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piggyback underdrive pulleys

  • Thread starter Thread starter bigjock
  • Start date Start date Feb 16, 2012
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bigjock

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#1
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • #1
I heard that piggyback underdrive pulleys are crap. Can someone explain to me why? I heard it gives problem with AC,Coolant and battery. True?

I was trying to buy this since they are cheap.
http://www.americanmuscle.com/stack-racing-pulleys-cobra.html

Will they be BETTER than stock ones?
 

wmburns

SN Certified Technician
Aug 14, 2009
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Feb 16, 2012
#2
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • #2
The piggy back style is more likely to cause problems with the quality of the CKP signal. This causes random misfires.

The Steeda UD are generally acepted to be the best. Remember, often in life you get what you pay for.
 
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fshawn50

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Feb 16, 2012
#3
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • #3
The Steeda's are the best way to go. They have perfected the underdrive Pullies for the modulars
You would rather spend a couple extra $ an not have to fix something major with the cheapies? I sold my TrickFlow's before I even attempted to put them on an got the Steedas.
 

evolucion311

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Feb 16, 2012
#4
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • #4
+1 on Steeda. 40k miles on mine no problems. Do it right or don't bother.
 

Gearbanger 101

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#5
  • Feb 16, 2012
  • #5
I've got the Summit ones. Exact same as the Steeda's at about half the price. Had em for about 3-years on my F150 now. No issues.

...no improvement either.
 
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trombonedemon

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Feb 17, 2012
#6
  • Feb 17, 2012
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Gearbanger 101 said:
...no improvement either.
Click to expand...
Took the words out my mouth!
 
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bigjock

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#7
  • Feb 17, 2012
  • #7
Will underdrive pulleys give me horse power or no results?
 

Gearbanger 101

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#8
  • Feb 17, 2012
  • #8
bigjock said:
Will underdrive pulleys give me horse power or no results?
Click to expand...

Only horsepower you can measure on the dyno. Nothing you'll ever actually feel.

I had to run pulleys, electric fan and electric water pump on my F150 to notice any difference....and even then it was slight. I did pick up about 2mpg, but it’ll take me years to offset the cost of the parts in fuel savings.

Keep in mind though...my truck weighs near 6,000lbs. I'm sure the gains would be more apparent on a Mustang weighing nearly half as much!
 

fshawn50

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Feb 18, 2012
#9
  • Feb 18, 2012
  • #9
Dear "GearBanger 101" your comparing apples to oranges.
Were talking about a MUSTANG? Not a beefy heavy sluggish F-150? Of course all you will see is 2mpg as your "performance gain".
Glad you noted it yourself. If you want a performance gain in ya truck swap cams. That's all that's goin ta make that slug perform better?
And so you know the "Summit" Pullies an the Steedas are not the same. Especially the dampened ones. Don't know If you got that info off summits site? They are generic knockoffs.
 
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bigjock

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Feb 20, 2012
#10
  • Feb 20, 2012
  • #10
Thanks guys ill save some money for steeda pulleys.
 

Gearbanger 101

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#11
  • Feb 22, 2012
  • #11
fshawn50 said:
Dear "GearBanger 101" your comparing apples to oranges.
Were talking about a MUSTANG? Not a beefy heavy sluggish F-150? Of course all you will see is 2mpg as your "performance gain".
Glad you noted it yourself. If you want a performance gain in ya truck swap cams. That's all that's goin ta make that slug perform better?
And so you know the "Summit" Pullies an the Steedas are not the same. Especially the dampened ones. Don't know If you got that info off summits site? They are generic knockoffs.
Click to expand...

Dear fshawn50,

Thanks, but this isn’t my first barbeque!!! Also, thank you for stating the obvious…and basically regurgitating what I already said. Yes, I realize my F150 is a tank and as you see above, I did explain that they gains I made were proportional to vehicles weight. Regardless, as a cheap a mod as underdrive pulleys are…you certainly get what you pay for. The 2mpg I gained with my F150 was with a combination of pulleys, electric fan and electric water pump and as good as anyone would see with pulleys alone in a Mustang. Yes, pulleys do reduce some of the parasitic drag of the accessories and do free up a few horsepower, but they’re not miracle workers. Gains are minimal no matter what vehicle you’ve got them on.

