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What are your thoughts on putting a lightweight crank pulley onto a stock EJ22t? (not underdriven) My concern is that by having stock internals, as opposed to balanced, I might run the risk of damping issues.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Thanks

I've had one on my car for almost 4 years without any problems.

I voted yes, however, I would leave the pully stock and go with a lightweight flywheel.

I had a 1lb Perrin for a while and I loved it till my woodruff key gave way and broke the main bolt. But that was no fault of the Perrin pulley. I took it off, JB Welded a new key in and put on the stock pulley. No problems with it a year later now. The Perrin pulley was stolen a short time later...bastards.

Arctic Assassian wrote:I voted yes, however, I would leave the pully stock and go with a lightweight flywheel.

(its an auto)

mattyg41383 wrote:

Arctic Assassian wrote:I voted yes, however, I would leave the pully stock and go with a lightweight flywheel.

(its an auto)

Then definitely get it.

I appreciate the input. When I get out of work, I'll dig around this site to see what brands people are using. Any quick suggestions on who makes a quality one, and possibly who to stay away from? Money isnt really a big deal, I'm trying to not cut any corners on this project of mine.

Story Time:
The body on my SS was beat up quite badly, and has major rust issues, oh and the chassis is tweaked... thanks to the young gal that owned it prior to me. My plan from jump street was to get that car and then use it as a donor. So here we are 1.5 years later and I've got myself a solid, $120, '97 Impreza coupe with a smoked engine. I've got quite the pile of parts sitting in the shop just itching to go in. I'm right about at $4,000 including both cars and the gang of parts... seems like a reasonable price for the expected output.

- EJ22t, tranny, rear end from the SS
- KYB AGX all around
- EBC sport rotors + Green Stuff pads (from the SS)
- FMIC, BOV, MBC
- Custom 3" turbo back, w/cat (magnaflow and dynomax)
- P&P'd TD04
- GReddy eManage Ultimate piggy back
- Innovate Wideband O2 kit
- 2bar MAP
- 2 gauge A-pillar pod
- more assorted nic nacs

Round 2 (probably in the summer)
- DOHC head swap (already have em, just gotta knife them)
- Cams
- Big time Fuel system work
- Pistons
- Bigger turbo.

I know, I know... I was hesitant to go over to the dark side (impreza-land) But it wouldnt have been fiscally smart to do all the body work needed to save the Legacy.

Sounds like a fun build.

For the crank pulley, I recommend Perrin. It's a bit pricey but it's quality and money well spent.

Bad idea for longevity and definitely a waste of money. HP/dollar is crazy high. Money better off spent in 20 other places. All IMHO, of course.

Smart = buying new factory crank pulley if you want something to change and find (non-existant) horsepower somewhere else.

Brat,
I was actually expecting more "no's" on this topic. Your comments are duely noted.

I am a yes vote on the matter. I have the unorthodox racing underdrive pulley and it did make a difference. Install was easy and it looks alot better besides. The only real concern some people seem to have about these is the lack of the harmonic balancer when you do this. What I have read is the Subaru doesn't use a harmonic balancer and this makes sense. Harmonic balancers are needed on long cranks to damp out the harmonics that get going. The longer the crank the more they are needed. Our Subarus have a short and stout crank, therefore no need of a harmonic balancer.

The thread I read I believe was on nasioc and people were useing the Honda engines propensity for damage when putting a lightweight pulley on to say it is a bad thing. It came down to being bad on a Honda, but ok on a Subaru.

My only question is if an inline 4 cyl. Honda needs one because of it's engine type then why don't all the inline 4 cyl. motorcycles that turn way more rpm need one?

Jeff

Subaru engines are balanced because of their layout, so they don't have pullies with harmonic balancers in them. The pulley on a Subaru is heavy, 6lbs or such, but it's homoogenous.

A lightweight pulley should work just fine on any flat-engined Subaru and not cause any bearing issues or excessive wear because of its weight.

As for why inline-four motorcycles don't need a pulley, I don't know. It's possible that it's because they have a counterweight at the other end of the crankshaft, the side opposite of the chain sprocket.

Just a guess on that.

