more as the mods climb!

 

I'm skeptical about the Torque Converter...what's the difference between having a torque converter re-worked than doing brake torque? Does it provide better shift points?

I doubt that it's more efficient unless it's something like the PI and using some strong and light material.

can someone convince me to install a tq converter with a different rpm stall?

 

Yeah, no LSD. I tried launching it at a higher rpm before i took that last video and almost went off road... Due to tailspin like crazy...lol
Thanks Frank, I'm looking forward to yours when you get it done. I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy that extra grunt inside that 4.0l.
LOL no torque converter here, just stock. Looking to upgrade tranny to shift harder or going manual. If you can't find a Gs300 diff, I believe Justin aka 3uz has one, but i can't remember if he has lsd or not.

Dude, any updates on the gasket? Hows it coming along.
Thanks Jake, Looking forward to everyone's progress. As for the tires, i remember when i had it stock and couldn't even hear tires screaming for help launching at the same rpm, I was a bit disappointed. As the mods build up i was really impress on how the car reacted to them and woke them tires up.

Now i'm gonna really need some kind of semi slicks to get that 60' down to a beautiful 2.0..can't wait for track day.

 

That's why i haven't got the TQ converter yet. Yes, it'll help you off the line, but what about when you're rolling, does it do anything at that time? Also on the 430s you also get a CEL with i believe anything over a 2600 stall. Now with the money put into the TC lets say $900, install $500 that's a $1400 that can go into a manual swap. I believe going manual we should be able to put alot of this power to the wheels.