What are pulleys??

[Grip72]

Yup, i don't know. What exactly are pulleys? What do they do? Are they expensive, and are they are to install..also, what else do you need with them?

[guywithastang]

they are the accessory belt pulleys. They are smaller and make it less work for the engine to spin the alt. and a/c and those things. You will need to get a shorter belt and I dont know if it comes in the set. you should get a few extra horses wit the pulleys:thumbsup:

[Grip72]

i'm dumb..is this pulley external, i am 98% sure it is. (?) And how hard is it to install? Are there any disadvantages from it?

[guywithastang]

they are external, look at the passenger side of the engine, yuo can see them. They run the rubber belt that drives the alternator and power stearing. you just pull the belt off and unbolt the pulleys.

[Grip72]

sweet...if i sell my sub box today, maybe i'll go order them!

[AzCivic]

i've heard too many times that they are a waste of money.

[guywithastang]

they are more of a supportive part. The more you have done to your car the more they help. They dont do a lot on their own.

[Shot 2 Hel]

always saw em as more of a look good mod, but they lighten you up a little bit and take some of the strain off the engine

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by guywithastang
they are the accessory belt pulleys. They are smaller and make it less work for the engine to spin the alt. and a/c and those things. You will need to get a shorter belt and I dont know if it comes in the set. you should get a few extra horses wit the pulleys:thumbsup:

Eh, wouldn't you need a longer belt since the pulleys are actually bigger? :yes: Since the pulleys are bigger in diameter, every revolution spins the accessory less times, creating the underdrive effect. They are also lighter than stock. Anyway, the AEM set comes with belts, so no worries there.


Kyle, do a search on pulleys, they've been talked about now and then.

[TeriyakiBroccoli]

Yea, and because of that underdrive effect, sometimes your accessories have a hard time running!

People claim their lights dim.. and radios flicker..

Of course, I've never installed pullies on my car, so I can't really comment on the extent of this "power loss"

[G-M-W]

i made a post about this awile ago.....everyone said it was a waste of money

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by TeriyakiBroccoli
Yea, and because of that underdrive effect, sometimes your accessories have a hard time running!

People claim their lights dim.. and radios flicker..

Of course, I've never installed pullies on my car, so I can't really comment on the extent of this "power loss"

That stuff only happens at idle. After you get the RPMs up while driving, there are no effects that I can see. I've never had radio problems, though I'm pushing a low power setup, but my lights do dim at idle.

[AzCivic]

i've also --heard-- about problems with the ECU not getting enough power in certain situations.

[94_AcCoRd_EX]

Originally posted by AzCivic
i've also --heard-- about problems with the ECU not getting enough power in certain situations.

That's a new one to me! Care to expand on what you heard a little? What were the consequences of that? Anything serious like resulting engine damage?

[AzCivic]

I read it off or Dinan's ( a VERY big BMW tuner) site:

"In addition to the crankshaft issue, other problems can result from slowing down the accessories below their designed speeds, particularly at idle. Slowing the alternator down can result in reduced charging of the battery, dimming of the lights, and computer malfunctions. Slowing of the water pump and fan can result in warm running, while slowing of the power steering can cause stiff steering at idle and groaning noises. It is possible to implement design corrections and avoid these scenarios, but this would require additional components and/or software."

For the full story and why NOT to replace the CRANK PULLEY: http://www.dinanbmw.com/html/danger_of_power_pulleys.htm

[TeriyakiBroccoli]

Wtf, I thought the ECU was hardwired to a direct 12v wire.

Are you sure thats for a honda application too? It is off a bmw site.

And yea Accord, that makes sense that accessories would work well at a higher rpm.

[AzCivic]

all i know is Honda's quality isnt above BMW's, so if someone recommends something obvious for a BMW I'll go ahead and assume it can pertain to my cheap Honda Civic.

[nonovurbizniz]

Originally posted by TeriyakiBroccoli
Wtf, I thought the ECU was hardwired to a direct 12v wire.

Are you sure thats for a honda application too? It is off a bmw site.

And yea Accord, that makes sense that accessories would work well at a higher rpm.

If you ran a relay giving the ecu direct battery power that wouldn't be a concern... although I can see how it could F things up...


As far as the waterpump comment from the bmw site... this is not a concern with civic's at least as the water pump is driven of the crank gear not the crank pulley.... I was pretty sure bmw did it the same way but I'm sure they know more than I do about bmw's.

[TeriyakiBroccoli]

Originally posted by AzCivic
all i know is Honda's quality isnt above BMW's, so if someone recommends something obvious for a BMW I'll go ahead and assume it can pertain to my cheap Honda Civic.

Yea, I wasn't saying that Honda was above BMW, however, the setup in which they setup their electronics could be diff.