02C32guy

Hi all, below is an excerpt from an email I received from HP Autowerks about my pulley that should be coming soon. Anybody have any experience with this? The email says, "in place of non slip groove cuts". I thought that was weird and have asked them if it's actually in addition to. Waiting to hear back.

"We want to mention that we are going to be offering a tungsten carbide coating option. The coating was designed by supercharged drag racers to decrease belt slip in a class that does not allow cog belt setups. We are told that there is no additional belt wear for daily driven cars. Carbinite racing is going to give us a few pulleys coated free of charge to try out. If you are interested in trying out the coating on your pulley, in place of non-slip groove cuts, please let us know. There would be a little bit additional delay for the coating. You can read about the coating at their website, www.carbiniteracing.com."

jturkel

interesting. i'm not familiar with this.

boohooramblers

Intriguing.
Do yourself a favor and be careful:

1. Ask HP Autowerks exactly who you are testing this pulley for.

2. Regarding the statement ....."There would be a little bit additional delay for the coating.....":
Ask for a definition of 'little bit', and get a defined time-frame for when the pulley will be in your hands (not shipped).
Make it perfectly clear that if the pulley doesn't arrive by a mutually agreed date, you want a refund.

3. Even though this carbite-coating hasn't been tested on the C32 pulleys before, that shouldn't preclude HP Autowerks (or whomever) from honoring any and all warranty if something goes wrong.
Ask HP Autowerks specific questions regarding liability if the pulley (and said coating) malfunctions and damages the motor and/or supercharger.

If you want to take the chance by installing an unproven piece of hardware on your car, by all means - I suppose that's how advances in performance are ultimately made.

However, just be perfectly aware of the consequences.

Forza1

The grooves in the pulley do nothing except keep the belt centered. You don't need the grooves at all because there's already a lip keeping it centered. I learned this when I machined my stock pulley.

As for the coating, I believe it works at the expense of eating through your belts faster. Think of it this way: There are two ways of preventing belt-slip(increased pressure(tighter belt) as in a belt-wrap kit or smaller belt. Or, by increasing the friction between the belt and pulley; in this case, the coefficient of friction of the pulley by use of tungsten carbide. This means the pulley will have higher friction and rubber is a soft material, you do the math on belt life. While you will go through belts quicker, I don't think that it will be of enough difference to matter(IE, 20-30k miles is still plenty long, especially if you're in a cold climate).

HTH.

02C32guy

Thanks for the tips. Definitely all good suggestions. Honestly, I was so excited just to get the pulley that i didn't even think of it damaging anything but the belt. HP got back to me really quickly and was more than happy to do it with or without the grooves. They are trying to eliminate the grooves altogether, but I kinda feel like it would be better with them. I drive a lot, but honestly I don't mind if there's a little more belt wear as long as I'm not changing it everyday. I'll definitely keep everyone informed.