As many of our customers know, NonStopTuning is one of very few companies with the expertise and willingness to offer custom pulley kits for tuners who need pulleys machined to their own specific needs. 

One of the most interesting inquiries we received in 2018 was from one of the engineers at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, West Virginia, Inc. TMMWV is Toyota’s only combined engine and transmission plant in North America. The $1.4 billion facility employs approximately 1,600 team members and has an annual production capacity which includes: 420,000 four-cylinder engines, 233,000 V6 engines, and 740,000 transmissions. 

The end result of our collaboration with TMMWV was a Lightweight NST Crank Pulley for the 2.5L Toyota A25A-FKS.  This pulley would go on to be used in a 2018 Camry, competing in the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America.

We had an opportunity to dyno test a NonStopTuning CR-Lite Crank Pulley with a naturally aspirated Hyundai Veloster NAV and were very happy with the results. Click here for that post.
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After the positive testing with the NAV, we were excited to test with a Veloster Turbo and had the chance to do so with Jay’s white Veloster.  Much like the last Veloster we tested with, this one came to us as a bone-stock, un-modified, car… it even happened to be another white car, nicknamed 002!

Using a car with NO other performance modifications gives us a blank canvas and makes it abundantly clear that the gains we see are associated with the NST Lightweight Crank Pulley.

Our test car did better in terms of horsepower, torque, and response.  The Turbo car seems to spool faster with the weight reduction provided by the NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley and benefits from better horsepower and torque at the low, mid, and high range of the power band.
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All before and after dynos were performed in fourth gear, using the same dyno on the same day, and NO other performance modifications were made.

Max horsepower went from 168 to 171, with a very nice bump in high end power, posting consistent gains of 7 to 10 horsepower after 5,000 rpm.  Max torque was more impressive with an increase from 180 to 189, with consistent gains across the entire power band.

Conclusion?  NST Pulleys improve power, torque, and response across the entire power band. If you look at the area under the power and torque curves you will notice positive gains in the low, mid, and high range when the NST Crank Pulley is used. No other modification in the same price range can offer similar gains across the entire power band. This fact makes the NST Pulley one of the best bang per buck performance modifications for the Hyundai Veloster.
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NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning.com

​NonStopTuning was the first and only company to develop and dyno test a lightweight crank pulley for the Hyundai Veloster.  Our friend Alex’s peppy 1.6 liter NAV came to us as an unmolested car.  No performance mods of any kind meant that this NAV would be a perfect blank canvas for before and after comparisons.

No performance modifications other than the NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley, same dyno, same day.

​The NST Lite series is a designation used for pulleys that are light-weight versions of their OEMcounterparts. All NST pulleys are built using High quality 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum and are easily 65% to 70% lighter than steel or cast iron OEM pulleys. Every NST pulley is hard anodized for exceptional durability and is a great item for use at the track or on the street.

OEM Veloster Crank Pulley – 48 oz
NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley – 14 oz
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The NST CR-Lite Pulley is compatible with naturally aspirated, turbocharged, or supercharged applications, and is compatible with the OEM belt. No belt change is required when this crank pulley is used.

​Both horsepower and torque numbers were consistently higher with the NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley.  Testing was performed in third and fourth gear, and max power and max torque were up by approximately 5 points in both cases

Looking at the graph plotted for Speed vs Time, we see that 110mph was reached faster with the NST CR-Lite Pulley.  The Veloster’s acceleration seems to have improved by about 1 second in this test.

Conclusion?  NST Pulleys improve power, torque, and response across the entire power band. Looking at the area under the power and torque curves you will notice positive gains in the low, mid, and high range when the NST Crank Pulley is used. No other modification in the same price range can offer similar gains across the entire power band. This fact makes the NST Pulley one of the best bang per buck performance modifications for the Hyundai Veloster.
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NST - NonStopTuning
www.NonStopTuning.com

It’s no secret that NonStopTuning has offered popular lightweight pulley options for the 86 chassis.  Since 2005, NST has offered more options for the Toyota family of engines found in the AE86, including the 16V/20V variations of the 4AGE and 4AGZE, than all other companies combined.

Carrying that tradition forward, NST also offers a lightweight kit for the second coming of the 86 chassis and the FA20 powered Scion FRS, Subaru BRZ, and Toyota 86.

The NST Lite series is a designation used for pulleys that are light-weight versions of their OEMcounterparts. All NST pulleys are built using High quality 6061-T6 aircraft aluminum and are easily 70% to 75% lighter than steel or cast iron OEM pulleys. Every NST pulley is hard anodized for exceptional durability and is a great item for use at the track or on the street.

