bad belts effect speed/HP????

do bad belts effect your speed or horsepower. cause mine are pretty damn bad as in they squeel and skreech like a mother. im asking this because before the belts were bad i beat my friends lincoln, when they started gettin bad we were neck n neck, and now that theyre bad he beat me pretty good. its my belts isnt it?

The only effect I can think of our belts having on power is if the alternater belt is slipping and your not getting the proper voltage/current to everything. I highly doubt that is the problem though.

i think i've got the alt problem. i'll be driving with the lights and the heat on (it's been cold!), and if i stop at a stop sign, and start back up again my heat and lights will dim and surge as more gas is applied.
do you think that's the problem?

yeah mine dim and surge too, my belts are pretty bad...definitely start w/ the belts, and if that doesn't fix it, then i'd start thinking alternator.

if its the alternator then ill be pissed because i just had that replaced about 2 months ago. do you know what kind of sound the alt. belt makes???

All belts squeal, it's annoying, just buy new belts.

Buy some type of capacitor in the short term, all carlights tend to dim from idle. I'm not sure what you mean by surge, does the idle surge? or what?

Also if it is your Alt. then I'd look through your electrical system for shorts and such, they can cause an Alt. to go bad even if it's just been replaced.

If your losing HP/Torque then I'd look at your fuel/spark system, it might be unrelated but if your not getting a good spark... who knows. zzz

If your belts are getting to the point of needing to be changed, then it is probable that the rest of the car could use a tuneup as well. While it is unlikely that the belts are causing your problems, it is probable that something else is getting to the point of needing to be changed/cleaned/etc.
Fuel filter, boost leak, plugs...

man i wish i could have a boost leak. what kind plugs/wires would you recommend to get?

Do you have a vr4 or NA, and do you have mods?
I always suggest NGK plugs, whether you go copper or platinum or iridium is up to you. If you want more info on the pros and cons of each, let me know. But unless you have a vr4 with the boost turned up, I'd say any of those 3 would work fine.
Pretty much any wires on 3si's mod guide or on 3sx are good.

i have a NA and i'm bone stock. sounds like im gonna hafta change the plugs and wires. i've been trying to mod this stupid car but every time i'm set on buying a mod then another thing goes wrong with the car and i have to fix it. i'm very close to saying screw it and keeping it stock because i dont know if its worth it anymore

i mean that when i'm driving my heater and lights are going strong, but when i stop going and my engine is at lower rpms, they dim. when the idle increase they go back to full power.

i put new plugs and wires in a few months ago, but might need a new fuel filter (any symptoms to look for). for that matter, is changing it out something i can do myeslf fairly quickly and easily?

another thing, the check engine light came on on the way to work today, and went back off after a minute or so. it did it twice in the past, but as it hasn't happened since i didn't think mutch of it. i'd probably better just take the whole dam thing in to get it checked out :(

ok i had a breakthrough. well not really because i dont know what this means but here it goes. i was sitting in my car just about to leave, had the windows down, the belts were silent, so i rev to 6k.....no squeeling belts, hooray, zippidy doo da, im happy. well i get curious and i turn the AC/heat on, belts start squeeling without any rev. turn it off, no squeel, turn it on squeel again. so now i know its not my timing belt......i think. is it my AC belt or whatever? i wouldn't know im not too familiar with my car yet i dont know all the odds and ends quite yet. so what does my boring story mean? any advice?

i dont know what the AC belt is all connected to but it sounds like it could be the bearings in the alt./ac copmpressor...but if you turn the heat on and it still makes the sounds then that wouldnt be the AC compressor, because your heat doesnt run off that. i still say alt belt or alt. bearings because when you turn on an accessory item (ie: heat/AC) it puts more stress on the alternator which in result will put more stress on the pulley/belt. i would start with changing the belts...because i am almost positive that is the problem.

the reason it may be the bearings in one of the systems running off of a drive belt is if a belt is too tight or too loose causing unneeded pressure on the belt or unneeded movement...this will cause the pulley to vibrate or not circulate in its correct pattern which will cause bearings to break down quicker. but that is very unusual...

it probably is my alt. belt because i had my alt. replaced and the morons at the shop probably screwed up.