underdrive pulleys..are they worth it?

[esandes]

what you say about thems?

[Biged243]

From what I have research and read no. For specifics of why the answer is no do a search.

[MedicCarter]

From what I have heard is they don't give that much and if it's a DD it can cause problems with the charging system. They are more for track applications with minimal accessories but some people still like and use them on DD. That's all have heard when I asked a race shop I go to about them when looking at mods.

[mec]

what you say about thems?

Let's put it this way. You are shaving grams of weight off a 200 lb all wheel drive system.

Not to mention introducing issues to the alternator. Can't remember who it was but they were having issues with voltage after installing the neuspeed pulley.

Plus it's expensive. If you had custom tuning a fluidampr would be a good investment.

[esandes]

done and done. no underdrive pulleys. i installed a set on my old mustang and they were advertising something like 8 HP gains. i never had issues with that set.

[Charles.waite]

In a word: No.

The OEM Dampener cancels out a ton of vibrations. Getting rid of that effect, transmits all those vibrations through the accessory belt and will mess with all the ancillary systems on that belt (Power Steering, Alternator, etc). Its not that it will immediately cause problems, but the vibration introduced, over time, will wear out those systems sooner than normal.

Also the gains are really not much in the scheme of things.

A Fluidampr is, however, well worth the investment if you're running a BT or a built Head as the OEM dampener can't hold up to the higher revs.

[mec]

In a word: No.

The OEM Dampener cancels out a ton of vibrations. Getting rid of that effect, transmits all those vibrations through the accessory belt and will mess with all the ancillary systems on that belt (Power Steering, Alternator, etc). Its not that it will immediately cause problems, but the vibration introduced, over time, will wear out those systems sooner than normal.

Also the gains are really not much in the scheme of things.

A Fluidampr is, however, well worth the investment if you're running a BT or a built Head as the OEM dampener can't hold up to the higher revs.

actually the oem dampner does just fine on bt, and keeps being a good harmonic balancer. The fluidampr just allows you to tune for more timing because it is a better balancer.

[Charles.waite]

actually the oem dampner does just fine on bt, and keeps being a good harmonic balancer. The fluidampr just allows you to tune for more timing because it is a better balancer.

When you up the revs past stock though, the dampener has proven to break on 1.8t engines. I assumed the 2.0t was the same deal.

[mec]

When you up the revs past stock though, the dampener has proven to break on 1.8t engines. I assumed the 2.0t was the same deal.

Well to be fair I don't think the average fsi by owner has even gotten to rev to 8 lol. I think one guy on the Vw forums got to 9k...haven't heard of any explosions on the oem one yet

[pule333]

I have ordered one from ECS once install it will report. But it seems only the people who never used one and only heard horror stories are against them.

[Charles.waite]

Well to be fair I don't think the average fsi by owner has even gotten to rev to 8 lol. I think one guy on the Vw forums got to 9k...haven't heard of any explosions on the oem one yet

True. Only the really nutty 1.8t builds truly need one. Many just use it because its a proven component and has no downside, aside from it costing $400...

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

FYI our crank pulley is just a light weight pulley. NOT an underdrive pulley. I'm having our product specialist change the product description. This pulley does not underdrive any of your accessories. At one point we did sell an "underdrive" pulley kit which had different size pulleys than OEM but this is the same size as an OEM crank pulley.

Basically this is similar to a light weight flywheel. It just reduces rotational mass which will allow for better acceleration. Some engine vibrations are to be expected as you are removing the OEM dampening crank pulley.

If any one has any other questions please let me know.

Jason

[mec]

FYI our crank pulley is just a light weight pulley. NOT an underdrive pulley. I'm having our product specialist change the product description. This pulley does not underdrive any of your accessories. At one point we did sell an "underdrive" pulley kit which had different size pulleys than OEM but this is the same size as an OEM crank pulley.

Basically this is similar to a light weight flywheel. It just reduces rotational mass which will allow for better acceleration. Some engine vibrations are to be expected as you are removing the OEM dampening crank pulley.

If any one has any other questions please let me know.

Jason

How many milliseconds can we expect to shave off the 1/4 by utilizing this lightweight sucker?

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

How many milliseconds can we expect to shave off the 1/4 by utilizing this lightweight sucker?

7 exactly 7

Jason

[Hugh@EuropaParts]

7 exactly 7

Jason

Jason... I'll take 2. 2 x 7 = 14... that would make my pig run a 11.3 in the 1/4. (25.3 - 14 = 11.3)

[Jake@JHM]

Who needs tuning? Just get the pulley!