The NST CR-Lite Pulley is compatible with naturally aspirated, turbocharged, or supercharged applications, and is compatible with the OEM belt. No belt change is required when this crank pulley is used.

We had the opportunity to test a set of NST pulleys on a stock BRZ.  Scott’s world rally blue pearl BRZ came to us as an otherwise unmolested test car.  No previously installed performance mods of any kind would ensure that we would get the best raw data possible. The NST Pulley Kit is the only power adder that was added to this car during the session, and all dyno runs were performed on the same dyno, on the same day, at Carboy Racing in southwest Houston.

Conclusion?  NST Pulleys improve power, torque, and response across the entire power band. If you look at the area under the power and torque curves you will notice positive gains in the low, mid, and high range when NST Pulleys are used. No other modification in the same price range can offer similar gains across the entire power band. This fact make the NST Pulleys one of the best bang per buck modifications for the FA20 engine.
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NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning.com

We had a chance to dyno test one of the most popular NonStopTuning Pulley Kits on one of the most popular and most fun cars on the road today.  The Nissan 370Z is the latest in a line of cars with a great deal of heritage and a legacy for high performance.
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Enough with the text, you’re here for photos and dyno charts!​

​All before and after dynos were performed on the Carboy Racing Dynojet in Houston, Texas. Before and after dynos were performed on the same day, with pulley install in between, with NO other modifications of any kind. Numbers are listed as uncorrected figures, temps and humidity are also listed. All photos were taken during this testing session.

Conclusion?  NST Pulleys improve power, torque, and response across the entire power band. If you look at the area under the power and torque curves you will notice positive gains in the low, mid, and high range when the NST Pulley Kit is used. No other modification in the same price range can offer similar gains across the entire power band. This fact makes the NST Pulley Kit one of the best bang per buck performance modifications for the Infiniti G37 and Nissan 370Z.

NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning.com

One of the most popular sport compacts of the decade is undoubtedly, the Scion tC.  And NonStopTuning offers more pulleys for the tC than all of our competition combined.  So it should come as no surprise that when we received word of a new 2nd generation engine, we knew we had to get our hands on a test car.
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We decided to test with Josh’s automatic tC.  Not to worry, you can install the NST pulley on your manual transmission tC and see awesome gains as well.  The NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley is an OEM diameter aluminum pulley that replaces your cast iron crankshaft pulley and offers you 70% weight reduction over stock.  This weight reduction leads to better horsepower and torque delivery across the entire RPM band, quicker acceleration, and better MPG.
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.Let’s get to the numbers and the test results…
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The OEM Scion/Toyota 2AR-FE crankshaft pulley tips the scales at almost 70 oz, while the NST prototype pulley weighed in at only 25 oz.  This means that the NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley is about 70% lighter than the OEM pulley it replaces, and should lead to better horsepower and torque numbers on the dyno, better throttle response, and quicker acceleration.  Our dyno testing proved our theories to be true.

​Josh’s tC recorded 142 whp and 152 wtq on the Carboy dyno in southwest Houston.  Next up, we would install our prototype CR-Lite Crank Pulley and test again.  It is important to keep in mind that all of our baselines, our installation, and post runs on the dyno were performed on the same day.  This is vital in keeping external variables under check and ensuring proper readings and results.

The Toyota 2AR-FE responded very well to the NST CR-Lite Crank Pulley.  The weight reduction led to better whp and wtq numbers, quicker acceleration, and throttle response.
Peak WHP: from 142 to 147 and we saw a massive increase of +20 whp @ 4,100 rpm
Peak WTQ: from 135 to 151 and we saw a massive increase of +25 wtq @ 4,100 rpm
VERY IMPRESSIVE NUMBERS AND DYNO CHARTS!!!

NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning.com

​The NonStopTuning CR-Lite Crank Pulley for the BMW N54 135i & 335i frees roughly 9whp and 14wtq, while providing these gains across the entire RPM band. Gains are present at low, mid, and high RPM. A very impressive gain of +20whp and +20wtq is clearly visible at 6,000 RPM.

We visited our favorite dyno at CarboyRacing, in AUGUST 2009, for some dyno testing on our project BMW 335i. We ran a baseline dyno around 10AM and watched the twin turbo BMW 3.0 Liter N54 put down some impressive numbers. The guys at Carboy installed the new NST CR-Lite (OEM Diameter) Crank Pulley in a couple hours, and we put the car back on the dyno, after lunch, for a few more runs.  Absolutely no other modifications were made to our project car on this day.  The dyno calibration, weather conditions, etc. remained unchanged.

