Underdrive pulleys

[LincoConti87]

Hello there just looking for some feedback on underdrives. I was thinking of looking for a cheap set of power pulleys for my continental with non HO 5.0. Anyone ever put some on a non HO? I'm wondering if it would actually be worth 30-50$ for the increase. Also I'm thinking I would do only two of them and leave out the alt pulley so there is no power probs.

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Rob meister
87 Lincoln Continental

[joey50gt]

the alt. pully is what gives you the most power gain. I have pullys on my stock mustang and there was no real big power los from the battery but i also have a brand new battery

[LincoConti87]

Anyone else can jump in here but I'm pretty sure its the smaller crank pulley that makes just about all the power

[TEXSN95]

Originally posted by LincoConti87:
Anyone else can jump in here but I'm pretty sure its the smaller crank pulley that makes just about all the power

Ya you are right the crank pulley makes the most difference. The gains from the alt pulley is negligible. I added underdrives to my 95 and I could feel a definite difference. First revved up much quicker and it felt like it went from my 308s to 327s. If you still have the crappy 75amp alternator I'd leave the alt pulley off. Pulleys have been dynoed to show 10+ hp at the wheels, so they are definitely worth the money.

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Clint L.
White 95 Cobra #3637
R lookalike with lots of goodies

[LincoConti87]

I'm not really sure but I have heard that the alt pulley is bigger than the old one....wouldn't that make it spin faster and help the charge more? Or what is the deal...have heard it two different ways. I'm kinda wondering if it would make a more noticeable difference on a non HO 5.0 or less...My motor has lots of torque but only 150 horses...would I notice it more than a person with over 200 horses? these are thoe questions that are never really known for sure lol

[Mustangbelle306]

!@#$%* PULLEYS!!

I lost an alternator to those infernal yo yo looking "mods". I highly recommend NOT investing the money; personally I do not believe its worth it.


BTW it is the crank pulley that provides the most substantial power increase. The alternator is actually the least

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Elisha (Mustang Chick Extraordinaire)
1994 GT/Saleen: Cartech intake,4.10s, full exhaust, pulleys, Compucar nitrous kit 125 shot
Sold the 1986 LX sedan
http://www.geocities.com/mustangbelle_306
AOL name: GT306Chick

If something is larger in diameter it will spin slower. Just think of your tires, if you put larger diameter tires on you will drop rpm's at a certain mph. It is basically like changing your gear ratio.

[TEXSN95]

Originally posted by Mustangbelle306:
!@#$%* PULLEYS!!

I lost an alternator to those infernal yo yo looking "mods". I highly recommend NOT investing the money; personally I do not believe its worth it.


BTW it is the crank pulley that provides the most substantial power increase. The alternator is actually the least

If you lost your alternator just b/c of a slightly larger pulley then it was probably messed up to begin with. So how is $100 not worth about ~10hp at the wheels??

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Clint L.
White 95 Cobra #3637
R lookalike with lots of goodies

[LincoConti87]

Ok my bad I was thinking of the speed of the belt and not the pulley center...and yes I have to agree about the bad alternator. If anything from it spinning slower the alternator should have lasted longer. That makes no sense

[dinomite]

Ya, the crank pulley makes the most difference. Even if you leave the alt. pulley off, you may have charging problems if you have any accesories on, cause it is still slowed by the crank pulley.

I once had an alt. go, no relation to this stuff or anything else for that matter! The car was making some noise, nothing really bad, but obviously an accesorie on the belt. Went home, poped the hood w/ car running an saw it was the alt. I got my dad from inside, he walked out and was looking at it, the WERKEYREROHD*OPOTYGODHOGDSHPO! Just locked up right there, was somewhat amusing.

[Killercanary]

Get the pulleys. Heck even if you only gain 5HP I bet percentage wise its the same amount of HP. I went from a 14.96 at 91mph to a 14.6 at 94.89mph with just pulleys. You can't touch that kind of performance for the price of pulleys.

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95 GT convt' 5 speed, 3.73's,FMS HD clutch, Pro 5.0 shifter, ASP alum. underdrive pulleys, Bassani offroad X pipe, 2 chmbr flowmasters, K&N w/o silencer, edelbrock performer intake, FRPP 65mm T-body, FRPP shorty headers, FRPP aluminum driveshaft.Hooker 4pt chrome car bar, Xenon/Wings West ground effects, custom interior
Best ET: 13.83
Best MPH: 98.55mph with Best 60': 1.91 on Nitto DR's
Homepage: <A HREF="http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/killercanary" TARGET=_blank>http://www.angelfire

[Unit 5302]

I suppose I could just get technical....

Okay, I think I will.

