Hello. I have an 89 Automatic and am considering installing a March 4430 Power and Amp Series set of Performance Underdrive Pulleys.

I'm not very familiar with the pulley kits and the pros and cons of each, but have learned through the forum that maintaining proper voltage is a concern when the car is running different accessories (headlights, A/C, etc.) For this reason, I'm leaning towards the March Power and Amp seriers....more people seem to comment that they have no electrical power problems.

One concern that I have is the sound system. I currently running a 450W Rockford Fosgate amp to a RF Power Punch 12" sub. I never really crank the sub for any extended period of time...but on the long trips (from NJ to NC) I do like to keep a decent volume level. One more thing to consider for my next question is that I have installed a 1 farad Lightening Audio Capacitor.

I am concerned that if in some cases the headlights are drawing too much current on those cars with the pulleys installed, I'm certain the sound system would pull exponentially more current.

Is there anyone out there that has the set of performance pulleys, a sound system with an amp that COULD (not that I necessarily WOULD) pull from 20-40 amps of current, and has taken the car on a long trip. Could you comment on any problems that you've run into (or lack there of).

I was really looking forward to this simple performance improvement, but the potential voltage problem is causing me to shy away. Are my concerns legit??

 

I'm running the mr gasket 3 piece set, but I'm using the stock alt pulley. Mine charges normally as before the water pump and crank pullies were changed, even with all the accessories/lights on. But I'm not running any high power stereo equipment either, so it'd be hard to tell till you did it whether you'd have problems. When I had the alt pulley on, the voltage would drop to 11.9v with the accessories on.
I had to use a shorter belt when I went back to the stock alt pulley.

Chris

 

BTW, I noticed some power increase, especially at higher rpm, but not enough to warrant driveability problems, like dead batteries and electronics acting funny from low voltage.

Chris

 

Thanks for the reply Chris. I do a ton of traveling on long trips, so charging issues over a long drive equals trouble. Maybe I could still see a mild performance gain without having to change the alternator pulley.