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REVIEW/INSTALL: Pumaspeed Racing uprated pulley

jeff

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#1
Hey folks,

I installed my pulley today and here are some thoughts.

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PRODUCT LINK
http://www.pumaspeed.co.uk/product-Pumaspeed-Racing-Fiesta-ST180-Uprated-Pulley_17810.jsp

When I ordered a week or so ago, there was no option for a larger belt, but I checked the link today and I see they have added it. Good job Pumaspeed. Last week I asked the Puma people and they said some were using a larger 1583mm belt but that the stock belt would work and it would stretch. However it will not stretch unless you roll the belt onto the pulley which I did not want to do. It would be extremely tight; even with the tensioner maxed out there is still several mm of room needed to stretch the belt on. Fortunately I thought of this in advance and ordered one, my buddy Daniel aka [MENTION=4142]SwAp GaS[/MENTION] scored me a larger Ford belt which fit perfectly. So make sure you get one. The one you want is pictured below, it is 1577mm, P/N JK6626. Not sure if that's the same thing Puma is offering as an add-on, they don't give a part number or size....but the one I got is perfecto.

BELT LINK
https://www.amazon.com/Motorcraft-JK6626-V-Belt/dp/B00J5BYKQK

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INSTALL
Not to difficult, there are a few things to consider but not bad. You'll need...
* pulley
* 1577mm belt JK6626
* flathead screwdriver
* 10mm ratcheting wrench
* 18mm wrench
* tensioner tool or make your own (not sure what the size was)
* pry bar

1. Get car in the air
2. Remove wheel
3. Using flathead screwdriver remove 2 bolts holding belt cover on (T25 I think but flathead was quicker), remove cover
4. Using 10mm wrench, loosen 4 bolts holding pulley just a bit...you can use the 18mm to turn the crank pulley as you go which will turn the water pump pulley you're replacing...this way the bolts are closer to you for easy access
5. Pull tensioner toward front of car, loosen belt from pulley of choice
6. Using 10mm wrench, remove 4 pulley bolts completely
7. Pulley will not come out, too little clearance, so say a curse word or make one up if you don't curse
8. Use pry bar on the bolt that holds the crank pulley in (easy to access spot) to pry engine a few mm to the driver's side of the car
9. At the same time you're doing #8, wiggle the pulley out the top - good luck doing this with one person, it is possible though, or there might be other ways to do this...
10. Now repeat step 8, install new pulley, tighten 4 bolts
11. Fit new belt loosely and make sure of correct route, pull tensioner again, slip new belt on, release tensioner, double check for correct placement on all pulleys
12. Double check that all 4 bolts are nice and tight
13. RE-install belt cover and wheel
14. Start car and make sure all is well and pulley isn't wobbly or wonky
15. Smile you are now finished good job

The only other thing I'd say about the install is that if you have solid mounts you're going to have to think of a strategy to loosen them or something because I don't think you can move the engine as needed in steps #7-10 if you have solid mounts (the two accessible from the engine bay). I have stock mounts with inserts so my engine moved no problem...

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PICTURES

Pic of email from Puma:


Here's the belt you need along with a pic of the pulley:


OEM pulley measured:


New pulley measured:


A tale of two pulleys:


Pulleys spooning:


Light shining on tensioner:


Pulley off:


Belt diagram, handy to have:


Installed:


This pic shows that there is margin on both sides:


*************
THOUGHTS ABOUT PUMASPEED
One thing I need to say here is that I'm slightly perturbed at Puma and here is why...along with my pulley I ordered 2 shirts. They sent me only one shirt, it was the wrong shirt and the wrong size. So I asked for the correct shirts, but instead they offered a refund. No problem, I can do without Puma shirts. But when they refunded me they only refunded me for the price of the shirts, not the shipping. Now, if you go into their order menu, each item you add adds shipping cost, and the shirts are a good portion of it because everything else I ordered was small but they had to send a bigger box to accommodate the shirt which should have been shirts. Naturally, I should be refunded the shipping required for the shirts, but they did not do that. I e-mailed them and requested for more of a refund and we will see what they say. If they do the right thing I will update here, otherwise I'm filing a claim with Paypal to get my shipping money refunded.