The NST BMW N54 CR-Lite Crank Pulley is an OEM diameter (same size as stock) crank pulley and is roughly 70% lighter than the factory BMW version. The excellent weight reduction has been dyno proven on the BMW N54, leads to better hp and tq delivery, delivers quicker throttle response and acceleration, and better fuel economy. This pulley has been a very popular item for us since it was released in 2009. 
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The NonStopTuning CR-Lite Crank Pulley for the BMW N54 135i & 335i frees roughly 9whp and 14wtq, while providing these gains across the entire RPM band. Gains are present at low, mid, and high RPM. A very impressive gain of +20whp and +20wtq is clearly visible at 6,000 RPM.

NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning.com

At the time of its debut the Infiniti G35’s refined styling and sporty performance made a loud statement.  Among other items, the G35 shared its VQ35DE engine with the 350Z and was a legitimate performer on the street and track.  We had the opportunity to test the NonStopTuning Underdrive Pulley Kit on one of these cars and were pretty impressed by the results.  Jessica’s G35 came to us as a completely stock car and provided us with a perfect blank canvas for testing.

All before and after dynos were performed on the Carboy Racing Dynojet in Houston, Texas. Before and after dynos were performed on the same day, with pulley install in between, with NO other modifications of any kind. Dyno graphs and max values are listed, temps and humidity are also listed. All photos were taken during this testing session.

Using a car with NO other performance modifications gives us a blank canvas and makes it abundantly clear that the gains we see are associated with the NST Pulley Kit.  Our test car did better in terms of horsepower, torque, and response, as indicated by the upward shift in both the HP and TQ curves.   Better horsepower and torque delivery is clearly visible in the low, mid, and high range of the power band.

Max horsepower went from 227 to 232, with a very nice shift in the mid range, posting consistent 10+ horsepower gains in the middle of the powerband.  Max torque was more impressive with an increase from 220 to 232, delivering these gains pretty consistently across the entire power band.

Conclusion?  NST Pulleys improve power, torque, and response across the entire power band. If you look at the area under the power and torque curves you will notice positive gains in the low, mid, and high range when the NST Pulley Kit is used. No other modification in the same price range can offer similar gains across the entire power band. This fact makes the NST Pulley Kit one of the best bang per buck performance modifications for the Infiniti G35 and Nissan 350Z.

​NST – NonStopTuning
www.NonStopTuning.com

Are lightweight pulleys hard to install? How long does the average install process take? How much should I expect my mechanic to charge me for installing my new pulleys?  Are belts expensive?  These are some of the most common questions we hear from our customers.  Check out the latest video on our YouTube channel for a great DIY guide and read on for more answers, below. 

FAQ: Are lightweight pulleys hard to install?
ANSWER: Most NST pulley kits can be installed in about an hour, check out our DIY video for a pretty good walk through and consult your owner's manual for torque specs and other info.

FAQ: I can't do my own installation, how much should I expect my mechanic to charge me?
ANSWER: Most mechanics should be able to install your pulleys in about an hour, most mechanics charge $70 to $100 per hour in labor fees.

FAQ: Are belts expensive?
ANSWER: Most belts range in price from $10 to $30 and can be purchased on the NST website or at your local auto parts stores. Quality belts should last 36,000 miles or more.

Why are NonStopTuning pulleys a popular choice for many of our customers?

Crank pulleys, attached to the outside of the crankshaft, are the source of power for a car’s accessories. The alternator, power steering, water pump, and air conditioner are all belt driven units, attached to the crank pulley, that use horsepower from an engine to provide their own services. Underdrive pulley systems increase an engine’s horsepower by reducing the power required to drive the external engine accessories. By replacing factory pulleys with carefully resized units, the accessories are slowed enough so that their performance does not suffer, but just enough so that more horsepower is sent to the wheels and put to the ground, where horsepower should be.

NST pulleys often increase engine output by 7 to 12 horsepower, with even better power levels yielded from turbo models than seen in naturally aspirated engines. This increase results in quarter-mile time and road course lap improvements, easily making this modification one of the best “bang for your buck” modifications for any car or truck.

Another great benefit in replacing factory pulleys with NST units is reduced weight. Factory units, also referred to as OEM, are generally constructed from steel or cast iron. NST pulleys are constructed of aircraft quality aluminum, making them extremely durable while at the same time much lighter than their steel/iron counterparts. This weight reduction (approximately 70%) results in less rotating mass on the engine’s crankshaft which drastically increases the engine’s ability to rev to speed faster.
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Better throttle response, better horsepower and torque delivery, and better fuel economy can all be had when using NST pulleys.

NST - NonStopTuning
​www.NonStopTuning