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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Car Audio / March 2004Overdrive Pulleys
What ever happened to overdrive pulleys for alternators? I remember them being popular in the late 80's and early 90's. Were too many people throwing belts? Can any old timers share their experience? Many people still use them. I've heard mixed results on their effectiveness. On my Maxima, the gains are hardly noticeable. On other cars, I've heard gains of 5hp or so, sometimes more. Tony  SignatureWhat's more likely? That an all-powerful mysterious god created the universe and then decided not to give any proof of his existence? Or, that he simply doesn't exist at all? And that we created him so that we wouldn't have to feel so small and alone. -Eleanor Arroway, Contact > What ever happened to overdrive pulleys for alternators? I remember them being > popular in the late 80's and early 90's. Were too many people throwing belts? > Can any old timers share their experience? Actually I was referring to overdrive pulleys, not underdrive pulleys. Overdrive pulleys spin the alternator faster for increased output potential at low RPMs. Underdrive pulleys spin them slower to free up horsepower. > Many people still use them. I've heard mixed results on their > effectiveness. On my Maxima, the gains are hardly noticeable. On other [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > belts? > > Can any old timers share their experience? I still see them around from a lot of manufacturers such as March Pulleys. 30-32% overdrive seems to be the popular ratio. What I suspect happened was that once high-capacity alternators became mainstream and the prices dropped, less people went for the overdrive pulleys. After all, the overdrive pulleys couldn't increase the maximum capacity of the alternator, it would just lower the engine RPM required to reach that maximum alternator capacity. There's no reason that an overdrive pulley should cause belts to get thrown, unless it's shoddily-made or improperly-installed. Scott Gardner >What ever happened to overdrive pulleys for alternators? I remember them being >popular in the late 80's and early 90's. Were too many people throwing belts? >Can any old timers share their experience? > What ever happened to overdrive pulleys for alternators? I remember them being > popular in the late 80's and early 90's. Were too many people throwing belts? > Can any old timers share their experience? I discussed these in another post. Most aftermarket alternator makers will sell you one, though its much less expensive to buy them at an autoparts store. Hot rodders do pulley swaps all the time. Signaturethelizman "I didn't steal the FAQ either" Before you ask a question, check the FAQs for this newsgroup at http://www.mobileaudio.com/rac-faq. It contains over a decade and a half of knowledge. teamROCS Car Audio Forums http://www.teamrocs.com/caraudio/ teamROCS Car Audio News http://www.teamrocs.com/news/ "It's about the music, stupid" This post is Copyright (C) 2004. Reproduction of its content anywhere other than usenet without the express written permission of the author is forbidden. >> What ever happened to overdrive pulleys for alternators? I remember them being >> popular in the late 80's and early 90's. Were too many people throwing belts? [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >will sell you one, though its much less expensive to buy them at an >autoparts store. Hot rodders do pulley swaps all the time. Lizman, I looked at your other post regarding pullies, and you accidentally suggested the wrong pulley size to increase output. Installing a larger pulley on an alternator would underdrive it, reducing the output at idle. You made a good point though, that raising the engine's idle speed is the wrong way to go about increasing the alternator capacity at idle. I'd also add that while alternator pulleys of various sizes are available from a variety of sources, it's not always an easy at-home swap. Many alternator pullies are pressed onto the alternator shaft, and should be removed/replaced with a hydraulic press. Further, some alternator manufacturers recommend that the alternator case also be disassembled prior to removing or replacing a pressed-on pulley so as not to cause any damage. Scott Gardner |
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