84 notch supercharged 1uzfe stage 2 drift build (page 3)

Whats up guys! much needed update..ive been super super busy since drift/race has started but I did manage to get the car done just in time. The first start went well she fired right up, I had some supercharger belt alignment issues and later a no boost issue which was just because my pulley was too big. Either way both were an easy fix..a shim behind the pulley and a reduction in size got me up to 5 psi. The air fuel ratios under boost are 11.5-12 and the transition into boost is smooth with the blow through mass air flow. First gear is useless, second gear spins till redline and third gear I can hit rev limiter in mid drift..the extra power is awesome! Ive brought the car to two drift events already and have been getting huge angle with the new front suspension setup, lock to lock is effortless with the new caster setting too. I only have one major thing to address and that's the supercharger belt. After constantly hitting rev limiter at high underhood temps the belt just shreds one rib off at a time. Im thinking it just needs to be tighter..also I killed my fuel pump with the FMU pushing it up to 100psi so ive recently installed a bosch 44 which is holding up well. Before bringing it out for the year I added a couple final touches to the car, I bought a Takata Drift 2 4 point harness and a Sparco 215 steering wheel which really changed the feel and steering input. Check out the pics from the last couple events and go to the video section were ill be posting a link to my bio as a drifter for Clubloose North!

I am VERY happy to hear that your bearing replacement was a success. Did you go with just your single custom drain or did you run a T line up to a secondary drain higher on the case as a backup? Either way keep watching the seal around the input shaft and the big O-ring for signs of leaking. If it is building oil pressure in the blower case those will be your indicators.

there are a few ways you may be able to increase your belt life. The first you already addressed is alignment. Get it as strait as you can. A long strait edge pressed against the face of the pulley is far more accurate than trying to line it up with your eyes. As you noted making sure the belt is tightened properly makes a big difference too. It is fairly easy to calculate using the strand deflection formula. A little Bing-Fu and you will get the information you need. They make fancy belt tension gauges but we just use a fish scale hooked to a graduated piece of bar stock. Once you have the pounds/distance numbers calculated just hook the midpoint of the belt and tug (example: 1/8" of belt deflection requires a 10 pound pull). If the distance/strength required is out of spec, adjust and try again (if you don't have a spring tensioner). Keep in mind that belts actually stretch a lot, particularly in the first hour of use. Far more than you think they would. A belt that was properly tensioned at 12 pounds when you first put it on could easily be 8 pounds or less after your first run. Spring tensioners will absorb this but if you are running a manually adjusted tensioner for the blower you will want to recheck the belt tension between runs if the belt is new.

There are a couple of other things you can try too. You want to try to maximize the amount of wrap the belt has on each pulley to maximize the belt/pulley contact. First identify which pulley (hopefully it is only one) that the slippage is occurring on. Odds are it is the supercharger pulley but it could be something else. The area around the pulley will start to build up a coating of belt dust and the pulley itself may start to show signs of rubber buildup in the groves. Maximizing wrap around that pulley can make a huge difference. Either moving an existing idler or having one at both ends of a long run can make all the difference. If I remember right you are using the engine's stock tensioner and the kit you bought has an idler on the long run out to the supercharger pulley. I mention this because it looks like a long run on the slack side of the supercharger pulley. The longer the run the more the slack side will be able to "flap". A spring tensioner on that slack side eliminates the belts ability to loosen itself momentarily, particularly during moments of on/off throttle modulation.

I have never tried two spring tensioners so you would be treading new ground if you add one while already using the factory one on the engine. Companies like Gates make a staggering assortment of tensioners that can be purchased with various grooved, smooth and shouldered pulleys. We have had both CarQuest and Advanced order them for us in the past. Most of them are fairly cheap. You could even just use one of their pulleys with the bearings pre-pressed as another stationary idler or manually adjustable tensioner. If you decide to add a idler or tensioner keep this resource in mind. It beats waiting for a machine shop to fabricate a new more expensive pulley that you still need to add bearings to. It makes the option of running a separate belt a lot more realistic as well if you decide to go that route.

When you reduced the size of your pulley to increase boost you also likely reduced the length of belt you should be using. If it is too long the spring tensioner may not be able to maintain the proper tension. Make sure you have adjusted your belt length accordingly. That may be the entire issue itself.

Hopefully something in that helps. Keep up the awesome work and living the dream. So much WIN!

<EDIT>
I found the earlier pulley picture that refreshed my memory. Unless your supercharger pulley is tiny now you should have good wrap. I'll leave all of my gibberish on the topic in the post for future reference though.