NonStopTuning 2018 Toyota Camry Lightweight Crank Pulley

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.

​Smart money probably wouldn’t have been on a Camry vs a Corvette in the 2018 Tire Rack One Lap of America Saturday, May 5-12. However, by the end of the eight-day, 3,675-mile test of man and machine, three teams of Toyota engineers collected trophies for first and second place in the alternate fuel class; third place in the economy class; and third place in the mid-priced sedan class.  The Camry’s overall standings in the field of more than 70 cars placed them ahead of several Corvettes, Camaros and BMWs.
 
Just finishing the race is an achievement.  “We push our cars to their limit all day on the track and then hope they hang together for another 6-10 hours of transit driving,” said TMMK Stamping Engineer Steven Byington.  “You eat every meal at a fast food drive thru, you’re averaging 3 or 4 hours of sleep each night and you do it with a smile on your face because you have a passion for driving.”
 
That passion was on display throughout the week as the teams from Toyota’s plants in Kentucky, West Virginia and Indiana demonstrated, in real time, the performance of the 2018 Camry, the 2017 Prius and the 2013 Avalon that all finished “in the money” ahead of vehicles that are much more familiar race platforms. 
 
This is the Kentucky team’s fourth year in the One Lap, but only their second time on the podium.  It was a first for the Indiana and West Virginia teams and they both brought home Hardware.  “We’re really grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this event,” said TMMI engineering assistant manager James Nichols.  “It was a great experience for our team, and I think we did a lot to convince people that the Camry and the Prius are more than just commuter cars.”
 
The three teams operate under a loose affiliation know as Toyota Engineering Motorsports.  Their philosophy is that lessons learned on the racetrack in vehicle safety, performance, problem solving and teamwork make them better engineers and better engineers make better cars.

​-TOYOTA USA NEWSROOM

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
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