Stillen pulley review

indyn · 11-09-2011, 12:49 PM

had the Stillen pulley installed to specs at a local dealership, right after the install found that the engine revs so freely and less lag and there some gains noticed right away. that was about 3 weeks ago.
Right now car sounds harsh in idling, and when I reverse. When driving above 4k rpm, before I was able to hear the exhaust tone more but now its more of the engine, its like when you're in the higher rpm range in first gear. Are others experiencing the same thing?

DJ-of-E · 11-09-2011, 03:08 PM

You do know if you make adjustments to the engine (like intake, exhaust, headers, etc), even pullies, you definitely need to get a "tune", right?

TopElement · 11-10-2011, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ-of-E

You do know if you make adjustments to the engine (like intake, exhaust, headers, etc), even pullies, you definitely need to get a "tune", right?

Pulley tune? Hardly worthwhile...

Nixlimited · 11-10-2011, 06:37 PM

^^^ yeah, I really don't think the accessories need to be tuned for new pulleys. I also think that "engine revs so freely and less lag" are placebo effects. Pulleys make very marginal differences.

nismodreamr · 11-11-2011, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nixlimited

^^^ yeah, I really don't think the accessories need to be tuned for new pulleys. I also think that "engine revs so freely and less lag" are placebo effects. Pulleys make very marginal differences.

Jordo! · 11-11-2011, 02:09 PM

You don't need a tune for the pulley.

You probably picked up 3-5 whp.

bigsix · 11-13-2011, 01:19 PM

Sometimes you'll hear noises that have actually always been there. . .

threeseventy · 11-13-2011, 01:30 PM

You probably have something that is coming loose and is unrelated to the pulley - it may be a side effect of mechanics touching your car. My Stillen UD pulley causes A/C drain to be less noticeable. I don't have robo-rev matching, but rev-matching on downshifts is perfect now due to the more responsive throttle. Tune generally adjusts engine for different airflow and fuel mix so if you've got those AND this definitely get a tune, but on its own this is a true bolt-on with instant benefits.

Jordo! · 11-13-2011, 07:17 PM

All the pulley does is reduce parasitic losses -- the pulley does nothing that requires a tune.

It's like trying to get a tune for a lighter set of wheels or tires... you may benefit from a tune, but the effect of the pulley is irrelevant to that.

Unique_Z · 11-14-2011, 02:23 AM

Heyy, i've got a question. my stillen pulley just arrived and can i use oem belts?

indyn · 11-14-2011, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by threeseventy

You probably have something that is coming loose and is unrelated to the pulley - it may be a side effect of mechanics touching your car. My Stillen UD pulley causes A/C drain to be less noticeable. I don't have robo-rev matching, but rev-matching on downshifts is perfect now due to the more responsive throttle. Tune generally adjusts engine for different airflow and fuel mix so if you've got those AND this definitely get a tune, but on its own this is a true bolt-on with instant benefits.

maybe and I did have it checked out but nothing could be found. Its how the car sounds now when its in the mid range rpm that concerns me, getting the pulley removed. From what I gather, this is because of damper missing in the pulley like the stock. There is some gain made with this mod but adding a damper will help.

However, no tune needed.

wstar · 11-14-2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iwan72

Heyy, i've got a question. my stillen pulley just arrived and can i use oem belts?

If you got the Lightweight one, you can use an OEM-sized belt (although the Gates K070810 belt that Stillen recommends is a good high-quality replacement). If you got the Underdrive pulley, you need a shorter belt. Again Stillen recommends a good Gates belt for that (K070776), and you can order the same Gates belts through local auto parts stores too usually (e.g. NAPA, Autozone, whatever).

Unique_Z · 11-14-2011, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wstar

If you got the Lightweight one, you can use an OEM-sized belt (although the Gates K070810 belt that Stillen recommends is a good high-quality replacement). If you got the Underdrive pulley, you need a shorter belt. Again Stillen recommends a good Gates belt for that (K070776), and you can order the same Gates belts through local auto parts stores too usually (e.g. NAPA, Autozone, whatever).

I bought the lightweight ones and not the Underdrive. so i guess i'll just use the oem's gates belt for the time being and later add on the stillen's gates belts as im tired of waiting for the parts to arrive! 2 weeks to get them shipped from US to Brunei LOL

fuct · 11-14-2011, 02:23 PM

i thought the issue revolved around the fact you are messing with the harmonic balance of the engine by lightening the pulley..... thus the rough idle and whatnot.

wstar · 11-14-2011, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fuct

i thought the issue revolved around the fact you are messing with the harmonic balance of the engine by lightening the pulley..... thus the rough idle and whatnot.

