[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Hmmm… I wonder what happens when I make a little swap…

Is it just me, or is it getting a little hot in here?

[SOCAL.M6.ZLE]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

So with work being too damn busy and life being crazy this last year, I haven’t gone racing at all. It’s literally been a full year since I’ve gone. But with only 2 private rentals left for the season, I blocked off some time for this Friday to get to the track. I’m sure I’ll be rusty as hell so I won’t expect any miracle runs but it would be nice to just have some fun. So I dug out the drag pack…literally dusting off cobwebs lol…and got them bolted up, tires aired up (why is it so hard to get ET Street front runner pressures WTF?!? I could find out Kim Jong’s nuclear codes with less searching!) and TPMS synced up. Just gotta check and air up the trailer tires and I’ll be ready for Friday morning. Fingers crossed!

Let the force be with you! Be safe out there!

[RobZL1]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

I normally predict carnage and that way when something doesn’t break I feel relieved… I like your thought process much better!

HA! Good luck at the track. Nice boost weather these days!

[Joshinator99]

So unfortunately while the new blower pulley is only .3” smaller than my usual one, even with the THPSI ZR1 tensioner, 10 rib belt, and griptec pulley, my car was having none of it. Instead of the expected 21-22 pounds of boost I got 15 +/- and a TON of belt dust (yes, the blower was spotless white when I left the house this morning!). Rather than push the car for no reason, I loaded up on the trailer and brought it home after two quick 1/8 mile only test runs.

Megahurtz had a great suggestion (as always) and recommended the DSX idler pulley relocation kit to greatly improve the belt wrap on my upper pulley. So I whipped out the credit card and another piece of the puzzle is on the way…hopefully I can get it installed before the track closes for the winter. I’ll give DSX credit: I placed the order at 4:21 PM and by 4:53 PM I had a tracking number… that’s good service! So fingers crossed that it arrives quickly and one of the 97 ten-rib belts I have laying around will fit…

[RobZL1]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

So unfortunately while the new blower pulley is only .3” smaller than my usual one, even with the THPSI ZR1 tensioner, 10 rib belt, and griptec pulley, my car was having none of it. Instead of the expected 21-22 pounds of boost I got 15 +/- and a TON of belt dust (yes, the blower was spotless white when I left the house this morning!). Rather than push the car for no reason, I loaded up on the trailer and brought it home after two quick 1/8 mile only test runs.

Megahurtz had a great suggestion (as always) and recommended the DSX idler pulley relocation kit to greatly improve the belt wrap on my upper pulley. So I whipped out the credit card and another piece of the puzzle is on the way…hopefully I can get it installed before the track closes for the winter. I’ll give DSX credit: I placed the order at 4:21 PM and by 4:53 PM I had a tracking number… that’s good service! So fingers crossed that it arrives quickly and one of the 97 ten-rib belts I have laying around will fit…

Well that was unexpected. Dang, man! Sorry it limited your fun today.

But hey, more parts always make it better.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by RobZL1

Well that was unexpected. Dang, man! Sorry it limited your fun today.

But hey, more parts always make it better.

For sure haha!

That definitely surprised me given that I haven’t had belt slip issues before. But looking at the DSX setup it looks to improve belt wrap significantly, so fingers crossed that does the trick.

Now to spend the morning cleaning my engine bay of vaporized blower belt dust…

[Joshinator99]

So after getting the DSX kit in, I put it all back together. Went to start the car, and the main accessory belt and blower belt got tangled together, shredding both. Sheesh…. So after picking belt pieces out of my engine compartment (again), I looked and sure enough the main belt tensioner (now 8+ years old even though it only has 14K miles) was puking oil. So, new belt tensioner, new accessory belt, and new green blower belt got ordered up. Then for fun I installed a new LT5 blower belt tensioner too since I had a spare on the shelf (I don’t trust GM…they could discontinue that tensioner at a moments notice). All back together and the belt systems are like new again. The DSX idler pulley relocation kit really improves belt wrap, so fingers crossed we can start seeing what this Whipple 3.0 can really do…!

[Katech_Mike]

If you aren't already, you need to be running the smallest(tightest) belt possible. If the tensioner isn't swung at minimum 75% of its travel than the belt is too long.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by Katech_Mike

If you aren't already, you need to be running the smallest(tightest) belt possible. If the tensioner isn't swung at minimum 75% of its travel than the belt is too long.

