There seem to be two trains of thought on the subject, half of the people on the subaru boards say that it is not a dampener, and that the boxer engine is pretty well balanced on its own. The other camp says it is a dampener and that it is a potentially disastrous mod to do.
On one hand I can see that the stock pulley was drilled to balance it which makes me think it should probably be there, also the STI has a heavier pulley to do something. On the other hand I have seen very little evidence of anything bad happening after a pulley swap and most people seem to like the quick revs. I can't really find anything definitive either way.

from my research, on another suby thread:

I finally got an answer directly from Subaru of America...I asked them if the crank pulley for the WRX and the STi is used as a harmonic damper/balancer. Here's the reply...


Hello F. Flores:

Thank you for your patience as I checked with our Technical Services
Department regarding your message below. They advised that the crank pulley
is a pulley and nothing else. It is not used as a harmonic damper/balancer.

Thanks for the opportunity to be of assistance. If you need any future
assistance, please feel free to contact us again.

Best wishes,

John J. Mergen
Subaru of America, Inc.


I think this topic can now end!:D

Awesome looking engine Ed, I remember welding up that intercooler kit for you like it was yesterday!

I have seen that letter before, the only problem is the opinionated "subie masters" on nasioc totally tore it apart, not saying that it is wrong in any way, I googled "John J. Mergen" and he seems to know his stuff. It's just that those nasioc guys are really good at convincing you that your engine will blow up if you so much as breath on it. I have some time before the engine goes back in to decide if I am going to go for one or not. They sure are pretty though!

Good tip on the SVX filler Greg, I have been trying to figure out what to do to the odd WRX one!

here is a quick pick to see if this works for you..


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Yeah I have a long way to go before I see a running car..

Nice! I need to pick one up, that is exactly what I was looking for!

Yep seems like yesterday but it was in 2006! 2005 was my first ride in one of these conversions in your car in Vegas. I'll never forget that.

We did a ton of work cleanint/poslishing on this motor, and powdercoating everything we could. Unfortunately, after we got it in there you couldn't see much of it. But I know it's there...

One of the reasons for doing this was so the engine bay and underneath of the car would stay clean...NO OIL LEAKS.

So far I've put over 24k miles on my conversion with zero problems, except for one busted transaxle (my fault entirely....smoking those 11" tires is just too much fun).

Ed

Might be a dumb question from someone who isn't all that mechanically inclined, but with the fuel line connections rerouted to the front, do you risk catastrophe if the alternator belt breaks?

It doesn't take much inspection of a suby 2.0 or 2-5 damper to figgure out it is truly a damper. It has different pieces mounted in rubber. Being a oem damper means it is designed to work in the lower rpm ranges. ATI builds a nice aftermarket damper that works in a much broader range. Don't forget the oil pump is directly behind the damper any hormonics created will be directly sent through the internal part of the pump. Check out ATI's site. I originally tried to find a fluid damper like the one's on my sbcs but then read ati's info and decided to go that way. Who knows what all goes wrong on high strung subys but why screw with whats a known thing, all motors hotrodded need all the high tech mods you can afford to make them live longer. Also on the fi clamps you could use the one time use ones like what is on a harley. They are cleaner looking than a screw type clamp. You can get them at a harley shop or once you have some I bet they can be found online. You will also need the installation tool to squeeze them.

Oh yeah I have two light weight pulleys one is a perrin, I think the other also has a additional pretty pulley for I guess the alt. I will sell them if anyone is interested, they have never been on a running motor.

Also Grimspeed has thin or thick phoenolic sp? spacers to keep the engine heat out of the intake. I think I remember they are 3mm and 7 or 11mm the longer ones come with bolts. With those guys on you can put your hand on the intake on a hot day while the motor's running. Justin Grimm is the vender on nasioc.

All I know is I've been running mine with the light pulley for about 24k miles with no problems. Has not hurt performance, bottom end or top end.
Ed

Like I said, there are two camps with the pulley probably both of which are right, luckily I have some time to figure this one out


I think it is a valid concern, once I get everything together I will see if the wiring and fuel lines need some protection.

Hey dont forget this pretty filler from outfrontmotorsports.com, but i bet it adds a few ounces to stock plastic one.

So here is a good demonstration of how huge modern cars have gotten, or how tiny the 914 really is.

Here is a Ferrari F430 diffuser at home on an F430, looks pretty reasonably sized right?
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And here is the same diffuser on my 914, got a little bigger huh?
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Another couple shots, I am just mocking it up, fitting all of these new components into such a small car is getting to be tricky! I have ground out all of the cracks in the fiberglass and filled them, a little more sanding and it should be ready for paint. Keep in mind my car is sitting about a foot higher than it will when I lower the suspension and get it off of the wheel dollies, that thing is going to look even bigger dragging a couple inches off of the ground!
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Hey Dana, I've got a filler tube on my SVX parts engine I'd donate to this great build....as long as I can visit it the next time I'm in Boulder. The cap is fubar but your current one probably fits.

That would be awesome! Thank you so much!

I was wondering when we would see the diffuser mock up

Where'd you get that? I've been toying with doing the same / similar thing to my 914. Already have a fiberglass rear bumper I can butcher before the repaint.

Ed
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Cruise the Ferrari forums, it seems like a guy backs into something every other week with his diffuser. I saw a post a couple years ago about a guy who backed into a curb and rewarded himself with a new carbon diffuser, I asked him what happened to the old one and he had the body shop who had done the work send it to me for free, nice guy!
They really fit the 914 chassis pretty well, I was going to build my own but I think Ferrari has a little more experience with aerodynamics than I do!

Dana I want your bike

Is your exhaust going to exit through the hole in the center of the diffuser?

few random thoughts

I've wondered how a diffuser would work on a 914. Seems it would need to have a smooth underbelly across the whole car for them to work right. Since the back is open from the firewall back how could it work?