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IMPRESSIONS
I've only driven about 30 miles so I may have more thoughts to share later. But first thoughts are that this probably speeds up spool by maybe 10-15%. It's not like "OMFG MOAR POWER!!!!" or anything, but I do feel a small difference. I've done lightweight pulleys on other cars and there is a certain feeling it has with lightweight pulleys, I can't describe it but it's true. Torque-wise it feels like a high-flow panel filter was added or maybe like the A/C was on and then it was turned off and some power was freed up. Nothing crazy but it's a bit. Pretty much what I was expecting.

So it's not a must-do mod but for the price it's cheap and easy to install. If you're a casual modder, skip this one; if you're a purist or have money to burn, get one and feel good about yourself. I bet Pumaspeed will be releasing a whole series of pulleys in the future to build on the effects of this one. That's what the Honda/Acura/Subaru scene does, so I'm willing to bet we'll see more such products and eventually an entire set offered for one low price!!!!!!!

Anyhow that's it for this mod, hope this is helpful, I'll probably post more impressions in a week or two.

[thumb]
 


ron@whoosh

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#5
[MENTION=5976]ron@whoosh[/MENTION] thoughts? [grinking]
If I were testing a product that slows the water pump down:

1) log before and after coolant temps in similar conditions
2) actually weight the OEM pulley vs the new "light weight" pulley

It's advertised as the OEM weighing just over a 1 lb vs the new pulley dropping just about 1/2 lb but we know Jeff likes to verify things so I'm not sure why he didn't weigh it to confirm this.

The pulley going from 4.25" to 4.75" is approx a 10% over driven pulley as well which is missing from the data presented

I enjoy anodized neat parts like anyone else but I'm still not sure what this pulley will do other than make a Fiesta owner with an already taxed cooling system in hotter climates or summer months worry more. That is unless you upgrade to a larger capacity radiator and or uprated thermostat
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #6
Nice write-up and thoughts. Thanks for sharing so much information.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
Jeff is the man I don't care what anybody says.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk
Thanks for the kind words guys.

If I were testing a product that slows the water pump down:

1) log before and after coolant temps in similar conditions
2) actually weight the OEM pulley vs the new "light weight" pulley

It's advertised as the OEM weighing just over a 1 lb vs the new pulley dropping just about 1/2 lb but we know Jeff likes to verify things so I'm not sure why he didn't weigh it to confirm this.

The pulley going from 4.25" to 4.75" is approx a 10% over driven pulley as well which is missing from the data presented

I enjoy anodized neat parts like anyone else but I'm still not sure what this pulley will do other than make a Fiesta owner with an already taxed cooling system in hotter climates or summer months worry more. That is unless you upgrade to a larger capacity radiator and or uprated thermostat
Ron is absolutely right, if I were doing this properly I would have done more control testing. The truth is

(a) I've done pulleys in the past and had good results
(b) I trust Pumaspeed and thought about cooling/AC issues before install however I am going on good faith that they worked out the kinks here...I could be wrong and if I am I own it
(c) I am depending on my Accessport and have already been monitoring things...so far all temps are fine but I need to drive more, I've only put about 30 miles on it, probably less than that really
(d) If I don't like the long-term results I still have my stock pulley and belt, reversing this mod is easy it can be done in an hour

In terms of being overdriven that is covered on the Puma site, I didn't discuss it because it's assumed/inherent information.

In terms of weight again Ron is right, in retrospect I wish I'd have weighed it but didn't think to, I was just excited to install it, to me the research/purchase/install is just as much fun as the result. Plus honestly like I said in my review my whole approach to this mod has been kind of meh, I wasn't expecting much, I've been spending all my time working on my Honda lately, the Fiesta just sits there wishing I'd give it attention, meh I love the car but with all the rain and ice here lately I haven't driven it much in the last month because it's pointless and unenjoyable in the rain...that's what my beater Honda is for.

Maybe the next customer could weigh it for us?
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #7
Just did a video review, below.

Today I enjoyed driving my car around with the new pulley, drove a good bit. I checked oil and engine temps and everything is where it was before the pulley install. I won't try the A/C in the heat of summer till the heat of summer but I suspect it will be fine. If there are issues I'll report back then.

Referencing post #1, Puma did give me a small additional shipping refund, not what I was hoping for but I'm satisfied. I also inquired about further pulleys and they told me "nothing is cooking" though their website says that this pulley is the first of a new line of performance products for our cars, so we will see what comes next...

Enjoy the video!

[video=youtube;ttgg1ciM8wM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttgg1ciM8wM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 


danbfree

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#8
Just did a video review, below.

