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Balancer shoot-out...


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Hi Fellas.

 

So on the topic of Harmonic Balancers... it seems that ATi is the damper of choice.

 

18.1 SFI spec, good for 600 or 800+ horsepower. yadayada.

 

But, what about the Ross, or the Romac Balancers? I've been reading some forums and seeing that a lot of Mustang Cobra owners are switching to Romac Balancers and swearing by them. Did I mention they're a lot cheaper and it's quite possible that the RB versions may be available locally as well?

 

ALL Romac balancers are also 18.1 SFI spec, too. Just like the ATi dampers.

http://www.romac.com.au/

 

They're way cheaper too. Romac RB30 balancers can be had for 289 AUD. Perhaps even cheaper here, with conversion rates.

 

 

 

What say you, fine gents?

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Apparently the Romac Balancer supports the P/S pump pulley to be bolted onto the front of the engine as well, and it has the water pump and alternator pulley machined into the housing, as well as timing marks engraved and etched.

 

it comes in a neat red too. although I'd prefer green =(

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A harmonic balancer (also called crank pulley damper, torsional damper or vibration damper) is a device connected to the crankshaft of an engine to reduce torsional vibration.

 

Every time the cylinders fire, torque is imparted to the crankshaft. The crankshaft deflects under this torque, which sets up vibrations when the torque is released. At certain engine speeds the torques imparted by the cylinders are in synch with the vibrations in the crankshaft, which results in a phenomenon called resonance. This resonance causes stress beyond what the crankshaft can withstand, resulting in crankshaft failure.

 

To prevent this vibration, a harmonic balancer is attached to the front part of the crankshaft. The damper is composed of two elements: a mass and an energy dissipating element. The mass resists the acceleration of the vibration and the energy dissipating (rubber/clutch/fluid) element absorbs the vibrations.

 

Over time, the energy dissipating (rubber/clutch/fluid) element can deteriorate from age, heat, cold, or exposure to oil or chemicals. Unless rebuilt or replaced, this can cause the crankshaft to develop cracks, resulting in crankshaft failure.

 

There has been a trend at times by some "performance enthusiasts" to remove the harmonic balancers on their cars. The argument is that they aren't necessary and their mass reduces the performance of the engine. Others argue that this is not worth it, because the danger of damage to the engine from the vibrations the damper is intended to prevent is too high.

 

While net engine output can be increased without harmonic balancers, in professional race cars harmonic balancers are still commonly equipped, for reasons ranging from safety concerns to regulations. Almost all modern car manufacturers, even "performance" car makers and specialty tuners, include a harmonic balancer on their vehicles, and removal voids vehicle warranty.

 

Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonic_balancer

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Do you have a part number for the nissan motors? I called one of the US distributors and they didnt list any nissan parts....

 

Robert Brackham of Romac writes:

 

"P/N is 0330SA. The balancer has steel inner and an anodized alloy outer band engraved to absorb the harmonics much faster and more efficiently."

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Robert Brackman of Romac writes:

 

"P/N is 0330SA. The balancer has steel inner and an anodized alloy outer band engraved to absorb the harmonics much faster and more efficiently."

 

Thanks

 

The first distributor I called didn't list any Nissan part #'s so this will be handy

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Thanks

 

The first distributor I called didn't list any Nissan part #'s so this will be handy

 

let me know what you find.

it doesn't come with the water pump underdrive pulley though.

 

That's one thing that is included in the ATi price, I believe.

 

However, I think for city driving it should be ok, or if you run an N1 water pump.

 

Apparently the N1 water pumps flow/pump less than the regular GTR pumps so that at high RPM it isn't over stressing itself, or pumping the water too fast for it to suck out any heat and transfer it to the rad. I think that's the proper setup for high-RPM endurance races, or the desired effect.

 

Atleast that's what I've been told on the RB30 boards, even though the N1 water pump fins are quite larger.

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  • 1 month later...

So Nickels Performance Warehouse tells me that they don't have the balancer, even after the president of Romac Co. told me they should have received their order a while ago.

 

I'm probably going to just buy it from VPW along with the main studs when I get my next pay cheque. Gotta keep some money in that wallet.

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Did you find out the price?

 

I'm willing to bet the price is way more than the 289 AUD I saw them for on calaisturbo.com.au.

 

The unit is around 2 Kg. Steel inner, Aluminum Outer (0330SA)

 

So shipping shouldn't be too much. And for some reason my customs charges are less from AUS than they usually are from U.S.

 

Next paycheque is balancer and main bolts. Then I can do some machining on the bottom end for f**k sakes. I need that engine head to do anything else :(

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  • 3 weeks later...

saw those.... looks really good too, and they have a VL that runs on them at the bottom of the page :D

 

BUT

 

im ordering my romac balancer tomorrow.

 

There are some high horsepower mustangs in some racing series that have used the romac balancers with no harmonic issues and they outlast the seasonal engine changes.

 

Ordering mine from VPW in australia, along with my main studs.

 

should come out to about 500 shipped :)

 

Just waiting for the canadian dollar to kick the US dollar's ass at the end of the week.

 

I'm hoping for par, if anything, but the news has been saying 1.06 US dollars per.

 

:D

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