And if you think I’m unimpressed now with the performance gains of a pair of $150 underdrive pulleys, just imagine how disappointed I would be if I took your advice and dropped $1,000 on a set of cams and the required tune to make them run for all of 20hp. No….if I really want to make this “slug” perform, I’ll install the Roushcharger I’ve got sitting on my shelf in the garage that I bought this fall.

....at which point this thing still won’t be as fast as my stock Mustang....but then again my Mustang won't haul my snowmobile, while pulling a 12,000lb trailer either.

And don’t be so quick to bag on the generic pulleys. The Steeda’s are certainly nice, but the Summit ones are built from the same materials, to the same SFI 18.1 approval specs as the more expensive Steeda’s. The proof is in the pudding. I’ve had them on the truck for 4-years and over 70,000km now. Not a single issue. This is my 4th vehicle with underdrive pulleys now BTW. Results are the same for all. Minimal investment, minimal gains.
 

fshawn50

Member
Apr 4, 2007
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Feb 22, 2012
#12
  • Feb 22, 2012
  • #12
Well of course your not goin to get gains like a head swap or cam swap duuu?
An I like how you address me by my name. Keep doing that.
An the only pudding I see proof in is a muddy chocolatie. Kind from a slow a** f150?

Pullies can be made out of all types of materials? Duu
It's the crank Pullies that are important? Whether they are balanced/ dampened or just a cheap knockoff ? TrickFlow a well developed company use to have there U/D Pullies an they were junk example not balanced an dampened? NOW they offer them they realized the Pullies were causing engine knocks out of balance issues? An I'm goin to leave it.at that. I could cut an paste all the proof I need off.there own website so you could read for.yourself? But sounds like you would have sum discrepancy on the matter regardless?
 

Gearbanger 101

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Feb 22, 2012
#13
  • Feb 22, 2012
  • #13
fshawn50 said:
Well of course your not goin to get gains like a head swap or cam swap duuu?
An I like how you address me by my name. Keep doing that.
An the only pudding I see proof in is a muddy chocolatie. Kind from a slow a** f150?

Pullies can be made out of all types of materials? Duu
It's the crank Pullies that are important? Whether they are balanced/ dampened or just a cheap knockoff ? TrickFlow a well developed company use to have there U/D Pullies an they were junk example not balanced an dampened? NOW they offer them they realized the Pullies were causing engine knocks out of balance issues? An I'm goin to leave it.at that. I could cut an paste all the proof I need off.there own website so you could read for.yourself? But sounds like you would have sum discrepancy on the matter regardless?
Click to expand...


The only discrepancy I'm having at the moment, is trying to make heads or tails of what you’re saying? Beyond the obvious insults directed towards myself and my confirmed “slow assed truck”, all I'm seeing from you is a mish-mash jumble of senseless banter and poor grammar. If you're feeling inclined to cut and paste something, try cutting and pasting your reply into an online spell-checker program before you consider posting again.
 
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trombonedemon

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Feb 22, 2012
#14
  • Feb 22, 2012
  • #14
Gearbanger 101 said:
The only discrepancy I'm having at the moment, is trying to make heads or tails of what you’re saying? Beyond the obvious insults directed towards myself and my confirmed “slow assed truck”, all I'm seeing from you is a mish-mash jumble of senseless banter and poor grammar. If you're feeling inclined to cut and paste something, try cutting and pasting your reply into an online spell-checker program before you consider posting again.
Click to expand...

 

bhuff30

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Dec 11, 2001
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Feb 22, 2012
#15
  • Feb 22, 2012
  • #15
I have a set of piggy back pullies on my GT and they are working well so far. I got them for free from a j-yard short block I bought. It seems like there are slight gains in the upper rpms... you know, the portion where you should have shifted about 500-1000rpm earlier for ideal performance.

I think piggy back pullies get a bad rap because people run them without actually bolting the stock damper on. The damper is required to dampen the vibrations going to the crank and thus the snout mounted oil pump. Those who choose to run without the damper often limit the life of the oil pump, which destroys and engine very quickly when they stop working.
 
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GtVert_00

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#16
  • Feb 23, 2012
  • #16
i've actually had the stack racing ones on my gt for about a year now, replacing the whole setup with a non-piggyback set due to worries in the future ( main bearing wear due to the added weight on the harmonic balancer) but they worked just fine only adjustment I made was upgrading the hardwear that came with the kit.
 
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