AEM Pulleys

[Oblivian]

What are thier pros/cons??

[HTRtech]

Originally Posted by Oblivian

What are thier pros/cons??

The pros... they look good, they say AEM, and they replace the stock.

The cons.... they cost money, they dont come with the underdrive (correct me if am wrong) there in not giving you any real help in getting the power to the ground.

Look at buying an underdrive pulley or a kit that comes with one. The extra money spent will leave you satisfied.

[Oblivian]

actually aem does have underdrive pulleys

[HTRtech]

Originally Posted by Oblivian

actually aem does have underdrive pulleys

Thanks, but i figured you were probably just talking about that little "kit" that only replaces the alternator, A/C, and Power steering pulleys (whatever). <not worth it.

But definitely check out the UNDERDRIVE pulley! it is a good investment.

[whtteg]

The crankshaft pulley is the one thing that has to be left stock!!!!!!!!!!! If you cahneg this pulley you will destroy the rotating assembly! The stock pulley has a harmonic balancer inside of it, this is what makes it heavy. But it is also what keeps torsional vibration down.

Do what you like but it will cause problems

[HTRtech]

Then I guess all the benefits I have found from having one are a myth and that all I have had is luck. Mine is Focuz, it is pretty sweet, and it has been on for thousands of miles now and has not done any damage from what me and my friends can tell and from what many respected mechanics around town can tell. Do what you will...

[whtteg]

Mybe this will help you see what I am talking about. http://www.fluidampr.com/problem.html

Also I have seen motors with less than 50K on them with horrible bearing wear, which was due to the aftermarket crankshaft pulley IMO. I know these people that this happened to and I know how they drive thier cars and how well they maintain them and it was by far not the driving or maintaince that was the cause. I will see if they still have any pics so that you can see. There are some after market companies that make some with a harmonic balancer in them that are underdriven but it really is not going to net you but maybe 4whp at most and cost too much for 4whp IMO.

[HTRtech]

Are we talking about V-8's that push a minimum of 300 lbs/ft of torque or are we talking about inline fours that have trouble pushing 150 lbs/ft of torque at the crank? A highly tuned, low range torque, rear wheel drive V-8 is one thing. And a inline four that is looking to get a hole shot is another.

I realize you are trying to save this guy from a fate worse than death but I can't see how purchasing a piece like this will not benefit him not only now but also in his long range goals. If he is indeed looking to get power down consistantly this will aid him well, but if that is really the issue he should check out alternative suspension and clutch assemblies for more effective power down strategies. Everyone know (or should know) that the real power is on the inside of the engine not in bolt ons. Hell if we all had an extra 600 hundred dollars laying around and it wasn't illegal we would all be throwing NOS on our cars any ways, but unfortunately it is only allowed on the track.

I would like to pose the question to Oblivian: What is your intention?

[whtteg]

What is on that site applies to all motors. well not rotary LOL. But still it applies to honda motors as well. Thinkabout it like this the motor is spun by the explosion in the combustiom chamber and this is not a sudden force that is applied but a very rapid force, but still it will cdause some torsional vibration on the crankshaft. Also as the rpm gets higher it can get worse. It is not as much of a impact on the crank as say a V8 etc but it is still there and it will increase bearing wear if not dampened. So when you remove the device that absorbs it then you are speeding up the main bearings wear rate. That is how I see it, there is a debate amoung alot of people about this subject and I think everybody will never agree, alot of people say that the small displacement motors do not need harmonic dampening. But look at it this way every small displacement motor from honda at least has a harmonic damper so I think that they know what they are doing, and they would not have put something like that on there unless it was needed. Also look at the B18C5 Honda wanted to free up as much power as they could, if this was a good way to free up power without causing problems don't you think they would have removed the harmonic damper from the B18C5's crank pulley?

[integralover]

wow, this debate has gotten really good. now, i thought that i know quite a bit about motors, but that is something new. i totally understand what whtteg is saying. all inlines no matter what give harmonic vibration. it seems to be nothing we can do except with the dampers. it might be less with a 4 cylinder as opposed to an 8 but, there is still the vibration. and besides, who wants to replace their main bearings? not me.

[HTRtech]

This option is not for power in the first place. It is one that is going to make the power you already have more effective. The idea that these companies just threw a "bigger lighter pulley" together with absolutely no engineering to back it up is a litttle absurd. The fact that you are taking out the hamoinc dampeners that apply to the engine/crankshaft as stock. If this is your first modifacation you might want to re think it, but this piece has never been a bolt-on that claims massive amounts of power gains but it will help the changes you have made work more effectively. The dampening on a Honda motor differs from that of amount on a V-8 though. In this case a honda motor really only has bad vibration in its main power band (of torque) which is still well above the band that the torsional vibration is at it worst/fatal in an inline four. I dont see the logic in the statement that t-vibes get worse while the engine is in high revolutions. I only see the use of a product like that prolonging the life and durability of an engine that has the ability to push some seriously high RPM ranges (stock in hondas case).

In regards to the ITR comment..... The Integra Type R enigine has a whole character of it own, just as the Civic Type R motor has it own (they are not your usual detuned USDM motor). The precision engineering on those engines is a force to be reckoned with but all we get that even resembles it is vtec. Something tells me the kid does not have one (ITR motor). He would not be too worried about lame bolt-ons, not that I have anything against them just take my advice now and dont waste your money. Some people do want to hear about bolt-ons though and know what they do in regards to power addition. They DON'T they are there to make your engine bay look pretty and should be the least of your worries when trying to make real power on a four cylinder. I will say that they do help your engine function more freely though but woth out the correct tuning they can tear your engine a new one. I was giving the kid some quality comments in regards to his question on "AEM PULLEYS." I do not recommend pulley kits only underdrive pulleys. I have had no mechanical probs and have felt and seen good response from it in regards to mine.

[00tegra]

on a prelude they give 7 hp to the wheels. i saw a deffinate (although small) increase. and the aem pullys come with the underdrive pully and the power steering, not the a/c