Unorthodox Pulleys and CEL
 

Before anyone says anything, yes I've searched and done the pedal pumping, etc.

I've done exactly what this thread says to do 3 times now https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ht=pulleys+cel

The first two times I did it like he said and the CEL came back within about 20-30 miles. The last time, however, I did an extra 3 pedal pumping clears just to make sure! Well this time it lasted about 50 miles before it came back on :(

Anyone know why I cant get the CEL to clear? Any suggestions or should I just keep trying what the above thread says? Another thread I read said to "just drive" but that didn't work out well for me before.

Suggestions are appreciated.

I also would like the experts to weigh in. My pulleys go in this weekend and I'm a bit anxious after hearing almost everyone experiencing this problem.

Found my pullies didn't give me very much gain. Might also want to try the right to left turn that some people have done to reset the sensors. In doing the 20 brake depressions 3X (after intermittents of turning the car off) that usually worked for me.

Hmmm, I guess I'll just try again. I'll leave my battery unhooked overnight and then do the 20 brake depressions like 5x maybe for safety, then the turning.

are the pullies REALLY worth it if your low on cash?

No. I would get everything else (Revi air intake, used Canzoomer, save up for cat back exhaust for a nicer sound) before I would get the pullies. I dyno tested mine & they got me about 1-2 hp across the rev range.

This is what I did, unhooked overnight, then 20X and then the wheel. I have never had the CEL come back and that was ~ 10 months ago.

But I bet your car Idles smoother..right :D That is what a lot of people say on this board about any engine mod that doesn't gain much horsepower...Wire Grounding Kit, Plug Wires, REVi, and whatever else. :D

Question, though. Did you dyno right before the pulleys? Did you allow enough time for the computer to learn the pulleys and realize all the gains before you redyno'd? And do you realize how variable a dyno session can be from one day to the next? I doubt anyone would ever be able to get an exact dyno since you have to do so much variable driving before the computer learns the setup, and by then conditions are different. Not only that, but dynos themselves can easily vary from run to run.

Dynoed right before we put the part on. Next day we put the part on, drove the car about 30 miles, let the car cool for a few hours & dynoed again on the same dyno (LA Performance division). I think you are trying to rationalize a bit. I would understand somebody claiming 12 hp & it coming up 9-15 hp. But claiming 12 hp & getting 1-2 hp means it ain't working. If I dynoed once in the winter, then 6 months later in the dead heat of the summer I dynoed it again & found little gain, I might understand. In this case it is the difference of a day/few days & on the same dyno unit. About as close to a controlled test as you can get. I'm sorry but people that believe the 10-12 hp claims by UR & SR are fooling themselves. I'm just trying to warn those people that are thinking about them that the results are far different when you are not trying to sell something. It's not like I don't have their product & I have an axe to grind with them. I do have their product & I just don't want people to waste good money when they can get stuff that actually delivers hp as claimed (maybe the REVi or hi-flow cat/straight pipe).

Well, with modern PCM's and tuning, you really need more than 30 miles for it to fully learn your habits and the new part. At my friend's autotech school, they were taught that with modern tuning and PCM's you need something like a certain amount of miles at 20-25mph, 30 or 40, and 60+ I believe, can't remember the exact amounts. This is why, for example, Unorthodox suggests that full gains wont be realized until 5-7 days later. It isn't as much time related, as miles.

Granted I do not intend to see 12hp at the wheels at all, but your 1-2hp is not even relevant in my mind just because of what I stated above. Had you put more miles on the car before redynoing, with varying speeds, it would mean more to me.

Not knocking you, just stating simple facts.

Sorry dDub, you know I have been helpful in the past to any poster. Hell, you part of my old intake. I just think you are trying to rationalize your purchase. This notion that you need days or hundred miles of driving for your PCM to "learn" a part before it can deliver hp gain is questionable, at best. Does that mean that I should dyno something 3/5/7 days after I put anything on if I am not satisfied with the result ? I think this might be a manufacturer trying to come up with resons on why they do/do not get stated hp gains. Next thing you know, if I went back & dynoed it 7 days after purchase, or 30 days after installation people will be saying "but the conditions are different." You just can't win. I hope when you dyno your new pullies you will find a substantial difference & be able to back up their claims. Any REAL hp gains on this car are always appreciated.

