? re: pulleys

[Nightchild]

I'm putting this here cause I think my ? might seem stupid...I just dont have a clue to the answer (and yes, I did search before posting so dont say it! lol)

What do pulleys (such as the aem pulleys) do and how do they improve performance for our cars? (if hp...#'s please)

oh, and for anyone that's done it, are they hard to install?

[choski30]

Replaces the stock pulley with a lighter one. The car's rpms rise a bit faster. I'm not sure about the HP increase though. I've heard that it can wear yor alternator down quicker but I don't see how so cause your alt. wouldn't be working as hard.

-Choski

[chameleon]

Aftermarket pulley's will give you a performance increase by scavenging the power that your car is already making. The GTS 2zz-ge engine makes 180hp, but only around 150 to 155hp actually reaches the wheels. Where does the rest of the power go? A lot of it is lost in the drive train, some is lost in the effort of turning the wheels themselves, and a bunch is lost in the pulley system that powers your accessories.

In order to regain some of this lost power from your pulley system, you can add an aftermarket pulley to your car. There are different methods that an aftermarket pulley manufacturer can employ to accomplish this. You replace one of the pulleys with one that is lighter, so it will take less power to turn it, or you can replace the pulley with one that is larger, so it will make fewer turns per each engine revolution. Or of course, you can do both by replacing a stock pulley one that is both, lighter and larger.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both of these methods. Since a larger pulley will rotate slower, whatever accessory it was powering will suffer. For example, if you replaced the alternator pulley with a larger one your alternator will generate less power, if you replace your power steering pulley with a larger one it will take more effort to turn the steering wheel, ect. An alternative would be to replace the pulley with a light one instead. But the disadvantage of the light pulley is that it usually isn't as effective when it comes to power scavenging when compared to actually slowing the accessory down.

The AEM pulley available for our car really doesn't do anything in terms of adding power. All it really does is look pretty with it's nice anodized finish. The reason is because the AEM pulley is an air conditioning pulley, which means you will only be benefiting from it when you have your air conditioning on. You might as well save your money and do the intelligent thing, which is simply turning off the air conditioning when you race your car.

The biggest gain you can get from a pulley is going to be from replacing the crank pulley. The crank pulley is the main pulley that powers everything. If you replace the crank pulley you can typically expect a power increase of around 10 hp, give or take(a power increase about equal to what an exhaust will give you). As far as I know, only one company makes a crank pulley for the 2000+ Celica. Here is a link to their website...

http://www.unorthodoxracing.com/toyota_celica.html

[Acilec]

Hi Chameleon,

Thanks for the excellent information and the great website. I just checked it out and this is what it said for the crank pulley for the Celica 00-02

This item will be available shortly, we are taking pre-orders now. Fits 98-02 Toyota Corolla, 00-02 Celica, & 00-02 MR2 Spyder 1.8L VVTi DOHC All Crank

I'm getting this for sure, I hope they will have it soon. I'm going to contact them about their latest.

I have a pulley but have had problems installing it. It's still not installed but I may just sell it and use the money to by a short shifter.

Thanks again,

Fin

[TRD StreetRacing]

thanx for all the info chameleon.......that was helpful + interesting to know

[gnes100]

The reason is because the AEM pulley is an air conditioning pulley, which means you will only be benefiting from it when you have your air conditioning on.
Isnt the AEM pully an alternator pully replacement???????????????

[Slant]

Just FYI. The AEM Pully is lighter and larger than the stock pully.

[MaasNeotek]

Lightening the crank pulley is certainly a better way of doing this for HP than the alternator pulley (like the AEM).

Word of warning on the AEM though - since you are (for lack of a better word) '****ing' with the alternator - be careful about the potential effects on the power system...

[Maelfyn]

Good info as always chameleon.