I'm thinking of getting a set of Unorthodox Racing SS Series underdrive pulleys. I've read up on them and they seem to be a reasonably easy way to free up some horsepower that the stock "cast" pulleys are robbing from my engine. Thing is, I don't know anyone who has changed out the pulleys on their car. Is there a noticeable difference - I read horsepower increase of 5-12 hp - and is the increase worth the $300 price tag?

Thanks!

 

Ill tell you point blank i work at a shop and these things will give u no noticable difference. I would buy something better with $300 save a few more 100 and get some nitrous.

 

Thanks. Anyone else have any similar or differing opinions?

 

I think its the aftermarket underdrive pulleys people seem to have vibrational problems with. The stock unit has a rubber piece that prevents vibrations from harming the engine. Most people say it harms the bearings.

I don't know if its the underdrive pully or another pulley, but I'm 90% sure. Something about it not being harmonically ballanced because of the lack of the little rubber piece.

 

I agree with EG, im a technician at my local honda dealership and to be honest, underdrive pulleys just aren't worth it. If you have like a b16 swap just go with a OEM civic type-R crank pulley that just drives your alt. use to money for something else. And I have seen/heard about the bearing problems associated with them. Hope that helps

 

And your question about whether or not they're worth the 5-12 HP. In my opinion, no. for 400/500 you could buy a set of cams that give you a lot more than that, not to mention that they won't mess up your motor, as long as you upgrade the valvetrain.

WARNING! With some aftermarket cams you will definately need to upgrade your valvetrain. A guy on here was running Buddy Club Spec 3's and floated a valve that caused him to have to teardown and rebuild his motor.

 

A stock CTR pulley will do better than any other really from what I hear. I have an unorthodox I got for free and had put on my b16 when they did my swap. So I dunno if it helps or not. It's blingy blue so that's all that matters lol. JK

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nota-eg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">And your question about whether or not they're worth the 5-12 HP. In my opinion, no. for 400/500 you could buy a set of cams that give you a lot more than that, not to mention that they won't mess up your motor, as long as you upgrade the valvetrain.

WARNING! With some aftermarket cams you will definately need to upgrade your valvetrain. A guy on here was running Buddy Club Spec 3's and floated a valve that caused him to have to teardown and rebuild his motor.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i wouldnt exactly jump into any of this... cams change the entire behavior of the engine... where the power builds up at and how long it lasts, etc...

dont just throw something in cause it says it will perform better...

you'll want to pick stuff that is how YOU want your motor to run...

just start out with a hp/tq goal... decide where you want your power to come in at... when you want it to cut off... think about how youll achieve it and what parts youll need...

theres just so much to it...

you will definitely have to upgrade your valvetrain no matter what... i would not trust changing a cam even if it says its safe... youre going to throw in a new cam into a head which had been running the old cam and valves/springs for however old the head is... those springs just arent going to take the abuse i would upgrade it all

for the pulleys... its hard to say... nothing is really as simple as just throwing it on... you have to lose something to make something...

like SOHC vs DOHC... it takes more power to run DOHC than SOHC... but the gains from DOHC make up for that loss and much more...

so the pulley is going to affect something else... which may or may not have a positive result...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by inane &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i wouldnt exactly jump into any of this... cams change the entire behavior of the engine... where the power builds up at and how long it lasts, etc...

dont just throw something in cause it says it will perform better...

you'll want to pick stuff that is how YOU want your motor to run...

just start out with a hp/tq goal... decide where you want your power to come in at... when you want it to cut off... think about how youll achieve it and what parts youll need...

theres just so much to it...

you will definitely have to upgrade your valvetrain no matter what... i would not trust changing a cam even if it says its safe... youre going to throw in a new cam into a head which had been running the old cam and valves/springs for however old the head is... those springs just arent going to take the abuse i would upgrade it all

for the pulleys... its hard to say... nothing is really as simple as just throwing it on... you have to lose something to make something...

like SOHC vs DOHC... it takes more power to run DOHC than SOHC... but the gains from DOHC make up for that loss and much more...

so the pulley is going to affect something else... which may or may not have a positive result...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry, I wasn't telling him to buy a cam, just saying that after all the threads I've read about people having problem's with the aftermarket underdrive pulleys he was better off buying something else for the same price.

But for that extra tidbit of information.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nota-eg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sorry, I wasn't telling him to buy a cam, just saying that after all the threads I've read about people having problem's with the aftermarket underdrive pulleys he was better off buying something else for the same price.

But for that extra tidbit of information.</TD></TR></TABLE>

i wasnt dissing you... in general, i was just trying to say he shouldn't jump into any of this... there are lots of things out there that will gain more power for a less price than a pulley... but if you just buy all the little stuff, youll going to wish you hadnt later when you want more power and realize that that stuff was a waste cause now you gotta buy all new stuff

id plan out what you want your car to be like before you jump into it...

dont just pick out a pulley... put together the whole engine with all the parts you want, part numbers, places to get the parts, prices, etc...