Thanks Mike! I actually, finally, am at where you suggest with the DSX kit and the newest green belt I just installed (Gates K100884HD). Up to this point, the belt was maybe 50% tight on the tensioner. So with the relocation kit and an 80% tight belt, I’m hoping I’m where I need to be.

FYI your port setup has been working beautifully on my Whipple so thanks as always for your help.

[Katech_Mike]

Originally Posted by Joshinator99

Thanks Mike! I actually, finally, am at where you suggest with the DSX kit and the newest green belt I just installed (Gates K100884HD). Up to this point, the belt was maybe 50% tight on the tensioner. So with the relocation kit and an 80% tight belt, I’m hoping I’m where I need to be.

FYI your port setup has been working beautifully on my Whipple so thanks as always for your help.

That's the problem with 10 rib setups. The belt sizes available to choose from are few are far between compared to an 8 rib. You have to get creative sometimes to get the tension required!

[Joshinator99]

So another trip back to the track, only this time I went to a new track at the prodding of my pal Stan. So this time I went to New England Dragway in Epping NH. Unfortunately despite the new DSX idler relocation kit, I’m STILL getting excessive belt slip!?! I managed a 9.2 at 152, and enough belt dust to skank up my air filter (that had less than 100 miles on it lol). My tensioner looks to be about 70% tight which I thought would work. Guess not.

So it looks like I have three choices:
1. Get a REALLY FRIGGIN TIGHT belt, which I’m not sure is the answer.
2. Get a bigger lower pulley, and then run a bigger upper griptec pulley that will have a good bit more belt contact
3. BOTH

Things are also a little funky with my fueling. Either my wideband is on the way out (possible since it’s 5 years old) or the port injectors don’t like how high my low side fuel pressure is (90-100 lbs since I used to run that DI only). So I’m going to dial that down quite a bit and see if anything changes.

It’s always something…! I realize this is a first-world problem as most people wouldn’t mind a 9.2 timeslip haha, but the name of the game is to get faster, so I’ll keep at it.

[Joshinator99]

So the UPS guy stopped by again and dropped off my new bigger lower pulley. At a whopping 10.3” it’s a massive pulley! I sent a pic to my brother who joked that it looked like the rim for a Honda Civic! Thanks to Gabe @ GMS and Grant @ THPSI for the great service as always.

So this coupled with a bigger 3.25” upper griptec should help reduce belt slip. Mike @ Katech warned me the belt selection on 10-rib isn’t great and not surprisingly, he was right. The belt I just ordered is probably going to be too short…guess we’ll find out.

[Joshinator99]

So after what seems like forever, I finally got the new pulley setup up and running. The new THPSI 10.3” (was 9.25”) lower is bolted on and ready to go. I upsized the blower pulley to 3.125” (from 2.85” where I was seeing belt slip) to match up the blower speed. Then the real fun happened as @Katech_Mike predicted. I couldn’t get a 10-rib belt to fit! I tried looking at a number of different belt manufacturers but it seems like there’s an absolute black hole in the 91” range where I needed to be. So after buying a couple of 10-rib belts that I thought could possibly work, I finally decided to widen my search to 12-rib belts! I found exactly what I needed for length so I ordered it up. I put a new blade in my utility knife, flipped the belt inside out, and carefully cut two ribs off! It went surprisingly well with the belt grooves keeping the knife in line as I made the cut. I put it all back together and took the car for 15-20 ride around town to make sure all was well.

Unfortunately that’s probably all I’ll get done for this year. I’m sure the roads will be getting salted in my neck of the woods any day now and that will mean no more driving. My Camaro has never seen snow, ice, or salt and that’s not about to change! And to boot, we just accepted an offer from a nice couple to buy our home! So we’ll be moving to Southern New Hampshire this January! The new home also has a garage with good potential so we’ll immediately get that pimped out like my current garage. I’ll definitely post up some progress pics!

[arpad_m]

Very resourceful redneck engineering on the 12-rib belt

I don't know how you guys stay sane up north, and now you're moving even further, oh well. There's only one more state to move to if you keep "creeping" north, then you'll be in Canada, which I'm sure is a non-starter... pardonnez-moi, être intenable

Kidding aside, I bet you'll enjoy transforming the new garage. Is it the same size or perhaps larger than your current one? I'd sure love to hear your plans and see some before and progress pics, exciting stuff.