Vafc: worth it?

aright im trying to think of the next mod for my car. i just bought a thermal RD exhaust and am more than satisfied with it. So i was thinking a vtec controller but ive heard from many that it doesn't actually do anythng for the car(perf.wise). my friend has a gsr civic w/ everything i have cept for pulleys and vafc. weird thing is though, his car 'seems' to pull much much harder when vtec hits. he credits this to his pulleys and vafc...any thoughts?

Simple, your friend has a pretty powerful engine in a light car. Put your engine in a civic and VTEC will feel more powerful.

Is your friend's VAFC dyno tuned? If not it's not doing jack but displaying some information. I properly tuned VAFC can add some good numbers across the powerband. The thing is you don't have enough done to your engine to warrent the need for dynotuning a VAFC yet. I would say get some more mods first, like an intake next.

And unless your friend has changed the crank pulley I doubt those are doing much. Of course if he did change that he's putting increased stress on the bearings due to the aftermarket pulley not being equipped with a harmonic dampner. So he's killing he's engines life.

Simple, your friend has a pretty powerful engine in a light car. Put your engine in a civic and VTEC will feel more powerful.

Is your friend's VAFC dyno tuned? If not it's not doing jack but displaying some information. I properly tuned VAFC can add some good numbers across the powerband. The thing is you don't have enough done to your engine to warrent the need for dynotuning a VAFC yet. I would say get some more mods first, like an intake next.

And unless your friend has changed the crank pulley I doubt those are doing much. Of course if he did change that he's putting increased stress on the bearings due to the aftermarket pulley not being equipped with a harmonic dampner. So he's killing he's engines life.

Couldn't have said it better myself. :thumbsup:

[QUOTE=Prelude707

And unless your friend has changed the crank pulley I doubt those are doing much. Of course if he did change that he's putting increased stress on the bearings due to the aftermarket pulley not being equipped with a harmonic dampner. So he's killing he's engines life.[/QUOTE]

so, is it a bad idea to get the UR pulley set? I hear they add alot of power but you just stated that they kill the life of your engine. also whats a harmonic dampner? it would be great to hear back from you b/c i am in the process of buying a U.R. pulley set. thanks

ps sorry for changing the subject of this post

I would suggest against buying the UR pulley set. Your money is best spent in other places. They can add good numbers if you change the crank pulley, it's up to you how long you want your engine to last. If you must have a pulley set I wouldn't get the crank pulley just alternator and power steering. But those will give you barely noticeable gains.

Not 100% on this but I believe a harmonic dampner is simply a rubber interior in your stock crank pulley. Your engine vibrates like crazy while in use what the rubber does is absorbs a lot of that vibration and stops the crank bearings from taking all the punishment. The thing is that rubber also adds weight, the UR set removes that.

I would suggest against buying the UR pulley set. Your money is best spent in other places. They can add good numbers if you change the crank pulley, it's up to you how long you want your engine to last. If you must have a pulley set I wouldn't get the crank pulley just alternator and power steering. But those will give you barely noticeable gains.

Not 100% on this but I believe a harmonic dampner is simply a rubber interior in your stock crank pulley. Your engine vibrates like crazy while in use what the rubber does is absorbs a lot of that vibration and stops the crank bearings from taking all the punishment. The thing is that rubber also adds weight, the UR set removes that.


Thanks for that much usefull info. I was going to get them, but now I think I'll stear clear of them and spend the $300 something on another part. Maybe a intake manifold ? (skunk 2 has a new one for the h22 hehe) well thanks