Examine your current pulley system. If the coating has vanished you are likely experiencing chronic belt slippage.Engine deceleration causes the fan rotation to drop nearly instantly from around 7800 to 3500rpm. Sudden deceleration occurs twice a lap resulting in belt slippage and premature wear.KRC resolved the problem with a unique 10-rib belt constructed with Kevlar cords that offers 100% more surface contact than previously available. Deceleration forces are usually more than a five- or six-rib serpentine belt system can control.
The industry standard input shaft is a 3/8in hex - KRC has developed a 17-spline alternative. Design promotes greater shaft & spud-drive lifecompared with a 3/8in hex shaft. More contactpoints produces stronger engagement. A 17-splinedrive spud is required to connectthe dry-sump pump.
The Flow Control Fitting is very simple to understand. Think of it like changing a jet in a carburetor. The bigger the Flow Control Fitting you choose, the more fluid will be flowing out of the pump. More flow will give you more assist in the steering system, but will reduce some of the feel. The smaller the Flow Control Fitting you choose, the less fluid will be flowing out of the pump giving you more feel while taking away some of the assist.
KRC Bracket Kits include appropriate hardware & spacers to align a KRC serpentine steering pump pulley with a KRC serpentine pulley kit. KRC pump mounting brackets can be used with other pulley systems with slight adjustments to the spacing. KRC Brackets “only” include the bracket & steering pump mounting hardware allowing you to make your own spacers to align the KRC power steering pump with the specific pulley system on your engine. Spacers & hardware are also available separately for each KRC bracket.
KRC R-LOK adapters reduce side loads on damper bolts which is a problem on typical mandrel type systems. The KRC R-LOK system is more concentric than pin-drive systems. With a pin drive system, you may get some run out on the pulley due to the inconsistency of pressing in dual pins. The KRC R-LOK system components are machined from a center point ensuring proper pulley centering to the crank adapter & damper.
KRC new C-LOK system will allow you to loosen your pulley, move it, & tighten it back up in seconds using an open-ended wrench. With KRC C-LOK pulleys, removing Loctite & rust to make a small adjustment in belt alignment is eliminated. The KRC pulleys below come complete with a C-LOK installed.
An idler-tensioner should be used anytime you are running a large diameter, heavy mechanical fan blade or fan blade with a lot of pitch. A belt tensioner resists slippage that can occur due to the forces created by heavy rotating weight.
If your belts slip continuously you will wear out your crank pulley & belt quickly. Additionally, your engine could overheat. Running a mechanical fan without a tensioner can show belt slippage damage after running 50 to 100 laps. If your crank pulley plating disappears quickly - belt slippage is likely the cause. If belts are allowed to slip, aluminum crank pulleys will flake off and embed into the belt. The end result will be pulleys that must be replaced prematurely due to damage to the grooves. If you continue to use a damaged pulley a new belt will not properly engage causing a loss of pulley drive. Systems without a tensioner require the crank pulley to be replaced after only 100 to 200 laps while incurring abnormal belt wear.
Belt slippage occurs from the centrifugal force coming from large diameter or heavy fan as it decelerates under braking. An object in motion wants to stay in motion. Without a tensioner, the fan belt & pulleys are required to work like brake shoes to slow the fan. The fan stretches the belt causing undesirable belt slip under deceleration & braking. Slippage quickly heats the belt causing permanent damage. After extensive testing, KRC engineers have determined that the only way to properly tension the belt to prevent slippage is with an idler pulley mounted on the passenger side of the engine. The properly tensioned idler pulley helps your engine run cooler. Belt & pulley life are increased due to the consistency created by the tensioner. A well designed engine pulley drive system gains you improved acceleration at corner exit while allowing you to brake harder on corner entry.
Yes. Water pump only drive kits should always have a tensioner. KRC engineers recommend a tensioner on single belt water pump only drive kits - competitors often omit a tensioner in single belt applications leading to problems. Proper single belt serpentine drive belt tension is nearly impossible to attain without installing a tensioner. Even with a power steering pump mounted in the system, a tensioner should always be installed when utilizing a mechanical fan.
Each Flow Control Fitting comes from the factory with an identification mark (I.D.) on the hex of the Flow Control Fitting. If there are no letters or numbers on the valve, then it is the standard valve that comes with the pump. If the valve has a letter B-E stamped on it, then you have a “more assist” Flow Control Fitting. The ID:E valve will give you the most flow and assist. If the valve has a number 4-7 on it, then you have a more feel Flow Control Fitting. The ID:4 valve will give you the least amount of flow and the most feel.
The size of your steering rack will be the biggest determinate as to which size Flow Control Fitting is needed. If you have a rack that is 3.5” or larger, then an ID:E Flow Control Fitting would be the first option to place in the pump and try. If you feel the steering is too light and you have too much assist, then you can back the Flow Control Fitting down in size to an ID:D or ID:C.
A steering box type system may or may not require a Flow Control Fitting change. If you have a quick steering box, 6-to-1 or 8-to-1, you may have to increase the Flow Control Fitting size to an ID:E valve. If you have too much assist and not enough feel, you can then drop down in Flow Control Fitting size. The key is to find the best match between the pump, driver feel and steering box. If you experience a tight spot while turning the wheel left and right, it is called “pump catch.” To resolve this issue, you will want to increase the Flow Control Fitting size until it goes away. If you are running a 12-to-1 box you may need to start with an ID:C valve. See how the steering feels. You may have to adjust accordingly with a higher valve to get more assist or a smaller valve to get more feel. Make sure you don’t drop the flow down too low to a point where you experience pump catch. If you have a 16-to-1 box or higher the standard Flow Control Fitting should work best and then changing it would be per driver preference.
A car with wide tires and a lot of positive caster may also require more fluid flow out of the pump (ID:B-E Flow Control Fittings). If you race on smaller tracks with tight corners or a higher banked track, a larger Flow Control Fitting, ID:B-E, can be used to give you more assist through the corners. If you race on a larger track with long straightaways and sweeping corners, a smaller Flow Control Fitting, ID:4-7, can be used to gain more feel and stability in the steering system. When selecting a Flow Control Fitting for a race track only car, the driver should use the valve that feels the best at races speeds.
KRC offers three pressure relief valves, 1200psi., 1450psi. and 1600psi. On higher banked race tracks and cars with short steering arms, wide tires, a big bar soft spring setup, running on bump stops and/or a lot of positive caster, a higher pressure relief valve should be used, as well as possibly a higher volume Flow Control Fitting. You will know if you are having pressure problems when you drive into the corner and around the apex of the turn the steering assist feels like it goes away for a split second. That is created by the pump going into bypass. Our 9.6cc pumps come with 1600psi. of pressure relief. This has been a running change over the past several years. If you are unsure as to which relief valve you have in your pump, please call us with the serial number off the back of the pump.