One of the pulleys in my engine is sqeeching pretty loud when I turn the wheel to make sharp turns (with the A/C on). My tech says it's the steering pulley that's making that god awful sqeeching. Since they'll be working on it shortly I was thinking of changing all three stock pulleys and installing Unothodox pulleys (chrome). They look really good and I understand I can expect some gains in horsepower due reduced weight on the crank shaft. However, the articles and details I'm reading on pulleys talks about "underdriving" (I'm not sure what that means exactly). Additionally the articles say pulleys are not recommended for everyday driving because they spin too fast or too slow (that part confuses me). Any body out there running Unorthodox pulleys on a daily basis? If so, are there any problems or conditions I should be aware of if I change my stock pulleys to Unorthodox pulleys? Any assistance and/or feed back in reference this subject would be greatly appreciated.

 

Heres the best info I can give you SEARCH - this has been beaten to DEATH

 

I am running them. Underdrive on them is minimal, the main gain from them is due to weight reduction on the crank pulley. other two are mostly for looks. more info can be found around here somewhere

 

But don't a lot of people have pully troubles? Seized Pullies, Off Balance Pullies and even Leaky ones?

 

If you're that worried, just get the crank pulley by itself. The rest don't do hardly anything, anyway. It is underdriving, but not by much. The power steering will feel slightly stiffer at slow speeds, but power from the alternater should be plenty sufficent unless you have a very powerful audio system.

Or you can just get a lightened crank pulley of stock diameter.

 

i have heard of a few limited problems, but have never experienced any at all myself (other then the pita install)

 

I've got 26k miles on my UR pulley set - no problems............ A/C, steering, and all accessories work perfect!

 

I read the other posts recently and this is what I got out of it.

An aftermarket pulley gives you a few extra HP because it's about 4.3 LBS lighter for the crank to turn. Less puwer turnging the pullies in the front of the motor=more to the ground. There are 2 types of lighted pullies, stock size and Underdrive. Underdrive pullies are slightly smaller which takes a few more HP from the front of the carank and put it to the flywheel. There are also 2 different pullies that use different belts. CNR uses the stock belt, with UR you will need to buy a belt also. All in all, it seems simplest to just get a stock size that fits the stock belt. The underdrive pullies make problems for some and others are fine but to me it's not worth it for a couple more HP that you can't really feel anyway. The difference between the stock and underdrive is not big, I think it's 3 or 4 HP and those were the claims, no chart to back it up.

If I'm wrong, please correct me but, this is the understanding I have after reading through the posts..

 

Here's an analogy for you

6th gear is OVERdrive (gives you less leverage). That should give you a hint that UNDERdrive might give you MORE leverage.

 

I'll probably sound like a total doofus for asking this but what exactly is underdriving? Does this term mean what it implies; the car is parked more than it's driven (as in weekend driver only)? Or does "underdrive" refer to something totally different? Sorry I had a "mechnical bypass" and usually have to pay the cost of ignorance when it comes to car repair because I don't know as much about engines as I do other things

 

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there is no way for one of the pullies to seize

they are CNC'd and perfectly balanced

there is no way for a pulley to leak - it does not hold liquid nor seal anything

 

I have had a UR pulley for 20K miles... no problems, no issues, no nothing with a tracked car.... engine actually runs smoother than stock. From several oil analysis tests I did, engine has no wear.

as for the crank seal leaking, that is an installation and torque issue. If someone can't read instructions properly, it's his problem, not the lighter pulley. BTW, my friend had the crank seal fail on the stock pulley.

 

had my UR pulley for about 35k , i have no problems and no leaks unless u install them wrong there should no problem

 

I bought the CNR lightweight stock size billet pulleys from a group buy a couple of months ago. Installation was very easy and can be done in about 45min (taking your time) and no belts need to be changed. They where balanced and looked great under the hood. I highly recommend these, very well made and makes the Z feel smoother and with more power, especially around mid range and during downshifts. Pretty much when you say under-drive it means since the diameter of the pulleys have been reduced they spin faster then OEM but have to spin twice as fast to produce the same amount of power to your alternator or other accessories, think about it this way: one large wheel and one small wheel, if you turn each one complete turn which one travels farther? They are not recommended for daily use b/c at idle your pulleys are not spinning fast enough to recharge your battery and could cause your car to stall. For the trouble and minimal gains from under-drive pulleys vs. OEM reduced weight its not worth it. Hope this helps

 

So you are saying if I use my Z as a daily driver, I shouldn't put in the pulleys? If so, you just gave me a reason not to install the pulleys or is this a little problem?

 

not true whatsoever

show me a single Z that has had charging issues with the UR underdriven pullies. I know we have sold hundreds of them....and have them on both our own Z's, without issues of any kind. From the hottest summer days, to the below 0 winter months

 

I am friends with the owner of a custom shop here in NC and he has installed several of these kits. The customers had come back to share their feedback and that is the info I shared with you guys. You are welcomed to your opinion but I have heard otherwise. I forgot to mention that the customer with the power loss at idle had a custom sound system which used up some extra juice. I believe he then had a cap installed which helped the problem. But my point is that I am not saying you should not install the pulleys at all just saying I would rather avoid a problem however much unlikely to happen then have to constantly worry about it plus having to use different belts. The difference in gain between the under-drive set and the lightweight OEM set is so minimal why take the risk? and no extra cost for different belts In my case I plan to add two 10" subs so I need as much juice as I can get from my alternator plus I drive my Z daily.

 

I use a small odyssey 680 drycell battery (which is like 1/3 the size of the stock battery), never had any "charging" issues... I have stock stereo, works fine

 

Kwame has a system in his car (I'll soon have one in mine) - 2 + years, works fine, daily driven car with over 50K I think at this point (or close to it)