Stillen Performance Lightweight Pulleys Interest Thread!!!!

[headhunt3r]

As hinted by Josh, to gather the approximate numbers of people interested in purchasing a Lightweight Pulley, I've created this thread / poll to gauge the interest in this product.

Since it doesn't matter what type of transmission you have, I've only included 2 main options for the poll.

As quoted from the sneak peek thread:

Lookin SMOOOTH Kyle!

Ok so i did a little googling to bring some of the guys who arent wrench heads up to speed.... Let me know if this is correct info...

A performance pulley is milled from lightweight billet aluminum and weighs a fraction of what the stock pulley weighs. Less weight means less force is necessary to turn the pulley. Moreover, its width and groove pattern are designed to maximize efficiency without creating extra friction on the belt. A lightweight pulley will allow your engine to reach high RPMs sooner, helping your engine climb smoothly into its powerband. You can expect about 6 to 10 additional horsepower and 7 to 12 more foot-pounds of torque after installation.

Pulleys create horsepower at the wheels by lightening the load on the driveshaft, and are straightforward to install, relatively cheap, and make a noticeable difference.

This will work for auto or manual gearbox cars.

As you all know, it isn't possible to get dyno numbers on the CVT and both of our cars are CVT. So, there won't be any EXACT power gains. However, we have been doing this for YEARS and in our experience with the QR and VQ motors we have seen gains of 6-10 HP. There is absolutely no reason why the gains would be anymore or any less on these cars.

LBC- Your information was spot on and very helpful, thank you!

Lightweight pulley's help the engine "spool up" faster. Just like switching to lightweight wheels, lightweight pulley's reduce the drag on the drivetrain. By reducing the weight it allows the engine to operate more efficiently and freely. Take for example power steering pumps, alternators, water pumps, and other pulleys on the engine. All of these are powered by the engine and take horsepower to run. By reducing the effort to spin the pulleys you are making your engine more efficient and reducing the power needed to spin that unit.

I'm not sure what the production run is as of yet.. but as you can imagine this is DEFINITELY a cost/run item.. so the more people interested the cheaper they get. Actually this is good timing.. if you guys are interested, please speak up, I can take this info in and see about increasing the run based upon the volume you guys need.. we all know you guys like a deal.. we'd love to have the volume to deliver..

2.5 and 3.5 are different pulleys (obviously).. if you can jump in and express interest, I can use that to push forward.. we've been pretty aggressive with the current pricing on the Z/G pulleys we've done so far.. you can refer to the really low pricing we have to get things rolling on the STILLEN site.. feel free to compare competitive pulley makers for these applications..

http://www.stillen.com/product...m=all

Bang for the buck doesn't get much better than this type of item.. it doesn't matter if you're stock to having every bolt on.. complete to a turbo system.. less rotating mass (weight) = more horsepower.. every modification you do, this will amplify the results.

Your interest can help shape our R&D investment, and subsequently a better price.. let us know what you think..

[mcheddadi]

whats a normal price range for something like this?

[headhunt3r]

As Josh said you can refer to other pulleys in the link to get an idea of how much something like this would cost.

http://www.stillen.com/product...m=all

There was a similar question in the other thread about the swing of the price from mid 100's to almost 300, but I can't see a part for an Altima being on the high end of things.

[Infantry1327]

I don't know a hole lot about engines, so this may be a stupid question. But will this pulley system work on the CVT. If so, I am down for it in a few months.

[08Coupe]

I don't know a hole lot about engines, so this may be a stupid question. But will this pulley system work on the CVT. If so, I am down for it in a few months.

It will be ok for the CVT but if you want a big audio system a "underdrive pulley" may not be a great idea...

[Rob.Vegan]

towards the end of the year I should be able to buy this

[mikegtr06]

well crap there goes part of my refund..... ya im interested . how difficult is the install ? ive never done one of these before.

[dldjros69]

I voted yes for the 2.5. I hope the weather warms up so i can install this.

Or i can just use a propane heater or 2

[skiski329]

would not let me vote so add me too Interested! 3.5VQ

[b88dragon]

definitely interested in getting this product and there goes part of my refund check as wells haha. cant wait for this to come out.

[ESP]

Very interested! What's the difficulty of the install on one of these?

[JDRosenberg07]

im interested for the 2.5... Is this something you could install yourself like you can with an intake or do you need extensive knowledge for that?

[Team STILLEN]

im interested for the 2.5... Is this something you could install yourself like you can with an intake or do you need extensive knowledge for that?

This is not a complicated install. You can review the other application instruction sheets on the STILLEN product page:

http://www.stillen.com/product...m=all

But it will require a specialized tool, a pulley puller, which can easily be rented, sometimes for free from the auto parts store.