Another reason could be that the rotating mass on a one-liter superbike engine is much less than that of a car, motorcycles are "over square" and don't have long stroke movement, and that the balance is less of an issue when the engine revs at such a high speed.

I'm not necessarily looking for extra horsepower, per se. I'm more interested in a quicker response from the engine. I've spent a decent amount of money on parts to get some additional HP, I'm looking for something that will be a good complement to those parts.

Because you have that torque converter on the other end, you wont have much throttle response. the pully will help some, but I would get a full underdrive set, not just a lightweight, stock size pully, and eliminate A/C.

Arctic Assassian wrote:Because you have that torque converter on the other end, you wont have much throttle response. the pully will help some, but I would get a full underdrive set, not just a lightweight, stock size pully, and eliminate A/C.

After all that money a 5 speed could be in. That would increase responsiveness 200% right there...

Honestly, doing all that stuff is just typically asking for various problems. Instead of something subjective, like responsiveness, why not go for more reliable horsepower? What does a 'responsive' engine attached to an automatic help anyways? And I'm not hating on autos. But if the engine responds and the TCU does not, there doesn't seem to be any net benefit.

A LW pulley will help on an auto.....the comments here are mostly opinion....but that is also my opinion.

Both AT & MT cars have their advantages. You can brake torque an AT, and get a pretty damn good launch. Compare that with a MT, the AT will probably have a better "out of the start" acceleration, but the MT will probably catch up because it's not losing power through fluid in the AT.

You can sit here and go back and forth all day on the issue.

Regarding the pulley, yes you can put it on, and no you shouldn't have any issues. I ran one on my car since 98 or so.

I had a Perrin Pulley on my Impreza since I bought it in '03 with no issues.
I plan on putting a pulley on the SS sooner or later - but I'm LAZY.

The stock pulley looks like its made of 3 layers (metal, strip of rubber, metal), but is not like any Harmonic Damper I've ever seen.

Here's my deal: I happen to like autos. I grew up at the dragway and 95% of legit drag cars use autos. I plan on running my car, as I have done with all my other ones. I like the launch and consistancy of an auto. ( "if you wanted a drag car, you shouldnt have bought a subaru" - I love subarus and a love legal drag racing... end.)

I hope that didnt sound douchey, just putting my thoughts out there. All input is appreciated, and I'd like this to be a good reference thread for others who may be thinking about doing it.

+1 on autos & consistancy!

The latest Old school project by my friends is a 2JZ Turbo Supra powered TE72 Toyota Corolla.

Owner says his goal is 9 second 1/4 miles, but I think hes just saying that as he has

GT42 Turbo
Headers
4"exhaust
Big Plenum intake
90mm t-body
Microtech ECU

& plans on using a powerglide tranny!

mattyg41383 wrote:Here's my deal: I happen to like autos. I grew up at the dragway and 95% of legit drag cars use autos. I plan on running my car, as I have done with all my other ones. I like the launch and consistancy of an auto. ( "if you wanted a drag car, you shouldnt have bought a subaru" - I love subarus and a love legal drag racing... end.)

I hope that didnt sound douchey, just putting my thoughts out there. All input is appreciated, and I'd like this to be a good reference thread for others who may be thinking about doing it.

Ok, that helps a bunch. Yeah, dragracing is definitely owned by automatics for consistency and to hold super high horsepower, nothing wrong with that. Most people like the lighter components because of the "feel" of the engine as it accelerates and decelerates quicker. But if you are dragging, it's simple. Borrow a pulley (or possibly just take it off) and see how much difference it makes. Once you see how much money you'll spend to get .xxx off your time you will know if its worth spending or just spending somewhere else. I think you can infer from my previous posts what you will probably find.

i got snaked on the sale... so it looks like im not getting one ....yet

not trying to bring back a dead thread, but can I get a LW pulley from any subie?

I would think so, i had and Agency Powe lightweight pulley from an 04 sti for a few years and had no problems... removed it when i got a lw flywheel tho. as long as it's not an underdrive ulley you should be ok all the way up to like 05+ sti/wrx

I personally think the pulley size never changed betweenthe years but i could be wrong.

Should all be the same.

Underdrive is ok too just so you know. I have had mine for a couple of years with no problem. They also make more horsepower than just a lightweight one.

Jeff