Belt brands
 

Hey guys, I'm reading up on changing my pulleys, belts, and quite possibly a new alternator. Lately my warm idle has been hindered while pulling up to a stop my idle dips to 900 for like 3 to 4 seconds then I can hear my idle slowly power back up to 950. Just went back to the oem airbox from having the k&n intake thought that would solve my idle issue reset everything throttle response is great runs smooth through all gears!! But the warm idle is bothering me everytime I come to a stop. So question is, Can't find anywhere it says if sticking to oem belts is better then getting another brand. Maybe others are more durable, I am by no means a belt expert but there are certain things on this car that although can be upgraded to a more expensive high performance brand, would better off sticking to oem. And does anyone suggest replacing all three pulleys? I've seen people just do one but I don't have that, its not broken don't fix it mentality. I'm More so, the fix it before it breaks type of person.
Thanks..... I'll do ralco if I replace all three. Agency power if I just do one.

Belts are belts are belts in almost all cases today. It's been a long time since I've seen someone argue the benefit of a more expensive belt over a cheaper one.

A warm idle dip wouldn't be a belt problem though, or a pulley problem. Replacing the belts is part of normal maintenance, but it is unlikely to be related to your problem. Especially if you haven't smoothed out your fuel trims yet from resetting everything.

i dont think belts are your problem but the idle moving 500rpms doesnt sound like a huge issue. when was the last time you cleaned the ess, maf, and did ignition?

i have unorthodox racing pullys (all 3). as far as belts go imo goodyear gatorback belts are the best

I've done everything required when resetting its almost like the issue isn't there after resetting it. It's only until a couple of drive cycles where the cars settled In and I've allowed the car to relearn the fuel trims . And the reason I considered the belts pulleys and alternator besides the fact I was going to replace them anyway was because I felt like something was lagging since I've got the the car 2nd hand and don't know practically anything regarding maintenance issues besides the recalls I was made aware of by the dealer. I've worked practically all around the engine bay minus the pulleys belts and alt.

Do I understand you correctly?

Are you saying that the idle dip is only occuring AFTER a few drive cycles?

Do you have an OBD2 reader that allows you to see live data from the ECU? If not, grab a bluetooth OBD2 adapter from Amazon, pair it with your smartphone, and download an OBD2 app. I suspect your fuel triming is being learned incorrectly, possibly due to a vacuum leak, though there are a few other possible causes.

Thanks for the advice. I did clean my maf it's my favorite thing to do.. Lol I need to clean my ess tho thanks for reminding me, can't be ignition just replaced those about 5000 miles ago. I'm thinking sticking to oem belts since RIWWP suggests brands don't matter, however price might play a factor. Unorthodox is so hot right now....dunno if I will go with them tho.

I gotta get one!! Don't remind me... I been lagging cuz I been saving my pennies for the Accessport I use my girlfriends dads but just know the basics of reading stuff on it..but does having a midpipe make idle like that? Vacuum leak through the intake?

I will check for vacuum leaks. But I swear everything is air tight...

A vacuum leak is when the engine is pulling in air that does not go past the MAF. For example if it was entering through one of the vacuum lines on the accordion. They are past the MAF, so any air pulled in through there isn't being measured by the MAF, and the ECU doesn't know about it until the O2 sees that there is more air in the exhaust stream than there should.

A midpipe can never cause a vacuum leak.


You didn't really answer my first question :)

Yea sorry, the problem occurs only after a few drive cycles. And hunting for a leak is killing me...it could be anything from a tiny crevice that I can't see..to air box that's not closed enough. The problem seems minor, for me to be going crazy trying to solve this. everyone I've talked to personally has some sort of problem with their idle some worse then mine. I'm just worried a dipping idle means something's losing power, or not giving enough. but i remember a time when my idle was so smooth it felt like my car was off..and I don't wanna get a compression test. I don't want them to tell me I have low compression. It's like finding out you have cancer. :uhh:

Ok, then I recommend that you get that bluetooth OBD2 adapter, and let me know when you get it. We can take a look to see what your AFRs are doing, what your MAF is reading, etc... when your idle is dipping.

If it comes back to a vacuum leak, then smoking the intake system is usually the best way to find it for sure, because it can indeed be that small. I had a vacuum leak once that I couldn't find through all the usual ways. I only found it once i disassembled the UIM for another reason and found that the secondary intake runner against the firewall had a pinched gasket between the UIM and LIM. A tiny pinch, but I could see the discoloration of where air was passing through. Enough to create a 5% short term fuel trim variance and a 1g/s vacuum leak.

I'll buy one soon, I also need it to clear my CEL for my midpipe everytime it pops up anyway, I shall use your advice about the smoke if it comes to it, meantime I am on a mission to find that leak! I knew i was gonna somehow have to be obsessive compulsive looking for it.... But I love how you said WE CAN like you live down the street from me. Very inspirational RIWWP. Haha