Hi all - i've just finished installing my v2 sc kit onto my maxima. Thoroughly happy about the performance, but came home tonight and have found that it has shredded the belt on one side - the outer side of the belt (towards the supercharger). Is this a common thing because I sure as hell hope it doesnt go through a belt a day!! I hear belt shredding is common in v2 kits, so how do I stop this from happening? Also - it was only shredded on one side - so does this mean a pulley is out or something?

The belt seems to be going over the other accessory pulleys not square on - like its off centre. Any ideas? Cheers guys...

 

Is the pulley new? I had the same problem with my kit and when I looked there was a nick in the pulley on that same side. Also, get the Lexus metal pulley. That will help a lot.

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=402394

 

matty's v1 conversion kit is the way to go

 

Thanks for the replies and yes - I have a Lexus metal pulley The kit I got was second hand and was missing a few bolts. It was missing the two standoff bolts and a bolt required for bolting the plate and tensioner pulley to the block. Essentially 3/12 bolts are not installed on my kit - do you think this could cause issues?

Also - what is the recommended belt tightness. I did mine up quite tight as I could see that the belt got close to touching when it comes up and down from the charger. Close as in probably under a cm of room. I did it up tight enough that when flexing the belt 90 degrees it was difficult. I guess to stop it from touching you would need to tighten the **** like crazy?

One thing which surprises me is the charger seems to be out of alignment with the other pulleys. Is this normal?

Yes - the v1 conversion is definitely something I will do given time. For the mean time I just want to get my V2 plate going!

 

If the blower pulley is out of alignment with the other pulleys, then that would definitely cause the belt to shift one way or the other, resulting in a shredded belt. You need to do what you can to rectify that situation, maybe by shimming the pulleys or the blower.

Also, it sounds like the belt may be too tight. Optimal tightness is just tight enough not to slip at full boost. A belt that is too tight reduces belt and accessory bearing life, puts bending loads on pulley shafts, and can even cause crankshaft failure eventually (although I've never heard of that happening to a VQ engine, to be honest). The best way to determine optimal tightness is to get it reasonably (but not too) tight, then take it out on the road and see if you can make full boost. If boost pressure suddenly drops off after hitting a maximum value and you aren't at rev limit yet, then the belt is slipping. Tighten the adjuster another half turn and try again.

 

The bolts can be causing the belt to be out of line. Try installing those and like Stephen said, make sure the belt isn't too tight.

 

i spent more time then it was worth to try and get the v2 plate to work its not worth it but do what you want

 

Don't always blame the v2 plate... I've had mine for ~6 years and never shredded a belt. But then again I bought my kit new with the only changes (related to belt) being ASP steel pullies and 3.12". Make sure you have all the bolts on and correct tension. Yes the pulleys are not normally on one "plane" so the belt is skewed slightly.

 

V2 belt shredding is common and aggravating, but also easily fixed for $6.95 (plus $3 shipping). This is what you need:
http://www.928motorsports.com/parts/spacers.php

 

Mike beat me too it but I was going to say that Mike (mhadford) figured out a fairly simple/inexpensive way of solving shredding issues.

I agree, don't be so quick to blame the V2 plate.

I am of the strong opinion that it has a lot to do with adjuster pulley "operator error". The reason less V1 people have trouble with shredding belts is solely because they don't have to mess with the adjuster pulley (V1 plate uses stock pulley). The V2 plate replaces the stock adjuster pulley, and that's totally fine, it's just that you have to be very careful putting it back together in the correct order. Not to make any of us here sound stupid or incompetent, but the order does have to be perfect, and it can be easy to mess up if you are in a hurry. What is the order? Let's see....
From back to front: stock adjuster bolt, Stillen adjuster plate (ensure the stock adjuster bolt square portion fits in the adjuster plate track squarely), stock washer, stock adjuster rod (ensure it is rotated the correct way), Stillen pulley wheel spacer, Stillen pulley (with side rails) wheel (graphics side out) with metal insert (should already be inserted ahead of time), stock washer, stock nut (tighten after the belt tension is set via the adjuster rod from above engine).

I'll give you an example. I have had my SC since '02. I had it on my '96, now my '99. In 6 years I have shredded one belt. Reason? I'm embarrassed to say, but it does make the point. I forgot to tighten the adjuster pulley nut. Before that and since that time, no problems. Just go slow and make sure your tensioner pulley and belt tension are good and there is no reason you can't keep your V2 plate.

jordan, If you use a plumb bob dropped from the SC pulley, how far off is it from the other pulleys?

 

The only thing I dont like about the V2 belt issues you guys are having is the time and money spent getting them to work. And a majority of the the time guys are still shreading belts after a couple weeks.
A Gator-Back belt by me runs for nearly $65 at Good Year. I dont know what you guys are spending on belts by you, but the math just doesnt add up especially after all the time and labor put in taking off, puttin on, when you KNOW the V1 Plate works 100% of the time, NO Issues.

