Releasing Power
The
rule of thumb is that each pound of weight taken off the engines
rotating assembly is worth approximately 2.7HP. The concept is that the
crank is a parasite; it does not put power to the drivetrain but still
requires the energy produced by the engine to rotate. When you reduce
this parasitic weight, you release power that was previously used only
for spinning the supercharger and alternator.
Is this crank pulley safe?
The
pulleys on the R53's 1.6 and most new smaller engines have an elastomer
(rubber ring) incorporated into the pulley that looks similar to a
harmonic damper. The elastomer in the OEM pulley serves as an isolator,
which is there to suppress natural vibration and noise from the engine
itself, the A/C compressor, P/S pump, and alternator. The purpose of a
traditional harmonic damper is to protect against crank failure from
torsional movement. This is not necessary in the MINI or most modern
engines because of the many advances in engine design and materials.
Factors such as stroke, displacement, inline, V configurations, power
output, etc., do determine when and how these harmonics and torsional
movements occur.
Fits the following MINI models:
R52 2004-2008 Convertible Cooper S
R53 2002-2006 Hatchback Cooper S