I am relatively a newbie to engine mods to my 302, but I would be all for adding a little more power I would want to do all the work myself, I am pretty good with a wrench, but I have never seen or had anyone explain to me what underdrive pulleys are, and what the drawbacks may be. What kind of imporvements could there be to my basically stock 302? Is this worth my time and money guys? I heard that there are sometimes problems with overheating, but my 302 never get's more than a quarter of the way into the normal range anways so that shouldn't be a problem. Give me your wisdom and opinions guys!! Help a newbie out

 

Every accessory takes power to turn it. Underdrive pullies turn the accessories a little slower thus giving you a little more power. I dont have a set but maybe one of the other guys can tell you how much of a difference they make. I think Donate54 has a set on his truck.

 

i got a set of march pulleys and love them. theyre the "power and amp" series, so they wont underdrive your alternator too much (so you wont have any undercharging problems), and they wioll provide a noticeable difference. tehy also added to the "looks" of the engine since theyre aluminum . i got mine thru summit racing for around 120 i believe. here's a pic...

 

hmmm, turns everything slower eh? Sounds to me like my alt would have trouble with keeping up with my car stereo, oh well, I will just have to look for a different way to modify my 302 any other ideas that won't cost a ton? (over $150?)

 

superedge, do you have an aftermarket amp in your stereo that pulls a lot of amps? because with the power and amp series, the loss of electrical power is minimal. i just put in a cd player and speakers in my truck (no amp), and i can run my headlights and foglights (back when i had them) with no problem. with all those lights on and with the stereo blasting the headlights would dim a little little bit but only at stoplights. as soon as you get moving again youre back to normal.

 

Yes, I have a juiced up aftermarket stereo, two amps (one for door speakers, one for sub.) I also have fog lights, and I am just now doing ok for voltage after putting in a 95 amp alt. (stock WAS 75 amps) So I can't really afford to be spinning my alt slower than usual, I don't think it could keep up with my stereo, headlights, fog lights, fan, etc. Got any suggestions for a do it yourself upgrade?

 

with all that equipment i think youre better off playing it safe and keeping the stock pulleys.

 

I agree, but do you have any other ideas to give my truck a little more horse power?

 

do you have any mods right now? a FIPK will give you a nice boost (or you can just cut off the bottom of hew airbox like some of us did). a good cat-back exhasut setup will give you some power also. you can also try lower rear-end gears, they wont add power but they'll shift your torque curve and give you a nice boost in acceleration.