Hello all.
I found an old thread which mentioned this old 5.0L trick for our 3V cars. I took it one step further tonight and wanted to share this cheap, easy, (and hopefully successful) mod with everyone.
Basically, you buy a shorter serpentine belt which bypasses the power steering pulley and two of the idler pulley on the front of the engine in an effort to cut down on the power loss through parasitic drag. Less drag = more power to the tires. Pretty simple.
The prior thread listed a belt length of 88" which fits if you route the belt around the two idler pulleys near the power steering pump. I experimented and found a different route that eliminates those two idler pulleys, and drag (albeit minimal) that they provide.
Through a series of trips to my local Autozone parts store, I found the correct length belt for my 07 GT. The 65 inch belt fit my car perfectly. It should be noted I have the Steeda underdrive pulleys on my car which may differ slightly from the length a stock car would use.
The Autozone part number is: 650K6, which will be a pretty universal part number across different brands since the first part: 650 - identifies the length (65.0") and the 6 at the end identifies the 6 ribs of the belt.
Steering the car at slow speeds takes some effort, but is certainly possible as you maneuver around the parking lot at the drag strip. Although not a huge drag, the power steering pump when spinning at 6K RPMs likely uses up at least a few HP that can otherwise be used to move the car forward. It only takes a few minutes to change the belt once at the drag strip. The belt retails for $16.99
I'm going back to the track tomorrow night. I'm hoping the few extra HP gets me closer to my goal of 12.99999999 in the 1/4 mile.
Last week (without the belt) running my 20" Shelbys with Sumitomo street tires, I managed a couple 13.1s with the mods in my sig (link to video in my sig).
I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Frank
I found an old thread which mentioned this old 5.0L trick for our 3V cars. I took it one step further tonight and wanted to share this cheap, easy, (and hopefully successful) mod with everyone.
Basically, you buy a shorter serpentine belt which bypasses the power steering pulley and two of the idler pulley on the front of the engine in an effort to cut down on the power loss through parasitic drag. Less drag = more power to the tires. Pretty simple.
The prior thread listed a belt length of 88" which fits if you route the belt around the two idler pulleys near the power steering pump. I experimented and found a different route that eliminates those two idler pulleys, and drag (albeit minimal) that they provide.Through a series of trips to my local Autozone parts store, I found the correct length belt for my 07 GT. The 65 inch belt fit my car perfectly. It should be noted I have the Steeda underdrive pulleys on my car which may differ slightly from the length a stock car would use.
The Autozone part number is: 650K6, which will be a pretty universal part number across different brands since the first part: 650 - identifies the length (65.0") and the 6 at the end identifies the 6 ribs of the belt.
Steering the car at slow speeds takes some effort, but is certainly possible as you maneuver around the parking lot at the drag strip. Although not a huge drag, the power steering pump when spinning at 6K RPMs likely uses up at least a few HP that can otherwise be used to move the car forward. It only takes a few minutes to change the belt once at the drag strip. The belt retails for $16.99
I'm going back to the track tomorrow night. I'm hoping the few extra HP gets me closer to my goal of 12.99999999 in the 1/4 mile.
Last week (without the belt) running my 20" Shelbys with Sumitomo street tires, I managed a couple 13.1s with the mods in my sig (link to video in my sig).I'll let you guys know how it turns out.
Frank
