Originally Posted by
bbsrt6
Thanks for the input guys. I didn't know it took 25 miles or so for the ecu to notice the change. I thought the gains would be instant and yea i haven't went WOT since I put it on. I went 3/4 throttle at one point but it felt like it was pulling just as hard as it always does. I'm waiting till I install the pulley saver kit before I go WOT, since I've read about the belt slipping issues at high rpms and also wanted the gap to set in before really getting into the throttle. I just thought the pulley added a lot of low-mid range power, so was expecting to feel a significant difference without having to really step on the gas.
If the new pulley is as good as the OEM pulley you would only need to set it once to the correct gap. The reason being that there are stops on the pulley and the springs pull the clutch plate back against them every time. If the after market pulley has the gap get less and less after use then the so called springs are not doing there job. In this case the clutch plate could end up rubbing on the SC and squealing and getting hot, this will cause terminal damage to the parts in contact with one another, see Red Dogs problems in an earlier post. $$$$
The shims are needed because of an accumulation of manufacturing tolerances on the pulley and the SC.
The clutch plate must pull back against the stops, otherwise the springs are not really springs and will fail some time in the future, they have already done that on some cars
One pulley supplier says that the adjustment has to be made a few times before it is finally set. I would not use one of these pulleys as the springs will be prone to early failure. The set up should be like the OEM pulley and not in any other way at all.
I said some years ago springs would fail but few listened, we will have more. At least install the scatter shield by Late Model, you may save yourself some money. OEM springs have failed, so the after market ones are bound to fail as well.