Unorthodox or Stillen Crank Pulley?
 

Hi guys,

I've seen many people go for the Stillen Lightweight Crank Pulley. I've noticed that the Unorthodox Pulley is lighter, claims more gains over the Stillen, and is also cheaper.

I'm referring to the STOCK diameter exclusively. Not interested in the underdrive.

Any reason to go one or the other..?? How about quality..??

Appreciate your comments!

I can't imagine there would be any "gain" attributed to a lighter pulley. Snappier response, sure, but actual gains? no...

Well, here's the link for the Stillen Pulley and the link for the Unorthodox Pulley is after. Aside from claiming a snappier response, which is true, Stillen claims up to 10 HP at the wheels and Unorthodox claims 10-14 HP increase.

STILLEN : STILLEN Performance Lightweight Pulleys

Unorthodox Racing

Again, I appreciate any comments! Thanks!

Does the stock crank pulley also act as a harmonic dampener? If it does then I would be hesitant to remove it. I'm sure it would have been cheaper for Nissan to use an aluminum pulley if there was no benefit from the steel one.

i have the UR pulley but its not installed, its just sitting in my garage. looks really pretty tho.

if its a cast steel pulley im sure its much cheaper than a cnc aluminum pulley of quality equal to aftermarket pieces.

It's cast steel. And according to some other threads it is not a harmonic balancer. It does look like one but I believe it was determined it is designed that way to actually isolate itself from the engine because it may not be balanced (the pulley).

I fine it very difficult to believe the above HP gains from these light weight pulleys.Has to be bogus numbers!I don't care who says what?

Yeah, gains based on underdriving components.

You're talking about keeping the OEM size. The only thing you'd gain is a touch snappier response, if it's even noticable...

Both companies offer very good options if you are interested in a stock diameter crank pulley. Both companies are also well known for excellent quality and customer service. The gains in throttle response would be very similar when using either pulley, so it really comes down to a preference of brand when considering these two pulleys.

Going with a stock diameter pulley should only be considered if you are using a supercharger kit that is driven by the crank pulley. Otherwise a properly designed underdrive kit would yield better gains, while keeping all your accessories functions within the correct specs. I'm sure you've seen our comprehensive thread, but in case you haven't...

http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...no-charts.html

And finally, if you are after a custom crank pulley... feel free to contact us at NST and we would be happy to build you a pulley of any size, almost any weight, almost any color, for almost any application, at a very reasonable price.

Good luck and have fun with all your projects!

:driving:

Hey, thanks for your post. I actually didn't know of the existence of this brand. I am new to the Z family, never had a sports car before. Went to the links provided and people seem to be very happy with your products and the items seem to be very high quality. Congratulations!

I do have a question though, I noticed that your crank pulley is 10% underdrive and the alternator pulley is 10% overdrive. What happens with the stock belts for the crank and the alternator..?? Do I need to change the belts for new ones or would I keep my stock belts in both cases..??

Appreciate your comments.

This is covered in other threads :)

true, but this is his thread

Yep.. good information here.. only one thing to note on the weights.. for a long time UR listed a higher weight until other pulleys came out, and theirs somehow became lighter all of a sudden.. I don't think I've seen anyone weigh them to see if the numbers stack up.

That being said, you definitely want to make sure you purchase a pulley like this from a reputable source, and definitely do not risk going cheap, especially eBay or some off brand.

These are extremely precision machined and balanced in the design, and not something you'd want to chance to the abilities of a potentially sub-par mfg.

In regards to the harmonic balancer debate, this has been discussed at length in other threads.. long and the short of it.. no the crank pulley on the VQ's is NOT a harmonic balancer, the engine is internally balanced.

But certain things are a must.. like a stainless steel ring to prevent wear, should have stock timing marks.. etc etc etc

http://www.stillen.com/misc/400338_s...ulley_370Z.jpg

http://www.stillen.com/misc/400370_s...70z_pulley.jpg

Thank you for the kind words, I appreciate them!

There is a ton of info regarding all common questions in the following thread...
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...no-charts.html

But I would be happy to answer your question here for you. Our Underdrive Crank Pulley slows your accessories, not too much to reduce any of their output but just enough to free up a bit of extra HP & TQ to send to the wheels, while our Overdrive Alternator Pulley insures that your alternator continues to charge your electrical system at the same speed as your OEM pulleys would... no slower, no faster. In short, you get the best of both worlds when using the NST Pulley Kit. In addition, both pulleys in the NST Kit are roughly 70% lighter than OEM, providing you with the best overall weight reduction possible.

Regarding the belt... We have been using the OEM belt with our test car since the original installation and have seen no signs of abnormal wear and tear. Some customers have stepped down to a slightly shorter belt for extra peace of mind, many others are using the OEM belt with great success. We recommend keeping the OEM belt and using it with the NST Kit if it is in good shape. If you have a high mileage car, we recommend using a new Gates belt.

Please feel free to give us a call or look for me on AIM if you have any questions. Alternatively, you can post in our comprehensive thread if you have any other questions regarding our pulley kit.

Thanks again, good luck and have fun with all your projects!

:tup::tup:

would you mind weighing your UR pulley? I'm sure with Josh's comment about UR not being truthful will want ppl to know the actual weight. thx

well i put it on my scale at home and it was too light to register. soo i weighed myself and then weighed myself holding the pulley and it was 1.1 lbs heavier. not scientific but that's the best i can do

pty370z -- just in case you haven't seen this thread yet -> http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...-dyno-vid.html

Nice review, thanks for the link..

So, are you using the stock belt or did you have to get a new one..??

It's an underdrive pulley. Different diameter. Different belt. The belt came with the pulley.

good enough for me. thx :tup:

Kinda reviving the thread here...

Quick, simple, and maybe stupid question...

If I replace my crank pulley with an OEM size lightweight pulley, can I keep my stock belt or is it advisable to get a new OEM size belt like Gates for example?

Thanks!

You can absolutely use your existing belt.. but they need replacing anyways, so a good opportunity to drop a high quality replacement on there.

For the month of April, we're throwing in either the smaller belt for undersized or OEM sized for standard sized pulleys as a special. Free Gates belt w/Pulley Purchase.. FYI

PM me if I can help..

Josh, can you clarify step 3 on your install instructions? What is "the one of the angle mark"?
"Place a paint mark on the crankshaft
pulley (a) aligned with the one of the
angle mark on the crankshaft bolt (b).
Tighten the bolt until it has turned 90
degrees and the next mark on the bolt is
aligned with your paint mark."