Lightweight Pulley

[navylife59]

Will have to bestow technical advisor to your title.

[tristan_the_trout]

Unorthodox Racing makes one.. I'm gonna pick that up this week i think. I can get it for $149 from the same place i got the rest of my work done They said it's 2 pounds lighter than stock, which is NIIIICCE

[Jay666]

This is really late on this thread, but how did the Unorthodox Racing pully work out for you?

I am curious because I am interested in swapping out for a lightweight pully as well, but was initially warned/concerned about the whole balance thing, but have just spent about an hour researching the web and reading all the old threads on this discussion and I am opening up to the idea of trying this once my warranty is us (which is soon), but I am sort of confused honestly after reading all the threads going back and forth...

[navylife59]

Unless you forget to torque the crank pulley bolt, then you will have no problems. 3 years and have yet to hear of a failure or damage done by a LW pulley.

[Jay666]

Cool. Can you elaborate on what you mean by torqing it? May be a dumb question, but I am still learning. I think I know what you mean but I want to make sure.

Also, I have a few more questions:

I've searched and looked for all the brand names mentioned in this thread. Found the Unorthodox one, found the NST one, cannot find the ZPI one for sale anywhere (must in fact not be produced anymore as mentioned), and I also found one I had my eye one made by Agency.

The Unorthodox one is NOT anodized. The NST and Agency ones ARE anodized. I am familiar with Agency's name from other parts they make; is this considered a reputable brand as far as pulley's are concerned?

Also, there are pulley's sold as just the Crank Pulley, and there are sets as well (as noted with the NST). What is the advantage to having the Alt and WP pulley's and is this really necessary?

Lastly, is it ideal to install this when you are upgrading something else as well, or will it make a difference replacing the pulley alone? The reason I ask is because I had heard somewhere that if you get the TRD Supercharger, part of the kit includes a pulley that replaces the existing set. If I get an after marker Crank Pulley now for a quick and easy small HP gain, will this have to be removed when I eventually get the TRD Supercharger down the line, and/or will an aftermarket pulley effect my plan to get the TRD Supercharger in any way?

I don't want to waste my time looking into a pulley if I can't do this upgrade with the supercharger.

Sorry that was so long. I just spent over 2 hours doing some research and I have a lot of questions I guess.

[navylife59]

No worries mate. Asking questions is how ya learn....

Cool. Can you elaborate on what you mean by torqing it? May be a dumb question, but I am still learning. I think I know what you mean but I want to make sure.

Every bolt has a torque value, ie how much force is applied to the bolt/fastner to seat it (fasten) to the mating surface/thread. It amounts to the clamping force on the threads to resist loosing. If you apply 75 ft lbs of torque to a bolt or nut, then it will take 75 ft lbs of force to remove it (plus any friction between the mating surfaces and from corrosion)

Also, I have a few more questions:

I've searched and looked for all the brand names mentioned in this thread. Found the Unorthodox one, found the NST one, cannot find the ZPI one for sale anywhere (must in fact not be produced anymore as mentioned), and I also found one I had my eye one made by Agency.

ZPI is no longer in business. One of many fly-by-night businesses that failed for one reason or another, leaving many customers with egg on their face and money/product owed to them.

The Unorthodox one is NOT anodized. The NST and Agency ones ARE anodized. I am familiar with Agency's name from other parts they make; is this considered a reputable brand as far as pulley's are concerned?

Highly suggested to get one that is hard anodized. Without it, the pulley is prone to corrosion. People who live where the roads are frequently salted and along the coastal areas are more likely to suffer from corrosion. This corrosion can weaken the pulley which could cause failure.

Also, there are pulley's sold as just the Crank Pulley, and there are sets as well (as noted with the NST). What is the advantage to having the Alt and WP pulley's and is this really necessary?

Less weight mainly. Both of these pullies weigh alot, especially the alternator. They also look better than stock.

Lastly, is it ideal to install this when you are upgrading something else as well, or will it make a difference replacing the pulley alone? The reason I ask is because I had heard somewhere that if you get the TRD Supercharger, part of the kit includes a pulley that replaces the existing set. If I get an after marker Crank Pulley now for a quick and easy small HP gain, will this have to be removed when I eventually get the TRD Supercharger down the line, and/or will an aftermarket pulley effect my plan to get the TRD Supercharger in any way?

The TRD S/C comes with the S/C drive pulley and idler pulley/ies. What you may be refering to is the replacement crank pulley bolt. It is a stronger bolt to handle the added torsional stress added by driving the S/C.

Just adding a LW crank pulley to a bone stock engine will provide results that the butt dyno will notice. You will notice this mainly in the fact that you will peg the rev limit alot quicker than before.

I don't want to waste my time looking into a pulley if I can't do this upgrade with the supercharger.

Sorry that was so long. I just spent over 2 hours doing some research and I have a lot of questions I guess.

[Jay666]

Got ya.

One or two more questions:

Every bolt has a torque value, ie how much force is applied to the bolt/fastner to seat it (fasten) to the mating surface/thread. It amounts to the clamping force on the threads to resist loosing. If you apply 75 ft lbs of torque to a bolt or nut, then it will take 75 ft lbs of force to remove it (plus any friction between the mating surfaces and from corrosion)

Basically what you're saying is, you need to make sure that if you put replace the Crank Pulley, you need to put a good amount of torque on it to make sure it's on properly. Correct?

I imagine there is a special torqe wrench or something used to do this?