We talk about this everytime someone has a belt issue and it usually turns into an argument. Ill keep it at that. This is just my .02 cents

-matt

 

Matty, with all due respect, your post #11 completely disregards my post #10 and Mike's post #9. And if you are going to bring up expense, a V1 plate isn't exactly cheap (and it weighs 4+ lb more ( )). And, I don't know about you guys but I got my one shredded belt replaced for free since Goodyear has a lifetime warranty - so the argument should only be reduced to time, not money (it's still cheaper to fix the shredded V2 belt than to buy a V1 plate). And, even then, it should only take one more uninstall/reinstall to get it right (you'd have to uninstall and reinstall once anyway for a V2 --> V1 swap).

And if I recall, there have been a few V1 shreds, no?

We are all very grateful that you went through the time and effort to get the V1 plates made. It makes it possible for a lot of Maxima owners to SC their cars, long after Stillen discontinued their V2 kits. And yes, it is a quick/easy/nearly guaranteed way to reduce shredding risk, I just don't think it is required to eliminate shredding risk if the V2 is installed properly (which it should be anyway).

 

^^ Extremely well said Josh. That's exactly what I was going to say (both posts #10 and #12).

I've been biting my tongue for the last few days because like Matty said, I didn't want this to turn into an argument of V1 vs. V2.

In addition to what Josh said, I was also going to mention that one other factor to take into consideration is that these SC kits have traded hands many, many times; and I doubt the original Stillen bolts/nuts/washers get transfered each and every time. Substituting missing bolts/nuts/washers is fine, but it's up to the new owner to make sure that it's exactly what Stillen called for, not something that is "close enough". Perfect example, the tensioner assembly hardware.

Just to repeat what Josh said, we applaud your efforts Matty and what you bring to the Maxima community.

 

Sorry to go a little OT guys but where exactly do these spacers go? How many are to be used? I'm going to be reinstalling my V2 kit shortly after I finish installing my new harness and I want it to be as belt shredless as possible LOL.

 

Thanks for all your replies guys. I too am interested as to where these spacers go.

I am under the feeling that my V2 kit is really old and "hagged". It's a beat up old thing that I personally feel I would like to replace. Even though I know now that spacing it could be a cheap fix - i'd personally like a hard steel v1 conversion plate shimmering off my timing cover - just knowing that I spent the money and the time to get proper quality. For peace of mind, i'd rather know that the next time I take my car on a 400km journey to the next city - that I *will* make it.

For the mean time i'd at least like to get her back on the road.

I am impressed with the power I get from the 3.125" pulley and MEVI. It's a HUGE difference over unboosted. It's unreal!!

 

The spacers go between the SC pulley and it's driveshaft. How many get used depends how far out of alignment your pulley is w/respect to the other pullies. A plumb bob/straight edge is needed to check alignment. See pics.

 

When I first put on my kit, I shredded about 4 belts. Since using the spacers I have shredded no belts in 85,000 km of driving hard. (Broke lots of other stuff, tho!) Clearly there is a design flaw with the V2 plate, since this problem is so common. 2 spacers between the SC and pulley works for me.

85,000 km = 51,000 miles.

Be sure to use locktite when replacing the bolt that holds the pulley.

Every time somebody gets a used V2 kit, this seems to come back. Maybe we need a sticky?

 

Thanks for the info James and Mike. I will be ordering these spacers and will use them accordingly when I install the blower again.

Is 2 the set number for the spacers for us or does it just depend on how many you need depending on how misaligned the belt is?

Also, I know this sounds like a newb question, but how do you tighten the bolt that holds the pulley? After a certain point it just turns the pulley and the blades in the blower turn. Is it safe to somehow hold the pulley in place and then tighten the bolt?

 

There is an art to it Qnz! And I don't know that I can even put it into words. I'll try: You wrap the belt around the pulley, make it double back onto itself, wrap it around the blower/plate legs, lock it in place by looping the last bit of belt around the blower/plate or something else and go to town with an allen wrench. Hopefully the pulley won't spin any more. If that fails, repeat confusing step #1. lol

Clear as mud?

 

It definitely depends on how how misaligned the belt is.

Yeah, that's a hard one to put in words. Ptatohed did a pretty good job at explaining it.

Ptatohed, did either one of us take pics of what you described when I dropped down to a 2.62 pulley or when you dropped down to a 2.87 pulley?

 

Hi guys - turns out our pulley tensioner came undone and skewed off to one side. This sent the belt off course. We have put a new belt on and replaced the nut holding the pulley tensioner on and it seems to be holding fine. I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

Hooked up my boost gauge today. Tapped positive voltage from cig lighter and tapped the light feed wire off the ash tray light. Works a charm.

Thanks for your help everyone.

 

Mmmmm... the tensioner pulley. What a surprise.

Yeah, keep us updated.

Did you get the belt replaced for free?

The cig. lighter is fine for power if you have a manual boost gauge (most people do). But if you have an electronic boost gauge, you'll need a power source which maintains power during cranking.

 

I think so. I think with your camera. Your old silver camera.

 

I was going to mention this as well, but it turns out most electronic boost guages are not as picky as ours (Autometer Phantom series FWIW) and any ol' power source will suffice.

 

Yeah, it's coming back to me now. I'll see what I can dig up.

