another belt bites the dust

D

DeFormula

Club Member
Does every supercharger in the world eat belts? I got the supposed king of the C5 kits for reliability, and it's broken 3 belts in less than 2000 miles. It doesn't chuck them, they just go "pow" and break. And you cant fix it on the roadside, it has to be jacked up.

I think my new motto is...if you can't afford a turbo, stick with NA. I am really p/o'd at my SC right now. Or, "a slow car is better than a broke car". I really like my '97 Plymouth minivan right now. It has never left me stranded on the edge of the road.

Rant off.
 
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DeFormula said:
Does every supercharger in the world eat belts? I got the supposed king of the C5 kits for reliability, and it's broken 3 belts in less than 2000 miles. It doesn't chuck them, they just go "pow" and break. And you cant fix it on the roadside, it has to be jacked up.

I think my new motto is...if you can't afford a turbo, stick with NA. I am really p/o'd at my SC right now. Or, "a slow car is better than a broke car". I really like my '97 Plymouth minivan right now. It has never left me stranded on the edge of the road.

Rant off.
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I went through a summer of a belt allmost everyday I tried to make boost with my car last year. I was running an 8 rib setup but I was also tring to make 20+psi with a t trim. With a low boost combo that you have it should live for quite some time, I would expect to change a belt a year. Pulley mis-alignment can actualy brake a belt clean off. I would be willing to take a look at the car to see if I can help you out, I think it can be fixed.
 
GPowrie said:
I went through a summer of a belt allmost everyday I tried to make boost with my car last year. I was running an 8 rib setup but I was also tring to make 20+psi with a t trim. With a low boost combo that you have it should live for quite some time, I would expect to change a belt a year. Pulley mis-alignment can actualy brake a belt clean off. I would be willing to take a look at the car to see if I can help you out, I think it can be fixed.
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Thanks Greg for the offer. There are a couple of things we're going to try and if they don't work I'll get in touch with you. Supposedly these setups are rock solid and many have run them for years with zero issues. Dr. Phil says he is pretty sure I have the wrong pully/clutch on the alternater (manual trans type). That may be the sole culprit.
 
I had one of the first d1sc kits on my 2002 vette and never had a problem with the belt for 20k miles. But maybe yours is a different setup. Good luck.
 
riche said:
I had one of the first d1sc kits on my 2002 vette and never had a problem with the belt for 20k miles. But maybe yours is a different setup. Good luck.
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Thanks. This is the ECS Paxton kit, supposedly the most reliable centri on the market. I think once we get this figured out I'll be golden (I hope). It is probably because I have a manual alternator on an auto car. And I have no idea why. This has been an auto car since day one. I suppose maybe it was replaced with an incorrect unit before I got the car or was wrong from the factory (?)
 
I have a different paxton than you, but I have never had a belt pop... maybe the blower pulley isn't lined up right with the rest of the pulleys?
 
Sorry, I don't know what HTD stands for. It is a 6 rib serpentine that runs everything. I do not believe there are any alignment issues, no real indication of that. Belts snap, they don't get chucked or shred. All indications so far point to the incorrect (manual tranny) alternator. I believe it does not respond to shifts as quickly as the automatic alternator and some trustworthy, experienced folks have seen this scenario snap belts, just like mine is doing. I will post what the deal is once (if) we get it ironed out. If it takes too long I'll convert to NA.
 
Not in detail, but Phil did and said it is the manual tranny one. I trust him. He said his ZO6 did the same thing. It was a manual converted to auto and had the same alt / pulley as mine. All the guys we know of with this kit that have the correct alternator / pulley are not having issues.
 
I would find a way to measure the tensioner travel. Sounds to me as if the tensioner is allowing the belt to slack up to much.
 
Sean said:
I would find a way to measure the tensioner travel. Sounds to me as if the tensioner is allowing the belt to slack up to much.
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Yes, we talked about this because it always happens under full throttle shortly after shifting into second gear. Definitley will be checked out. Thanks Sean.
 
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