 

just buy some 01 type r cams or civic type r cams, power is great and can be found for around $400.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Froznface &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I read horsepower increase of 5-12 hp</TD></TR></TABLE>

you will never get this much from a 4 cyl. honda... a v8 maybe... due to the less weight it throws the engine off balance the way it came from the factory which can cause premature bearing wear... hapened on my friends b16... and it used to make a weird noise... anyway maybe if you had your motor balanced with this pulley it would actually help... not sure if it would but it makes sense

 

5 to 12 hp? nah maybe 2-4 more. definaly not worth 200+.
as for the bearing problems the story is if its B series you are ok. D is not sugested.
did you look into any of the other brand name pulleys? the cheaper ones ie: ebay? i like UR's products but they are waaaay too much for me. i personly want to try one of the cheaper onces out. i sjust want to try to take away some of the engine drag running the AC causes. i'm too wimpy to turn it off or remove it. its hot out there! only problem i have with any of the pully designs is when i have to take the crank pully off. with the factory honda pully you have a tool for removal. that tool won't work with and aftermarkt crank pully so you have to rig something up

 

I have the full UR set for over 3 yrs , and 100 000kms without any negative effects. Throttle response has increased which is nice with a turbo. The wt savings is quite remarkable, I think it was 8 lbs.

 

This may sound like a very stupid idea, but I duno. You could always lighten up your stock pulley.

I just bought a dremel and I noticed it came with a circular cutting piece. You could use that to go around in a perfect circle and shave off some of the metal on the stock pulley.

Again, this could be a very stupid idea, but just something to throw around.

 

They're pretty rough on the crank. The OEM ones have a rubber ring to help absorb the vibrations, aftermarket ones are almost all metal. There is ONE company I saw that made them using a harmonic dampener I think is the word... It was just recently, they advertised in either Honda Tuning, Super Street, or Sport Compact Car. It was for the B-Series.

As for being worth the money, I won't think so unless you had the money to blow. I do think they offer an improvement though, if anything it'll speed up response like the lightened flywheels do.

As for using a Dremel to shave off some metal? Don't know. If you shaved just a bit more on one side than another it would throw off the balance... If you had something to equally shave metal off the sides I think it would be a better idea than buying an aftermarket pulley without the dampener.

 

This is my opinion...from first hand experience (for a change).

Most people go from what they have read and take it to heart, saying that it ruins the engine because of momentum lost at the crank. This is true, momentum is lost becuase there is no harmonic damper on the pulley, however the UR pulleys are balanced, meaning there is no need for the harmonic damper and it will not ruin the engine.

After the UR pulleys were installed, there was a definite improvement in engine responce, it revved much easier with less hesitation, similar to fitting a test pipe or a lighter flywheel.

So far the car has been running with UR pulleys for almost 2 years with no problems.

In conclusion, the UR pulley does work, if you are going to get one, just make sure you buy it cheap just incase you have second doubts before you fit it.

 

Thanks for all the great responses! Believe me, I don't rush into anything when it comes to my girl...thats why I love this forum...its great for bouncing ideas off of y'all. And yeah, the price tag is a bit high, I'll admit, thats the reason I asked if there was any noticeable change in the performance of the engine. The blingy blue might be nice to look at, but I don't even want anyone to see me!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Froznface &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm thinking of getting a set of Unorthodox Racing SS Series underdrive pulleys. I've read up on them and they seem to be a reasonably easy way to free up some horsepower that the stock "cast" pulleys are robbing from my engine. Thing is, I don't know anyone who has changed out the pulleys on their car. Is there a noticeable difference - I read horsepower increase of 5-12 hp - and is the increase worth the $300 price tag?

Thanks!</TD></TR></TABLE>

NO

 

No, the harmonic dampener, from my best guess, absorbs the vibrations caused by the combustion going on in the cylinders... You figure, those pistons moving up and down so rapidly has to cause some sort of vibrations, along with the sudden power when the fuel is ignited...so I think your crankshaft has little bursts of turning when the fuel is ignited.

Bleh I'm rambling. Anyway, the harmonic dampener absorbs vibrations caused everytime a cylinder combusts, I guess. If it didn't have this, the pulleys to all your accessories, the belts, and the crankshaft would have to absorb the shock.

 

i think the company or product was called fluidamper or something like that

 

I think the question should be, has anyone who installed a set of Aluminium pulleys had any problems?

So far I haven't read of anyone with a problem, and the car outside hasn't got a problem for almost 2 years now.

So from me if you get a set for cheap

 

just some of my $0.02


pulleys can help & some can hurt...

for instance...on my SVT contour which uses a balanced pulley, you need to get a harmonic dampening pulley to replace it with.
most people get the one off the European model ST200.
definately makes a difference is the smoothess of the motor.

from what i've read some engines are balanced/dampened internally....my SVT was not....my wifes suzuki aerio SX is...& i thought honda B-series & H series motors were too. I don't know about d-series.

if its balanced/dampened internally then you don't have to worry about an aftermarket pulley hurting your motor.

i could be wrong here but i'm just throwing it out there

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jorsher &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">No, the harmonic dampener, from my best guess, absorbs the vibrations caused by the combustion going on in the cylinders... You figure, those pistons moving up and down so rapidly has to cause some sort of vibrations, along with the sudden power when the fuel is ignited...so I think your crankshaft has little bursts of turning when the fuel is ignited.

Bleh I'm rambling. Anyway, the harmonic dampener absorbs vibrations caused everytime a cylinder combusts, I guess. If it didn't have this, the pulleys to all your accessories, the belts, and the crankshaft would have to absorb the shock.</TD></TR></TABLE>

just as a correction... fuel doesn't "ignite"... it "burns"... big difference... igniting is like an explosion... fuel BURNS... it just burns very rapidly

 

you could get a lightenend flywheel for less than that 300 dollars and you would notice a difference and not worry about any possible damage to your engine.