That's a whole other argument, which has been debated at length elsewhere on this and every other car forum on the planet, largely inconclusively. Given the evidence at hand for our cars, I'd say whether dropping one in is a good idea really depends on your situation. As a general guideline: if you have plans to go Forced Induction it's probably best to not mess with the pulley (SC pulley size needs adjusting, and SC/TC both are adding a lot of stress and doubt to the harmonics arguments, and at that power range the benefits get even more marginal), and if you want your mods to be easily removable it's probably best to not mess with the pulley either (the Al ones slowly weld onto the crankshaft). Enough of them have been (correctly installed) on NA engines for plenty of hard miles without incident though. If they were causing any serious mechanical balancing issues, we'd have seen destroyed crankshaft bearings by now.

11-09-2011, 12:49 PM	#1 (permalink)
indyn Base Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: farr north Posts: 241 Drives: 11 BMW 335i 6AT Rep Power: 14	Stillen pulley review had the Stillen pulley installed to specs at a local dealership, right after the install found that the engine revs so freely and less lag and there some gains noticed right away. that was about 3 weeks ago. Right now car sounds harsh in idling, and when I reverse. When driving above 4k rpm, before I was able to hear the exhaust tone more but now its more of the engine, its like when you're in the higher rpm range in first gear. Are others experiencing the same thing?

11-09-2011, 03:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
DJ-of-E Track Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Garden Grove, CA Posts: 676 Drives: 00 Toyota Celica 040 Rep Power: 15	You do know if you make adjustments to the engine (like intake, exhaust, headers, etc), even pullies, you definitely need to get a "tune", right? __________________

11-10-2011, 06:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
Nixlimited A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,235 Drives: 15 GT-R / 11 Prius Rep Power: 26	^^^ yeah, I really don't think the accessories need to be tuned for new pulleys. I also think that "engine revs so freely and less lag" are placebo effects. Pulleys make very marginal differences. __________________ Car Sold! Pleasure being a part of the Z community. New ride: 2015 GT-R - 647 WHP / 641 WTQ (e85) & 543 WHP / 519 WTQ (91)

11-11-2011, 02:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
Jordo! A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: nirvana Posts: 6,394 Drives: 2023 NATM Rep Power: 418	You don't need a tune for the pulley. You probably picked up 3-5 whp. __________________ Enjoy it. Destroy it.

11-13-2011, 01:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
threeseventy Track Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 600 Drives: Opinion Rep Power: 15	You probably have something that is coming loose and is unrelated to the pulley - it may be a side effect of mechanics touching your car. My Stillen UD pulley causes A/C drain to be less noticeable. I don't have robo-rev matching, but rev-matching on downshifts is perfect now due to the more responsive throttle. Tune generally adjusts engine for different airflow and fuel mix so if you've got those AND this definitely get a tune, but on its own this is a true bolt-on with instant benefits. Last edited by threeseventy; 11-13-2011 at 01:39 PM.

11-13-2011, 01:19 PM	#7 (permalink)
bigsix A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Thailand Posts: 2,227 Drives: Honda City/Mazda 2 Rep Power: 19	Sometimes you'll hear noises that have actually always been there. . .

11-13-2011, 07:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
Jordo! A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: nirvana Posts: 6,394 Drives: 2023 NATM Rep Power: 418	All the pulley does is reduce parasitic losses -- the pulley does nothing that requires a tune. It's like trying to get a tune for a lighter set of wheels or tires... you may benefit from a tune, but the effect of the pulley is irrelevant to that. GZ3 likes this. __________________ Enjoy it. Destroy it.

11-14-2011, 02:23 AM	#10 (permalink)
Unique_Z A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Brunei Posts: 1,515 Drives: 370Z, 180SX Rep Power: 17	Heyy, i've got a question. my stillen pulley just arrived and can i use oem belts? __________________ My Z Build UniqueZ

11-14-2011, 02:23 PM	#14 (permalink)
fuct A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2009 Location: Sugar Land Posts: 3,692 Drives: 97' Ranger :) Rep Power: 24	i thought the issue revolved around the fact you are messing with the harmonic balance of the engine by lightening the pulley..... thus the rough idle and whatnot.

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