Pulley power problems?

[Manaran]

Hi, i have a 1996 240sx, I am wondering how big the alternator is in a stock 240sx? My buddy put new pulleys in his 89 mustang and now it cant power music and often will not start without a jump. He told me this was because the pulleys are effecting the alternator and ultimately the power in the battery. Does this make sense and would it be a problem in a 96? Feel free to tell me if my question is unclear.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

Well your car starts from battery power...so I'm guessing he has other issues going on.

[Otto.]

Try the 240 section. You will get better help in there.

To answer your question, he probably has a bad battery or something. Check the wiring too.

[MinisterofDOOM]

If the car continues to run okay after it has been started, the alternator is not the problem. The battery is only used to start the car; once the car is running, it runs off power generated by the alternator. So if it's having hard-start issues, the battery may just be bad.

Are you getting battery and/or brake lights coming on on the instrument cluster while driving?

Also, I moved this to the 240 forum.

[Manaran]

I am more so asking if i can upgrade to lightweight pulleys without upgrading the alternator.

[comatoseculture]

The reality is that it prob is not worth it. The gain doesn't justify the practice. In other words, yes you can downgrade to lightweight aluminum pieces roughly shaped the same as the oem engineered pulleys, but realistically no huge benefit is there, prob not even noticeable and the poor cnc quality will likely shred up some belts rather quickly. You are looking for ways to raise n/a hp?

edit: and you know what, if you want to try it do it. If you are worried about the alternator, people big on stereo/subs/so on swap a higher output alternator from the Quest minivan into 240's. That should address your initial question.

[Manaran]

Yep looking at some cheap n/a hp gains, heard they were cost effective for hp.

[comatoseculture]

I've never seen evidence of any gains. I'd be suprised if it netted an 5% gain. I do however hear the same crowd that states "i've got an intake so that's 10 hp, I've got a header so thats 10 hp, and I've got a cat back so thats 10 hp, I'm prob putting down almost 200 to the wheels now..." state that it's a good way to gain power.

By all means somebody prove me wrong.

There really aren't any low buck high result modifications. And usually the best money you can spend on performance is some sort of instruction for you the driver yourself. This is however just my own opinion and it is actually quite humble.

[Manaran]

On a track instruction will show huge time differences, I agree. Ive taken two performance driving classes and they were well worth the money.

[comatoseculture]

Honestly I applaud you for taking them. Shows the type of person you are, and I respect that much more then the "she'll run faster then a raped ape" bs talkers. Honestly like I said before if you want to put them on you can upgrade to the quest alt. for any concern/issues you have. I don't think you'd have any in the first place, seems your friends car has another issue. take it easy