Usage Concerns
Poorly designed pulleys can have severe side effects because of too much underdrive of the alternator, power steering, and/or air conditioning units, which are not spinning fast enough. These lead to dips in alternator voltage, power assist, and air conditioning effectiveness that may be noticeable, especially at idle. The headlights may dim when coming to a stop, or the stereo may lower in volume, for instance. Too much underdrive for a race car is not much of a concern, but for a daily driven vehicle it can lead to inconvenience for the driver.
Changing the original crankshaft pulley can have negative effects if the replacement pulley is not manufactured properly. A crankshaft or accessory pulley that is not machined or balanced properly can cause severe damage. For most American V8s a harmonic damper is necessary to absorb crankshaft vibrations. Earlier V8's kept the pulley and damper as separate components. Most late model V8s now integrate the damper and the pulley into one part. In general, for small displacement engines (4.0L and under) the original crankshaft pulley only serves to quiet noise vibration and harshness (NVH) heard in the occupant compartment.
Read more about this topic: Underdrive Pulleys
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