Quote:
Originally Posted by dann6968
Anyone have experience with the lightweight pullies sold on ebay for cheap?
|
Yep, bought a billet U/D pulley for the Civic (OE pulley was cracked, common issue due to thin casting, last owner cracked it pulling it off, so I had to replace anyways). Total hassle, I should have bought a used OEM pulley for $15... the ebay ad for the U/D pulley said it would fit all Civics 92-95... well it fit on the crank but the factory pulley bolt wouldn't fit inside the lower "ring", leaving it with 4-5 threads to grab on the crank. I emailed the seller, and they said it was an issue with my "non-OE" crank bolt (which was OE, got another one at the junkyard, same thing, no fit). Tried buying a $30 ARP crank bolt for ricers in the hope it would be enough longer, no luck. Paid the machine shop $5 to mill the bolt head and washer down to fit inside the pulley. And had to buy a shorter belt (which they did admit in the ad).
And someone above was dead-on... it primarily only helps during hard acceleration, which our cars rarely see. It turns slower, so the alternator has to be on "charge" mode longer, negating any fuel savings imho. Purely for acceleration (basically extends the alternator charging scenario into the future to free up power for the present take-off). Where it could come into play is by reducing the alternator drag it might allow slightly better acceleration while maintaining lean-burn on my Civic Vtec-E motor... once cruising the longer charge mode wouldn't be an issue for holding lean-burn.
Was about 1 lb lighter than the stock pulley... but my new clutch unit was 1 lb heavier... net sum zero.