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Jason... I'll take 2. 2 x 7 = 14... that would make my pig run a 11.3 in the 1/4. (25.3 - 14 = 11.3)

#becauseracecar

Jason

[mec]

7 exactly 7

Jason

Excellent. I am running 14.007 second quarter miles right now so this should put me in the 13's. If you're calculations are correct I should be running 13.999 second quarter miles.

A quality improvement!

[Jake@JHM]

Excellent. I am running 14.007 second quarter miles right now so this should put me in the 13's. If you're calculations are correct I should be running 13.999 second quarter miles.

A quality improvement!

Do you happen to have your slips? I would love to take a look at them

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

Excellent. I am running 14.007 second quarter miles right now so this should put me in the 13's. If you're calculations are correct I should be running 13.999 second quarter miles.

A quality improvement!

Jason

[mec]

I have ordered one from ECS once install it will report. But it seems only the people who never used one and only heard horror stories are against them.

It's not even about the horror stories for me.
It's about the concept.

What's the product cost like $150? That's $150 going toward something ludicrous.

Think about it, the serpentine belt pulley which is a harmonic balancer, maybe weighs 4 lbs? Give or take. Now let's say ecs was able to remove 1 pound of weight and now the new pulley only weighs 3 lbs.

You have successfully removed 1 lb of weight from a 300lb awd system. I don't know what it actually weighs but the idea here is that you are shaving 1 lb from a 200-300 lb system so lets do the math.
1/200= 0.5%
1/300= 0.3%

So under load(transmission connected to crankshaft, you might see a half percentage quicker rev, that is extremely negligible.

Now press the clutch in and disengage the 200 lb awd system and certainly you might be able to notice a faster rev, but is it relevant? Nah you aren't moving. Might help slightly in between shifts. But if you really want to cut rotating weight, get lighter wheels, or lightweight rotors.

However, cutting a margin of comfortability from my car for a negligible "enhancement" is not worth $150 to me, I would rather go have a good night out with some friends, or go skydiving, or <insert your favorite activity here>.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

It's not even about the horror stories for me.
It's about the concept.

What's the product cost like $150? That's $150 going toward something ludicrous.

Think about it, the serpentine belt pulley which is a harmonic balancer, maybe weighs 4 lbs? Give or take. Now let's say ecs was able to remove 1 pound of weight and now the new pulley only weighs 3 lbs.

You have successfully removed 1 lb of weight from a 300lb awd system. I don't know what it actually weighs but the idea here is that you are shaving 1 lb from a 200-300 lb system so lets do the math.
1/200= 0.5%
1/300= 0.3%

So under load(transmission connected to crankshaft, you might see a half percentage quicker rev, that is extremely negligible.

Now press the clutch in and disengage the 200 lb awd system and certainly you might be able to notice a faster rev, but is it relevant? Nah you aren't moving. Might help slightly in between shifts. But if you really want to cut rotating weight, get lighter wheels, or lightweight rotors.

However, cutting a margin of comfortability from my car for a negligible "enhancement" is not worth $150 to me, I would rather go have a good night out with some friends, or go skydiving, or <insert your favorite activity here>.

I'm not an engineer but something tells me that even though it may seam miniscule it might have a larger effect than you may think. It works the same way as a light weight flywheel. Even thought the drive train as a whole is a bunch of rotating parts, taking off any bit of rotating weight is always a good thing. Wheels, pulleys, flywheels, brake rotors, drives shafts, gears, anything that turns if it is lighter, can relieve stress on crucial components. If you want to squeeze out every OZ of acceleration you can reducing rotating weight is definitely a good start. It might not be for everyone, but it definitely will have some benefit over the factory piece. You aren't hurting anything by using it. Unless of course you feel you would rather spend the money on something else. But that's the beauty of individuality. Some might call me crazy for spending $450 on a pair of jeans when you can get them at any department store for $50, but it's my money and I am free to spend it as I wish.

Jason

[Jake@JHM]

Expensive Jeans!


Lightweight parts, especially ones that are moving really do help a lot.

[Hugh@EuropaParts]

I'm going to buy lightweight jeans...

but in reality I would assume that Jason is right, I'm no rocket surgeon but it does make sense.

[ECS Tuning-Audi]

I'm going to buy lightweight jeans...

Made from Carbon fiber weave with titanium zippers and buttons.

Jason