 

No i didnt get the belt replaced for free. Reason being, I can't source the goodyear gatorback belt used with the supercharger kit in Australia. I had to order mine in from the good old US of A on eBay. Just like EVERYTHING else involved in this kit. Makes it quite expensive when you add up all the postage shipping all those american parts over here. It cost about $850 USD to ship the kit over. It's a good thing the exchange rate is in my favour though. Aussie dollar is almost the same as your dollar.

I must say it is quite awesome to be the first person in the southern hemisphere to have bolted the kit to a Maxima. I am literally (most likely) the only person in Australia with a boosted Max. Quite an awesome thing to have something that unique. Also - quite cool to be a part of your boosted club

 

Believe it or not, this actually sounds pretty easy. I would have never thought of that. The only thing that I would do differently is that I wouldn't use an alan wrench. I guess Vortech started to use bolts instead of alan bolts. Thanks ptatohed!

Thanks James. I'll be ordering those spacers tonight.

 

Hmmmmmm.... you have a bolt holding your SC pulley on eh? And it doesn't rub the timing case?

When Ptatohed and I installed VIPMaxima's supercharger, he had a bolt holding his pulley on too and it hit the timing case. We had to sand the head of the bolt down quit a bit so it wouldn't rub.

You're welcome!

 

I actually don't know if it will hit the timing case. I basically ordered new parts for the whole kit and haven't put it on the car yet. My spring break is next week so I'm hoping to get it on then. Hopefully I won't have to sand it down, but if I do, no biggie I guess.

 

Stillen chose an allen bolt for a reason.

 

Congrats jordan! That's really cool that you are the first person in Australia to have a boosted Max! Nice.

Glad your belt issue is worked out.

Am I understanding you correctly? Are you saying that you spent $850 just for shipping and handling alone??

Hey, speaking of being the only one in Australia to have an SCed Max, how about helping me be the only person in the U.S. with a 4th gen PRND readout?

 

OIC, I was under the impression you had belt shredding problems based on your post #2.

More than likely, you will have to sand down 1/2 of the bolt head off. Just make sure before you bolt up the plate to the side of the engine for good to minimize taking the plate on and off, on and off.......

 

Well I only had the belt shred once on me. When I first got the kit, the 3.33" pulley that came with it was nicked and that caused the belt to shred.

That much, huh. I wasn't expecting 1/2 of the head, but if it has to be done, it has to be done.

I actually don't know if the pulley is misaligned because when I took the blower off to replace the pulley, I sent it to Vortech to get rebuilt. I still haven't put it in yet so I'm ordering the spacers just in case I need them. I want to install it the right way and not have to take it off for a while.

 

Just for an update - my v2 kit just about went through it's second belt. I caught it when I was driving because it stated getting quite loud. The belt seems to have jumped over a notch on the pulley towards the blower funnily enough. The belt is probably roughly about 5mm away from actually rubbing up against the blower now. So I really don't see how spacing it is going to help.

The tensioner pulley seems fine, so I really don't know whats happening here.

Nightmares....

 

I looked at it again today and found nothing wrong except the belt had jumped across on the pulleys. I loosened the tensioner and realigned the belt.

After this I made sure everything was in line. It was. There is however something I have noticed. The belt seems to be tighter on one side than the other - however the tensioner seems to be square - wtf????? Has anyone come across this before?

 

Not following you. What do you mean by "square"? Got a pic?

Take a pic of your tensioner assembly on and off the car. Maybe we'll spot something.

 

Melted Pulley ??

-matt

 

I think I know what you are talking about. Like maybe when you tighten your belt too much, one or more of the pulleys gets the "diving board" effect and is angled instead of straight off the car, right?

But it sounds like you are doing your belt tension correctly.

Did you say you dropped a plum bob from your SC pulley outer face plane to the floor? Are all pulley faces on the same plane?

Could it be the belt you are using? What brand is it?

Take a pic. of your adjuster pulley assembly like Wizzy said.

 

Wizard: What I mean by "square" is - everything is lined up and the pulley seems to be flat and not on an angle.

matty: I have all metal pulleys.

ptatohed: Last time it wasnt tensioned too much. Just enough not to cause slip. This time I tightened it a bit more. I think I will need to check if the SC pulley and other pulleys are plumed.

The belt I'm using is a Goodyear Gatorback belt.

I went out to take some pics and found out my camera battery was flat. Charging the batteries now - should have some pics up soon

But now to add to my dilemmas, i'm leaking coolant from around where the pipe comes onto the thermostat housing. Yay! Thats a removal job again

I seem to be cursed......

 

ok... funnily enough - everything seems to be lining up right. Checked it. The only thing that is a little off is the pulley on the charger. But i'm only talking like 1 - 2 mm of difference and the tensioner pulley is wide enough that it seems to route it ok. Eveything else underneath is lined up perfectly as well.

Could the plate be flexing under high boost? Remember, I've bolted the plate on with no stand-off bolts. My kit was second hand and didnt have any stand off bolts. The guy forgot to include them I think. Tried to find a replacement item and I was unsuccessful. It is a very specialist bolt.

Looks like I'll be going with a V1 conversion plate to be perfectly honest. I want a car thats reliable lol.