Choosing the right performance pulley kit depends on the intended use of the vehicle. For street vehicles, reducing load capacity may not be ideal, while off-road or competition vehicles benefit from increased horsepower. It’s important to identify the necessary performance and choose a kit with cast or forged aluminum pulleys. Extra deep grooves prevent belts from slipping off at high speeds. Incorrect installation could result in legal consequences.
In order to choose the best performance pulley kit for your vehicle, you have a few decisions to make. The most important decision is the intended use of the vehicle. For any vehicle that will be driven on the street, a performance pulley kit that reduces the load capacity of the vehicle may not be a good choice. This can also be a factor to consider when slowing down the engine’s water pump, which could lead to overheating. For an off-road or competition vehicle, these are usually not factors in the decision. For these types of vehicles, the amount of speed reduced at the engine accessory level can often be a function of increased horsepower.
A performance pulley kit consists of different sized engine accessory drive pulleys that actually slow the accessories down compared to the original manufacturer supplied drive pulleys. By slowing the driving speed of accessories, engine power is increased, often greatly, giving the vehicle better performance. However, it is necessary to identify the amount of performance needed before purchasing the performance pulley kit. Some pulley kits also remove air conditioning compressors, power steering pumps, and smog pumps. Attempting to install the wrong kit on a car driven down the street could create a potential illegal vehicle and result in tickets, fines, and the restriction of the vehicle on public streets.
The type of kit to purchase is the next area of consideration. Inexpensive kits are often sold with lightweight stamped steel pulleys. These pulleys are fine for a low performance vehicle that will see minimal use; however, for any high-performance vehicle that will see more than occasional use, you want to choose a kit that includes cast or forged aluminum pulleys. These performance pulley kit parts often give less wobble and also withstand higher engine speeds without breaking or bursting under stress.
For an engine that requires the traditional V-belt, a performance pulley kit with extra deep grooves will help prevent belts from slipping off the pulley due to high engine speed. A shallow V-groove will often allow the belt to ride up and off the pulleys when at high speed. Modern performance pulley kit components designed to work with a single serpentine belt are also available with slightly raised edges to prevent the belt from coming off at high speeds.
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