I just got a 3 piece March pulley kit from Summit Racing today. I live 30 minutes away from the Akron, Ohio retail store so I stop in frequently to check out the scratch and dent sale items. For those of you who don't know, Summit always has tables set up in the back of the store in which they sell parts that have been opened and returned from other customers or as the name implies parts that have minor scratches or dents in them that the store sells at discounted prices. I have got some great buys on these items over the years...got my TBI edelbrock intake for 150 dollars and one of my World Heads (fully assembled) for $199 bucks...both parts were store demo parts and in fine condition...just didn't come with the boxes.

As I stated above my newest find at the store was a march pulley set including the waterpump, alternator and crank pulley which I purchased for the amazing price of 75 bucks!! I think the retail price is 170 dollars so I didn't want to pass them up. I have done little research on March pulleys and was just wondering for those of you who had them installed in your car how big of a difference they really make opposed to the stock pulleys. I was just on March.com and they are claiming upwards on 12 rwhp from the kit I bought. Sound reasonable to you guys????

 

i did this on my car about a month or so ago. i dont know if it really did free up the 12hp they claim but i did notice a nice gain in my top end that was lacking before. it wasnt anything major, but it doesnt seem to be as dead as it used to be up top and actually feels like it pulls past about 3500rpm.

 

hey 86firebird350,
did you have any problems with the charging system so far? i read that some people using 3pcs underdrive sets including alternator pulley on street cars were having problems..

nice catch there, Shakermaker05, congrats i'm just thinkin whether to get one of these as well for my L03.
so let us know once you have the parts slapped on

greetz

 

Ok, thanks 86 Firebird for the imput. I was kinda thinking the 12 horspower that march was claiming came from a bigger cubed small block like a 350 or up. I figured the 305 would see a more modest gain. It's great to know that it will pull like that on the top end, though. Kind of a no lose situation for me me at the price I got them for cos they're gonna look so sweet in the bay so the performance is just icing on top of the cake!! I will let you know how it runs OWNOR!!

 

i got the power and amp series because i didnt want to have to deal with the charging issues that seem to come with the performance series. when its at its lowest, which is with all my accessories on (lights, radio, wipers, a/c) sitting in traffic, it will sit at about 12-12.5 volts but no lower.

i now have dual fans wired in place of the stock single fan and they pull a bit more voltage and now sitting in traffic with the accessories on it may dip to 11.5 volts, so its really not that bad. cruising around it will stay right at about 13.5 volts.

 

Im not too sure, but I dont really think the pullys would add alot of power on most stock engines because we just dont spin them high enough. If we were pushing 6,000 rpm then maybe they would be a good deal but as far as I know weight reduction in the rotating assembly only makes a diff above 6k. Just like a identical profile with flat tappet and roller tappet only pay off above 6k (however most roller cams can add more lift so they usually pay off anyways) and full roller rockers make the pay off...you guessed it...above 6k.

wow...sorry I think I just kinda jacked your thread...guess I just had to say it. :shrug:

 

I got mine last year but I got the power and cooling series so I get the pwoer drain at idle. I plan on getting a larger alt though soon.

 

That's OK F-body demon, if I would've payed full price expecting alot of HP I'd be a little ticked off, but for under 100 bucks I think they're worth it for the visual impact alone so any little performance gain is awesome. This charging issue you guys are talking about has me a little concerned though. This may be a stupid question, but will an optima battery be of any remedy to this?? I just bought one this past winter and it's supposed to give alot more juice under load than ordinary battery's... If the battery is not a remedy, will the charging issue be so bad I'll have to buy a new alternator??