How much should be applied for the pulley?

The TRD S/C comes with the S/C drive pulley and idler pulley/ies. What you may be refering to is the replacement crank pulley bolt. It is a stronger bolt to handle the added torsional stress added by driving the S/C.

Just adding a LW crank pulley to a bone stock engine will provide results that the butt dyno will notice. You will notice this mainly in the fact that you will peg the rev limit alot quicker than before.

I actually talked to a guy at the Toyota dealer (who's helped me out a lot with my TC) more about this, and I think I get it now, between what he said and what you're saying. I think I initially misunderstood this process.

Basically, the SC merely CONNECTS to the pully system by virtue of the rod that runs off it or something to that effect, but DOES NOT eliminate or replace whatever existing pulley you have in place, correct?

So, if I got some pulleys now, I'm not going to have an issue if I get the SC later on?

Oh, and I think the LW pully's are also smaller, so they turn faster, correct? If that's the case and the SC is connected to the pully system, does that in effect actually increase the power of the SC if you have a LW pully system on it as well? Or am I crazy in using that logic?

[navylife59]

The only real problem with the pullies is the correct belt sizing and the fact the Dealer may not install the TRD unless it has all of the factory pullies.

LW pullies are the same diameter as the OEM. A smaller crank pulley will actually make the S/C pulley run slower, thus less power. People runa smaller pulley on the crank to shave a bit more weight and to slow the rotational mass down in the pulley drive system.

The torque value that you need on the crank bolt will be in the S/C instructions. If you over-torque the bolt, you risk stripping the threads.

[Jay666]

Good point about Toyota installing the SC if I have LW pullies. I'll have to inquire about that with them.

If I get a set of LW pullies that are OEM size and NOT a set that has a smaller Crank Pulley, then I should have no issues with belt size or power reduction with a SC then, correct?

Just want to be 100% sure I understand this so I don't &*%$ something up.

[navylife59]

Correct, same size pulley will be no problems. You can wait till S/C is installed and checks good (a few months) before you install your pullies. The swap over is fairly easy with the water pump pulley being the pain. The only change in belt size would be from a S/C pulley swap or if you run an over/under drive (offered from NST).

[Jay666]

Cool.

Do you think I would be better off waiting until after the SC is installed to get into lightweight pulleys?

[navylife59]

Yes, just to keep the Dealership off your back when you get the TRD installed. It is fairly simple to change back and forth, but you have to be careful not damage your crank oil seal.

[Jay666]

Will make note of that. It's all part of my master plan...

So, what are some steps to lightening up the car? I am eager to learn!

[navylife59]

Read this sticky here
http://www.club-tc.com/forums/suspen...2-tc-diet.html

[Jay666]

Great info. I've actually been thinking ahead already about CF hood and trunk.

[NorthernTC]

So is the conclusion to buy just a LW crank pulley but not the others? I've only heard good things about pulley's; so I am a little surprised that they can be so harmful to the engine.

[Jay666]

They aren't really a problem if done correctly and with a reputable brand. You just open yourself up to breaking your warranty with the dealer. And it's less complicated if you stick with the same size pulleys. Otherwise things get thrown out of whack.

Except for the S/C overdrive pulley. Changing to the smaller size pulley on that is not such a big deal because you can also get the correct belt from Non Stop Tuning. But you also break the warranty on the S/C if you do this LOL. There are ways around that though.

[navylife59]

You have to understand what an OEM crank pulley really is; a harmonic balancer aka Harmonic Dampener. Designed to balance the crankshaft, in concert with the flywheel to attenuate harmful harmonic frequencies caused by imbalanced loads on the rotating assembly. The pulley is usually two-piece cast connected together by a rubber grommet. Read more about this here.

With most engines you would soon cause severe damage to your motor by running a standard LW pulley. V-shaped and opposing cylinder motors have less torsional distortion due to the fact that the opposing firing cylinders counteract this harmonic energy somewhat, but not totally. Inline motors are more vulnerable compared to V and opposing cylinder motors because Inlines do not have this feature in their design. That is why most inline engines have either a balancing shaft or counter-rotating balancing shafts driven by the crank. In sink with the crankshaft's counterweights the counter-rotating balance shafts (like in our 2AZ-FE) acts like a gyro keeping the motor's entire balance in check.

You can benefit from LW alternator and water pump pullies too. They provide the same type of energy recovery, reduction in weight power by the rotating assembly. As far as LW crank pullies go on the 2AZ-FE motor; no undue engine wear or vibrations have been documented. Our engines are machined to tight tolerances and the balance shafts do a wonderful job at keeping the vibrations down. Fully-built motors should leave these shafts installed as the stock crank flexes w/o them.

[bwood87]

I will personally never buy a crank pulley again. This was an agency power L/W Crank Pulley that was stripped apart and cracked. The cracked pulley then tore apart my crank case oil seal so my engine was leaking lots of oil. Luckily I kept the stock pulley. I replaced the oil seal put the stock pulley on and it hasn't been a problem. Knowing that it was an aftermarket part that I put on that could have destroyed my engine and voided my warranty was too nerve-racking for me to risk something like that again.

[navylife59]

That suxx there bwood87. Suppose it could have been worse. Looks like Agency Power's LW pulley is on the crap list. What were you doing when it cracked? This appears to be the first failure of a LW crank pulley due to fatigue stress fracture that I have heard of. Of course, I don't know everything. I just may have to swap mine out for a racing dampner for my race motor.