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correct belt tension for supercharger

S

svtfixer

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Feb 13, 2008
Messages
697
Location
Yonkers, NY
anyone have any insight onto getting the correct belt tension for a supercharger driven car?

blower pulley is under driven as well as the crank. i want to have an actual concrete number to know where i am at.

i went down in belt sizes by a few notches with the theory if i am taking a half inch off the pulley i should decrease the belt length by the same.

surface contact is another factor to consider i am not sure if it outweighs the tension tho.

i need some sort of tension meter. does anyone use one? help a brother out?
 
Why do you ask? Is it slipping? The stock tensioner is what would be setting your belt tension. A shorter/longer belt isn't really going to change the tension because the tensioner will just move one way or the other as long as it's still within the range the tensioner can move. Find a belt that keeps the tensioner in the center of it's movement range and you should be fine. If the tensioner is worn out then get a new one. You can't add any more tension than that stock tensioner can give you unless the brackets for the supercharger allow you to adjust the pulley to take up more slack.
 
yeah im definately getting slippage. the engine makes torque and when i put the pedal down more than slightly it slips. yeah the book says tension adjusts automatic and mentions no real range of tension. i was looking to get a little more scientific with it than shooting random theories out.

i actually started modding the bracket to do just that. i need to measure in stead of guessing whether moving the pulley back an inch or so is more beneficial or just increasing the size of the idler pulley itself. i know i am dealing with tension and surface area problems alike.

again currently, asp underive crank poulley and underdriven blower pulley down to the 2.67 one.
 
Is your tensioner the original one that came on the engine? If so it may be time to change it. That could be part of the problem as Blackcoog mentioned.
 
i replaced it. the belt does sit in the middle of the throw of it. i did notice the same thing that he mentioned. theres not much range on the thing. its driving me nuts. goes from reliable to extremely tempermental.

what is everyone using to monitor fuel pressure? i am wondering what that is doing when this thing is lurching.
 
this thing is going to have more gauges than the freaking space shuttle. i already have to race 6 hondas on the way down the street. good thing im winning.
 
Changing pulley sizes won't help unless you increased the supercharger pulley to get more belt touching it (less boost). If you increase the pulley size you'll just push the tensioner past it's range and you wouldn't be able to get the belt on. I'd get a goodyear gatorback belt. They are usually less prone to slipping. You can try belt dressing (glue in a spray can) which you spray on the belt. It gets messy though and wears off.
 
yeah i understand. i tried the belt dressing. im not sure it does anything. not even long enough to test drive it. burns off pretty quick.

i will pop the larger pulley back on and see what comes of it.

im looking to monitor my fuel pressure during the bucking/slipping . air fuel definately is doing something weird but could be because of the slipping. i am about to get a ford racing gauge and hook that up. anyone else have gone that far to minitor the fuel pressure? words of wisdom?
 
Is their a way to add an idler so that the belt wraps around more of the SC pulley? Im sorry Im not familiar with this setup, but I do know more surface area by wrapping the belt around the pulley will help with slipping.
 
svtfixer said:
this thing is going to have more gauges than the freaking space shuttle.
Click to expand...

really?

DSC_0158.jpg




anyway, on the fuel pressure i only know of one person who has had a fuel pressure guage. It was mounted on the cowl along with a mechanical oil pressure guage. I would guess it was plumbed to the schreader valve on the fuel rail.
 
starship brapple. i have a mechanical but theres digital that works with a sender. that may be easier because you can send a wire rather than a braided line. what brand gauges did you get just autometer? they make those ford racing gauges anyways that are a pretty penny. nobody is using anything like a diablo trinity? those things are bad ass just dont have our processor codes supported.
 
svtfixer said:
what is everyone using to monitor fuel pressure? i am wondering what that is doing when this thing is lurching.
Click to expand...

Wideband AFR and then if you see it start to run lean you can hook up your xcal or whatever you use for datalogging and see what's actually going on. When I got my Cougar the previous owner just had boost and fuel pressure gauges. I'm going to be running boost, wideband AFR and oil pressure.

Are you using the POS FMU booster pump setup or have you upgraded the in-tank pump?

EDIT: With regards to the belt slipping, you do have the secondary idler that comes as part of the vortech kit correct? When I got mine because it was installed on an 01-02 the timing cover/belt routing is different so the previous owner didn't have that secondary idler assembly installed. Fortunately it was in one of the boxes of parts I got with the car. :)
 
yep. im working on the tune. air fuel is getting there but this is some kind of spike and i cant find it. my fuel trims are good its not an air leak. theyre close to perfect. i do want to get rid of the booster pump it doesnt make any sense to me but i am trying to get as close to the vortech installation instructions as possible. i feel like the spike/slip whatever it is could be momentary fuel pressure drop related to the booster pump. not that its kicking in and out but that its like pumping air or something to the rail. it worked okay once for me. i replaced it with a new one and it hasnt worked well for me since.

yeah there are 2 idlers, the regular tensioner and the vortech idler. i played around with moving the positioning of the vortech idler and that did change how it reacted somewhat. i moved it up so it basically wrapped around the blower pulley more than half of pulley was wrapped. not sure how it changed the tension. i just got this gates kricket tension meter so i can start measuring hopefully. i think the next thing im gonna do is dump the stupid inline booster pump. i have a 255 in tank but i feel like it doesnt work as well as the stock pump. it doesnt get to the bottom of the tank as well. i have to keep like a quarter of a tank w the fuel sloshing around in there to keep it under the level of fuel so i can be sure theres no spike as a result.
 
svtfixer said:
that change holder is worthless anyways. what is your gauge layout? i cant read em.
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I am using autometer guages

pillar pod
A/F with LC-1
Oil Pressure
Voltage

center console
EGT
Oil Temp
Water Temp

Change holder is my boost guage.

and the turbo timer is below the clock, which also displays voltage, A/F and O2 sensor voltage from one of the upstream sensors.
 
i keep adding all these gauges from the engine bay. where do you have these ran into the passenger compartment? you use an in tank 255 pump? curious.
 
took the booster pump out. have the 255 in tank and it is delivering pressure pretty smooth. i didnt get any spikes yet. havent tested it too hard yet tho. i want more boost. i think im gonna take the supercharger out to have it rebuilt. cant be slipping this much. vortech botched the last rebuild.
 
currently running on motor. runs much smoother.think its time for a compressor rebuild. i am not seeing the boost i should. it also idles like crap with it on compared to na. my fuel trims are pretty damn close to 1 and i checked for leaks everywhere else. i am thinking its leaking internally.

what is everyones reccomendations on pcv/valve cover venting for forced induction on a 3.0? i have read some contradictory ideas about how it should be set up or at least i read it that way. the 2.5 recirculates both breathers. the sc i think vents 1. what about 3.0 and suoercharged?
 
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