Since your car has a subaru motor I guess it's possible to make a pan across the whole thing. With the air cooled cars that doesn't seem possible.

This is assuming things work like I imagine they do.


I removed the rear valance and made an exhaust that tucks up out of the airflow. I kind of figured there is a hell of alot of air coming out the back end and the more open the better.

I have also wondered how it would work mounting a wing down where the diffuser is mounted. If done right it would almost go unnoticed. Of course it could be the air is in such turbulence it would never work.

I was planning on making an aluminum belly pan all the way from the front valence to the diffuser, With a little creative cutting I should be able to get the belly perfectly flat.
Other than the diffuser the rear of the car is going to be hexagonal expanded aluminum mesh. Probably some hidden led taillights to keep weight down and not block airflow out the back.

Don't have a build thread for the cruiser, built the frame from scratch, hilariously terrifying to ride!
Here is the Cafe bike's Build Thread
I had no idea 36 horsepower could be so fun!

I had thought about it, I think I will figure out the exhaust after everything is in place, center exhausts are pretty cool.

Yeah, center exhausts with a vent for the blow-off valve too!
Ed

I guess I need to look at that more thoroughly to see what the ferrari guys did in front of the diffuser. When you add a street bumper there is more room to get it all worked in. I will probably use a aluminum tube under the fg gt bumper I have but a added on diffuser valence was always a thought but it also seems like a great air catcher without a under pan at least from the oil pan back. Also to cover the rear of the tranny and cable shifter, that will be visible. I also will need some air movement over the ic in the engine compartment so side vents might be a needed thing and the air's gotta go somewhere. No blow off valve to atmosphere for me the short fat suby exhaust will be loud enough as it is, my sons sti blow off valve in the intake is still noticeable in a enclosed coldair box and his waste gate is still in the exhaust and on full throttle it's not quiet and very obvious for at least a mile and his 3 inch exhaust is at least 7 or 8 ft long.

I would like to shed some light on the pulley/damper. It does indeed have a damper in it however it is not a harmonic damper. It is meant to lessen the shock when the a/c kicks on. I have had a lightened pulley on both of my Subaru engines and have had no problems other than when I turn the a/c on (this is in a Subaru not a 914). When the clutch engages the belt slips a second and you can feel it through the steering wheel. I don't use the a/c for this reason.

Thinking about your diffuser on my drive today and saw a Honda Fit with one 05-07 I think. Cheaper than a Ferrari part, new

Good info, makes sense. Good thing I deleted the a/c!

F1 style... out the top, molded into the speedster hump

Or go a bit taller like a pulling truck

think of it as adding downforce

Only issue i've heard of is using a light flywheel, and a light pulley, the Crank pos. sensor can give some screwy numbers.

we've got a bit of extra mass on the flywheel side, and shouldn't have any issue w/ the light pulley.

You mean like this?
Might need to weld some flappers on the stacks while I am at it...
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True that, the adapter setup weighs a fricken ton.

It can be lightened

I was thinking more along these lines for Exhaust...



Call it ticket monster

I could point the exhaust out the side of the head hump so it points into the window of those who dare to come near it

this just keeps getting cooler and cooler

Love it! A nice Ferrari driver too! very kind of him.

The hole in the diffuser is gagging for an exhaust imo.

Loving your project, it seems to me that you are doing everything to a car that I wanted to do in my daydreams at fourteen years of age. very envious and admiring your skills!

I have A/C, light pulley, no problems.
Ed

Guess everyone's results are different. I have another compressor I want to swap in to see if it makes a difference.

I also have a 9.5 lb. Fidanza flywheel with a 1 lb. pulley and have never had a misfire code (or any other code for that matter).

I installed the intake and the snake's nest of vacuum hoses that is associated with it.
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Then I started working on the engine's wiring harness:
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First I zip tied the harness into its basic stock shape and stripped off most of its insulation.
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Then I loosely installed the harness on the engine.
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Here is the harness half way through me re-routing the wires, I also added a couple wires to the harness for my boost and temp gauges.
This is the point at which you wonder if your car will ever run again.
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After tucking, re-routing, and eliminating the plugs for the TVG assembly and a/c pump, this is how things looked, after I get it running and work out the bugs I will pull the harness and wrap it.

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Jeff Bowlsby would have enjoyed looking at those

Looking great! Now remember what you do to the loom and recreate them for sale - the VW crowd would bite your hand off!

Last night I brushed the intercooler and installed it, I still need to get a bottle of gas for the welder so the intercooler tubes are taped together for now.
I still have a couple little things here and there to do to the engine but overall it is pretty much complete.
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Now if you wanted to get rid of all that annoying FI plumbing underneath the intake manifold change over to Perrin fuel rails....Prettier and supposedly more efficient too.

Ed
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Just wanted to thank Marc (KELTY360) for making a kickass donation to the project.
Here is the original oil filler:
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And the SVX filler he sent me:
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This a pretty nice upgrade to WRX powered teeners, it looks a lot better and makes for a much more rational location for filling the oil. It was not a direct bolt on, the tube that fits into the head is a couple millimeters to big and needed some light filing to fit, the mounting holes were also a little too wide and needed to be slightly ovaled. It was an easy mod, 10 minutes or so.
Thanks again Marc!

Wow! That really opens up the view of that section of the engine. Your engine is looking great. I've really come to appreciate the underlying simplicity of the Subie engines, once all the modern complexities are stripped away. Glad I could help.

Just for a little more Subie bling, here's a shot of the SVX that's going in my Syncro Westy. Couldn't resist getting the intake polished. As you can see, I went to the Sir Andy School of Photograpy.

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Hijack over....now get back to work on the Biter. The 914 Nation awaits your progress.