Today I enjoyed driving my car around with the new pulley, drove a good bit. I checked oil and engine temps and everything is where it was before the pulley install. I won't try the A/C in the heat of summer till the heat of summer but I suspect it will be fine. If there are issues I'll report back then.

Referencing post #1, Puma did give me a small additional shipping refund, not what I was hoping for but I'm satisfied. I also inquired about further pulleys and they told me "nothing is cooking" though their website says that this pulley is the first of a new line of performance products for our cars, so we will see what comes next...

Enjoy the video!

[video=youtube;ttgg1ciM8wM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttgg1ciM8wM&feature=youtu.be[/video]
Thanks man, awesome stuff! I don't think I'm going to bother with this one, like as you mention, with the turbo it won't make as much difference compared to like a high revving NA Honda... I know I had theories about how this might help with excessive instant torque on stock turbo but the new inlet solved that for me!
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #10
Thanks for the awesome write up Jeff as usual!

We have these on the site now including weight pictures.

http://pwnallperformance.com/Fiesta...a-ST180-Lightweight-Uprated-Pulley_p_130.html
Sure.

Tim's pics on his thread there confirm Puma's weight data is correct.

I've been watching my temps closely and it seems all is well. Coolant stays around 185 degrees when moving, a few more when parked/idling, I think we're all good, below is a screenshot from earlier this morning.

I'll also say this - I don't necessarily agree with the Cobb AP estimated HP/TQ numbers, so I'm not saying that is a reliable source of real info, but just out of curiosity I have been watching those parameters before and after the pulley install. The HP number is about the same but the TQ number has been reading slightly higher, like 8-10 TQ more. Used to always be in the 280s, now it's in the 290s. The picture below doesn't demonstrate that, that's just after one pull...I posted it to show temps. But after 20 minutes of aggressive driving the TQ usually reads in the 290s, whereas before the pulley I never saw it above the 280s. Again, not a source of real info but it is a way to establish a baseline before and after hardware/software upgrades.

They car dyno'd at 298/322 so these numbers aren't too exact but Cobb told me that would be the case with a turbo swap, the calibrations are set for a stock turbo setup only.

 


Se7eN

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#11
Sure.
They car dyno'd at 298/322 so these numbers aren't too exact but Cobb told me that would be the case with a turbo swap, the calibrations are set for a stock turbo setup only.
[/URL]
not only that, even a change in tire size throws the readings way off
 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #12
UPDATE

I'm cross posting this in another thread, why you will find out below...

Just a quick update on this mod...a few observations...

1, in the last few weeks I added (a) a symposer delete (b) the Whoosh charge pipe kit and (c) a Pumaspeed lightweight pulley...
2, before any of these mods the highest my Cobb AP HP estimate gave was 292...
3, since adding those mods I'm now hitting over 300 on the Cobb...

Point being: It seems very probably that either the pipe kit or the pulley or BOTH have added/freed a bit of power. Another theory I have is this - when I added the pipe kit I deleted the symposer. It is possible that there was a previously undiscovered minor boost leak which robbed power, as the symposer might not be able to handle all of this...and now that it's blocked off, no more leak, therefore more power. In any case it seems there is a small power increase since these 3 mods were recently done.

Don't concern yourself with the boost number, yes it's high for an X47 but it just peaks there, my tune keeps it right around 25.4. Also I have already taken into account the fact that it is colder, but it's no colder than when I hit 292 previously. Also no I don't bank on the AP as a reliable source of HP numbers, however I will say that before it read 292 and I dyno'd at 298 so it's pretty darn close. However the torque is off, says 280s and I hit 322 on dyno.

In any case, I'm going to a real dyno before long to see what the car is making so we will see...

 


OP
jeff

jeff

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Thread Starter #13
Quick update...I installed this in December, it's now July and the heat is real. 105 heat index! Coolant temps are still right where they should be which tells me that this pulley has no negative effect due to underdriving the water pump!

I've noticed my car has slightly higher dyno numbers than most X47s out there and I think the reason is a few little mods like this pulley that give it a little extra power/torque.

Took this pic today in the heat of the day, temps hang right around 200 with A/C on!!!

 


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#14
i would think we would want a smaller pulley not a bigger one. My car overheats from time to time (deal says its normal LOL). if i slow the water pump down more it would just get worse.
 




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