The alternator has a built in regulator that regulates power output. When you turn more accessories on, the demand on the alternator increases, and it charges more, up to the maximum designed output. The alternator should be charging max output under a high load condition by 2500rpms or so. If you don't believe this, go ahead and take the example of the squeeky alternator belt car. If you start turning on the big stereo system, and the heater blower and all that, the chances of the belt squeeking more are excellent.

In other words, pulley's do not affect maximum output of the alternator, they mearly slow the alternator down, which in turns causes a low charge condition when the accessories are in use below about 2000rpm on the cheapy standard 65/75amp Ford alternators. By slowing the alternator down, it just makes the alternator work harder at lower rpms due to increased load on the electrical system, yes? Then in actuality, the alternator pulley would decrease the lifespan of the alternator because of increased load on an already overworked unit, especially below 2000rpms, and it would also not net much of anything for power production since the electrical load on the charging system isn't dependant on engine rpm, but the electrical system load. As far as I can reason the alternator is not very susceptable to shortened life due to the nominal increase of engine rpm of a non pulley car to a pulley equipped car. The alternator has no internally dragging parts, and although it would of course affect overall bearing life, the actual charging function of the device shouldn't be affected by lowering pulley rpm.

Bottom line, you'll get nearly the same hp increase from pullies w/o the alternator pulley, you'll cause less wear on the alternator at low rpms, and keep your charging system in better working order.

On a side note, I'd personally recommend going to a G3 alternator, they are well worth the money. They also come with a larger pulley already on them if you want the extra 1hp of performance that comes along with them.

[This message has been edited by Unit 5302 (edited 03-30-2001).]

[dinomite]

Putting on the alt. pulley shouldn't change its power output much if you put on the crank pulley, cause you have alread slowed the whole system down. Unit 5302, you are correct that putting on the pulleys would increase bearing life (the only fricticious part of the alternator), but at low RPMs there still could very well be charging problems, cause even in the stock setup, the alt. can't produce its full 75amps until 1.5-2k (something above idle). I don't agree with what your saying about the power regulation circuit though. I don't know how the power is regulated, but if it is by a variable resistor/potentiometer, then running it with stock pulleys, so that it has to lessen its output, would actually wear it out faster, as you are using the resistor more, and therefore heating it more which is what eventually kills resistors, or any electrical circuit.

[gp001]

For a good explanation of alt & pulleys go here: http://www.powermastermotorsports.co...r_pulleys.html



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347 (Coast High short block), 279/284 .493/.510, TFS TW, Stealth, 750, Flowtech hdrs, Dr. Gas X, 2 Chmbr Flowmaster, MSD 6AL-Dist.& SS coil, March serpentine pulley system, Art Carr C-4, Currie 9" w/3.55, alum Drv Shft, susp mods, Total Control subframes & tower braces, Trans Am Racing power dual master, 4 wheel disc
In a 66 coupe

[Mustangbelle306]

ok I don't know enough to say that it was the pulleys that caused my alternator to blow..but ugh...it sure was great timing!

I do know that even without the alternator pulley, I still have charging problems while at idle. The volts gauge flucuates, but not as much as when I had the alt pulley on.

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Elisha (Mustang Chick Extraordinaire)
1994 GT/Saleen: Cartech intake,4.10s, full exhaust, pulleys, Compucar nitrous kit 125 shot
Sold the 1986 LX sedan
http://www.geocities.com/mustangbelle_306
AOL name: GT306Chick

[scott93gt]

I installed the Ford 1993 Cobra crank pulley on my GT. The alt. and water pump are still stock. I did notice a difference in performance. Total cost....$19.00 including shipping and handling.

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Scott93GT
1993 Mustang GT
Silver CC/Titanium Accent GT, Black Clothe interior.
5 speed, 3.08's, 3 chamber Flows, K&N, Hurst Competition Plus.

1991 F150 4x4 XLT Lariat
Six Stick Regular Cab LWB Tow Vehicle

[stng87]

Originally posted by Mustangbelle306:
ok I don't know enough to say that it was the pulleys that caused my alternator to blow..but ugh...it sure was great timing!

I do know that even without the alternator pulley, I still have charging problems while at idle. The volts gauge flucuates, but not as much as when I had the alt pulley on.

Damn, if you done have an alternator pulley, i can understand why you have charging problems! Haha, just joking Belle.



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1987 black with t-tops. Cobra intake, 1.7 cobra crane rollers, gt40p's, bbk shorties, off road h-pipe, adj. FPR, rebuilt aod w/shift kit, 65mm TB, 4.10's 12.90's at best probably less.
MAN OH MAN DO I HATE AOD'S