I would recommend people spend their hard earned money on products that have been dyno proven to work.

I hope I have not offended or upset you, as I didn't mean to, just giving another side that's all.

But like I said, the modern PCM's do require, according to manufacturers, a certain amount of driving miles at various speeds before it learns everything once again. This may be true or not, it's just what they tell the people they train so who knows.

Believe me I read all the negative reviews before ever purchasing my pulleys, I still didn't mind much. I had good success with a main underdrive pulley on my rx7, figured I'd give it a shot on the rx8. I also wanted it, in combination of the lightest flywheel I can find, for the lightest assembly for revving purposes. Whether or not the lightened pulleys are really going to help the rev speed very much is vague in my mind, but every bit helps.

Also, I don't do dyno's, sorry, waste of money in my mind, money I don't have to waste. Where it really matters to me is in the 1/4 mile, so that's where I will or will not see results. I just don't care much about the hp gain as long as my 1/4 mile gain is there. Just my point of view.

BTW, thanks for the intake piece, I still appreciated that greatly :)

And again, not trying to argue or say you're wrong, just giving the other side of the argument, so people can take it for what it's worth.

There is nothing for the PCM to learn about new pulleys. The effect is purely mechanical. You are dleivering less of your available HP to the alternator and water pump. The effect is that more HP can go to the wheels. The PCM doesn't have to learn this. I think the only thing that it ever learns about is the A/F ratio. I could very well be wrong about that. But, saying that the PCM has to learn new pullies is ludacris.... It like saying that if you reduce the weight of your car by pulling out the seats, the spare, the AC, and the trim that you won't go faster until the PCM realizes that the car is lighter. It just doesn't make any damn sense.

-MD

This is a rapper.

Ludicrous is the correct spelling.

Yes, it matters. Especially when you are calling other's ideas foolish.

That thought did actually cross my feeble mind. But I failed to care enough to go back and correct it. You might also notice that I misspelled another word in that post. oooohh! its like an Easter egg hunt! I love Easter egg hunts!

Saying it doesn't make any sense is different than calling someone a fool.

Iif i'm right, then the fools are the people at UR/SR if they are telling people this stuff.

The other one was a typo, not an ironic mispelling :)

Hmmm .... I wonder if Luda owns an RX-8...

"Let's take it to the streets cuz I'm ready to cruise
Just bought me and my cars all some brand new shoes
And the people just stare so I LOVE TO PARK IT
And I just put a computer in the glove compartment
With the petal to the floor, radar in the GRILLE
TV in the middle of my STEERING WHEEL
It's my car's birthday so we BLOWIN THEM CANDLES
More speakers in the trunk than my ride can handle
Got my name in the headrest, read it and weep
NOS tank in the back, camel hair on the seat
and when I pull up to the club, I get all the affection
Cuz the women love the paint and they can see their reflection
I'm about to take off, so F what ya heard
Because my side mirrors flap like a F*CKIN BIRD
And the fools, we gon CLOCK ONE and we'll POP ONE
Cuz my folk ridin shotgun with a shotgun"


Hahaha! :p

He had one in one of his videos, I believe.

What I was told, and again the only knowledge I have on this subject is what the autotech schools teach, is that with modern PCM's and tuning any time you reset the memory it has to relearn everything. This doesn't mean it has to learn the pulleys, it has to learn your driving style and re-establish its normal maps. THIS is just what I've been told, and the school has been told by car manufacturers. Before it has relearned everything supposedly it wont be functioning at its peak power. But I could easily be wrong.

no 50cent had one in one of his videos..I can find it for you..

Edit: I think it was "Poppin them thangs"

Ahhh... now I see your point. But, I'm still not sure that I agree with them. I have a CZ and I periodically reset the memory to get back the HP that the ECU "learns away". The long-term fuel trim goes up as the ECU realizes that things are sometimes leaner than it would like. As it richens the stock map, my HP is robbed. I then clear the memory and get the LTFT back to zero. It seems like it takes maybe 2-3 weeks for the LTFT to creep up, though.