[FGFCacoupe]

I'll purchase the day it's released

[dangeris]

I'm definitely down for this. Anything to add more ponies is a good thing

[FGFCacoupe]

+1

[spockrock]

JUST an FYI, lightened pulleys have no HP gains and if they do they are in first and as you shift or the car shift the benefits are gone.

Under drive pulleys will show gains.

[Infantry1327]

It will be ok for the CVT but if you want a big audio system a "underdrive pulley" may not be a great idea...

Why wouldn't it be a good idea if I have a big audio set up. Does it decrease the amount of power that the altinator puts out? What if I am running a second battery and the big 3 up grade, would that help?

JUST an FYI, lightened pulleys have no HP gains and if they do they are in first and as you shift or the car shift the benefits are gone.

Under drive pulleys will show gains.

So id stillen makeing a under drive pulley or a light weight pully?

[Hussain]

lol i was actually just about to ask the same question.... i heard some bad things about messing with pulleys.... like your air conditioning (VERY important for cali ppl) won't work as well, your alternator wont charge the battery as much which will be bad for a big sound system that uses a good amount of power...... but i don't know how true any of that stuff is..... maybe stillen can clarify all this

[08Coupe]

On my last car 2004 GTO with a 5.7 liter 350hp with stock bose system, my lights would flicker under 1500 rpm (traffic/parked) after a underdrive pulley!I would have to start shutting stuff off like defrost, heat... What you are doing is spinning the accessories slower, at speed not much of a problem, but if you hang out at a meet with like I said a "big system" it could cause problems. Also different cars and alternators with show different effects....

[Ferguson]

So id stillen makeing a under drive pulley or a light weight pully?

Lightweight pulley for the 2.5, underdrive pulley for the 3.5.

[spockrock]

Ok guys, a lightweight crank pulley is a crank pulley that is lighter then OEM. The 'advantage' is that with the lower mass, this should reduce the amount of work the engine needs to turn the pulley. That being said, the gains are all but lost after 1st gear.

The Under Drive Pulley, I believe reduces the radius of the pulley and 'runs' the alternator slower. This reduces drive train lose. However on really 'aggressive' designs it could mean flickering lights or loss of power to say your sound system. So if you have a massive sound setup then you may want to avoid this mod, the big advantage is that if you have an intake, exhaust etc, you will give a boost in WHP as this reduces the drive train loss. Best example is for example the UDP reduces drive train loss from 15% to 13% then with a 100HP at the crank you have about 85HP without the Pulley and 87HP with the Pulley. Likewise if you say Boosted your HP to 200HP at the crank you are putting 274WHP vs 270WHP.

[Ferguson]

The 'advantage' is that with the lower mass, this should reduce the amount of work the engine needs to turn the pulley. That being said, the gains are all but lost after 1st gear.

Why? The gain may diminish in successive gears but should be proportional to the gear ratio. Any reduction in rotating mass translates to better use of the available engine HP. The gain may be small but it is just one more way to add a little performance.

Eliminating 3 pounds from the crank pulley will have a similar effect as removing 3 pounds from the flywheel. Perhaps minor, but it is still a gain.

You won't feel a gain of 2 HP either, but if you are doing a lot to your car then this is one more way of approaching optimum performance.

[crayzitalian3]

i def want to get in on this deal, as long as it is in the 1XX range then im good.

[dldjros69]

Why are there haters to this mod?

From what i heard from both sides there are positive gains to be had.

[headhunt3r]

If you check out a link that spockrock provided in the other thread, where a user by the name of MechEE gives his argument on why lightened pulleys are mostly a waste of money, or at least not the "great bang for the buck" deal that it seems, you would understand why there are so many "haters" on this mod, but I wouldn't use that word as it is totally befitting.

[chiapetchua01]

sweet i'd be interested

[spockrock]

Why? The gain may diminish in successive gears but should be proportional to the gear ratio. Any reduction in rotating mass translates to better use of the available engine HP. The gain may be small but it is just one more way to add a little performance.

Eliminating 3 pounds from the crank pulley will have a similar effect as removing 3 pounds from the flywheel. Perhaps minor, but it is still a gain.

You won't feel a gain of 2 HP either, but if you are doing a lot to your car then this is one more way of approaching optimum performance.

Don'f forget we are referring to rotational acceleration its its dependent on on the radius of the pulley as well. The fact that the radius and mass are so small already.

[GreyZone]

Lightweight pulley for the 2.5, underdrive pulley for the 3.5.

is the 3.5 underdrive also going to be lighter? Whats its weight going to be compared to stock? If its underdrive PLUS lighter that could give some decent gains, otherwise it would only be minimal

[GreyZone]

okay, found it in the other thread...

The 3.5 factory pulley weighs 4.32 lbs. STILLEN pulley weighs 1.0 lbs (with a 20% underdrive)

Thats gonna be well worth it on the 3.5...hp gains could be 5 to 8 hp!
Modified by GreyZone at 9:21 PM 1/19/2009