BuckeyeROC

Anyone have experience with one or both of these balancers? I know the Fluidampr use a viscous fluid and the ATI has two elastomer rings. Which is better and why?

oldace84

Are you on the wrong forum??????

But is a good question....I would even like to know.....seems this type of balancer would even help a sightly modified engine...

Right????

tony :smash: :smash:

BuckeyeROC

I'm not on the wrong forum. Seems like there are more people here with similar engine combos to mine than anywhere else on the net.

Aggravated4life

After doing some research,the fluidampr seems to be the right one to go with.
Keep in mind theres 2 versions of the fuidampr,the streetdampr and fluidampr.
The ATI unit seems expensive for the way its designed.

What I came down to was the dampers with no elastomer parts never wear out and dampen in all rpm ranges.

Sorry,no hard core data...just a theory made for myself...some people who told me they liked the fluidampr or streetdampr have yet to wear them out.Even on the forum,some of the guys said they liked the ones made by fluidampr.

Note:I would like to see a real comparison tests but unsure how they would really compare...seems price would play the biggest role for most dampers.
:)

fullboogie

I had a Fluidampr fail on my other street car, and take the crank with it. Won't ever buy their junk again. ATI is what all the hardcore racecars use, but I'm not sure how suitable they are for the street. Check out BHJ dampers - they make performance street units - they're actually known for their really good race dampers.

BuckeyeROC

WOW! The Fluidampr failed? In what way?

MSR

i've only heard bad things from people who race with fluidampers. vibration, failures (mostly from overheating), and leakages. the opposite with ATI, i think they have a very loyal following among the better engine builders.

one caveat applies to both types, however. neither should be used to balance an assembly. the fluidamper's fluid is too thick to work as intended when cold, so the damper's balance is out of whack until the engine runs a while. with the ATI, their website states there's some floating part, internally, that might not self-center properly during the balancing process.

the procedure with both is to balance the assembly to the standard spec for that engine (possibly using a brand new, stock balancer), and then the ATI/Fluidampr would work correctly.

if you're building an internally balanced engine, then just balance the assembly without any balancer. (and make sure you're using zero balance versions of the ATI or fluidampr.)

fullboogie

It separated and caused the crank to break between the throw for the #1 rod and the counterweight. I've used BHJ balancers ever since, and there's no comparison in the quality. They're CNC machined, and if the design for your car is a two piece (used mainly in their street-type dampers), there's a built-in safety feature to keep it from separating.