[andries]

When I have been in idle at a stop light or just in the drive-thru I have noticed that the heater puts out less air, and the lights dim a little bit...nothing major, but is this maybe due to undersized pulleys, or is this a normal 4.6L v8 issue on 95's...I bought this car used, don't know if previous owners may have messed with anything...thoughts?

 

[JonnyReb]

This is because of the pulleys.
I had it happen in my Neon.
I installed a volt meter and watched it dance to the bass at stoplights

 

[cjchevez]

I have had no issues with the UD pulleys .

 

[Hollywood Ed]

Underdrives slow down the alternator, power steering pump, A/C compressor, and the water pump. Translated, the belt spins slower. This is not noticable at about 1000 RPM's and up and frees up horsepower when you stomp down the pedal on the right. The down side is things are sluggish at an idle. The second downside is your case and everyone else with u pullies , the alternator will put out 14V at 1000 RPM or more, but at idle it will not , then your car is asking the battery to make up the difference. Trouble is your battery can only supply 12V. The end result is the your battery goes dead in the course of 1 year instead of 3 or 4 years trying to put out 14V, all depending on how much time your car idles. And of course the lights dim. Everything in the car is designed for 14V. 12V output as per the battery is only for starting the car, not for running a nuclear power plant. Mods are designed for racing applications. Get prepared for a battery. Ask a nascar driver how well his a/c, head lights and stereo are working.

 

[andries]

Underdrives slow down the alternator, power steering pump, A/C compressor, and the water pump. Translated, the belt spins slower. This is not noticable at about 1000 RPM's and up and frees up horsepower when you stomp down the pedal on the right. The down side is things are sluggish at an idle. The second downside is your case and everyone else with u pullies , the alternator will put out 14V at 1000 RPM or more, but at idle it will not , then your car is asking the battery to make up the difference. Trouble is your battery can only supply 12V. The end result is the your battery goes dead in the course of 1 year instead of 3 or 4 years trying to put out 14V, all depending on how much time your car idles. And of course the lights dim. Everything in the car is designed for 14V. 12V output as per the battery is only for starting the car, not for running a nuclear power plant. Mods are designed for racing applications. Get prepared for a battery. Ask a nascar driver how well his a/c, head lights and stereo are working.

Great...love to hear someone modded the pullies..and put under-drives on.....is there a good solution with keeping the pullies on as is and getting a better battery...like an optima or a new alternator?

 

[Hollywood Ed]

I also have a stereo system, not huge but does draw additional power. My previous battery pooped out in 1-1/2 years, I then put another one in, and of coarse it went bye bye in one year, which was 3 weeks ago. They refunded my money 100% and now I am the proud owner of a $200 optima yellow top. It caims to be the world's gift to the battery industry. We will see about all that. The u/d pullies have been on for years. I recently installed the electric water pump which bypasses the mechanical drag of a regular water pump, promoting 10-15 HP but I can not feel the seat of the pants improvement with the u/d installed. I think the answer is to not use the u/d pullies because they slow down the belt too much, mainly because the crank pulley is so small. Go straight for the electric pump which will free up the 10 HP, the belt will spin faster and make the u/d's no longer needed.