Code

Ok, Kyle you and I need to start a fresh how to thread!

Three more notes from my test fit session, the best bolt if you are not re-tapping the right side intake manifold mount is an ARP flange bolt m8x1.25 45mm bolt. It MAY need a very thin washer to not bottom out. Compared to the included bolt this should allow you to engage roughly 3-5 mm of additional treads and really seat that sucker in there.

Note #2. You don't need to awkwardly place the kit together with the belts to mount like the ballade video shows. You can mount everything up and thread the belt super easy without the KW tensioner pulley installed.then simply bolt it on after. It makes this a breeze.

Third, if you have trouble fitting your belt on between the steering rack bolt and pulley, simple loosen the 4 steering rack to subframe mount bolts, this will allow you to easy clear space for the belt.

Last tip: Allen's fasteners is awesome and where I got most ARP single bolts

Kyle

Code

Sweeeeeeet, thanks!

Dethred

Kyle,

Sorry for not giving any feedback since last month. I received the kit, have the ACT PP and 9lb flywheel installed, but it has been way too cold to work on the car in the garage, even with a couple space heaters. I did wrinkle coat the entire blower and pipe going into throttle body, in the mean time. Hoping to at least change out the fuel pump and injectors this week while it's warm and I can properly ventilate the garage while doing it. I'll post more as I finally get around to it.

Code

Sorry for taking over your thread - but we have learned A LOT about things you should change!!!

RolanTHUNDER

Please check your PM mate

Kyle

Done! <3



No problem bro.....it's cold as hell out up here as well. You're more brave than me, I haven't touched my car since the beginning of November. I simply have no desire to work on something when I'm freezing my ass off lol. Appreciate you staying checked in though. Crazy what this thread has evolved into. I think once you two at the very least get your kits installed and get some miles on them we can go ahead and make a definitive Kraftwerks install thread. My car simply has too many priorities before I can get my kit, so I probably won't be able to get my kit until fall at the earliest. If there's no thread by then I'll definitely make one, step by step, including all of the tips and tricks, and outlining what should be changed and why. In my mind there's plenty that can be done, but I think most people will have several choices in what they choose to upgrade or not, I think it's truly just a few key components that need attention and/or revision, but we're going to find out. The hardest part with this kit is proper belt tension. Even with a perfect install, improper belt tension will cause issues with belt breakages, so that is also something that we need to get definitively sorted and report on.


How's the ACT setup? I have the exact setup waiting to go in myself! OEM disk/bearings etc & the ACT prolite flywheel and HD pp. Not looking forward to the install one bit, lol.

Also, thank you Code for chiming in on the ARP stud. Admittedly I got most of the replacement hardware info off of the Kraftwerks Supercharged S2000 facebook group....Funny, 500+ involved and not a single person replied to my thread about that issue with the stud.....I feel like they're not practicing what they're preaching -.0.....I went and looked at the one I had today as well, and sure as shit, the shank is more narrow than the threads......So yeah, don't use that one.....I've procured another stud, and it's on it's way to Code right now. I inspected it before I shipped it out to him, and just from a cursory eyeball test it seems like this is a winner. I neglected to get some measurements with a caliper...but at this point it's a go/no go situation, so just waiting for confirmation! Super hopeful on this one though. Ultimately, the stud being changed isn't necessary; LHT doesn't do it. Proper installation technique makes all the difference, BUT, if we can do one better, why not? Stay tuned.

Kyle

Your support and feedback has been invaluable man. Glad there's a few people who'd rather look at this kit/setup subjectively and get to the heart of the issues and quirks rather than writing it off completely. LHT has proven without a shadow of a doubt that this kit is very install dependent in terms of overall reliability outcome. By the time people go through the gauntlet of issues and get mostly everything sorted they're unfortunately one small mishap away from giving up on the kit, and that's what's happened from a lot of the threads I've gone through. Early issues seem to cause stresses that don't manifest until later. Case in point, it's incredibly important to get this kit installed proper the first time around. Hopefully what we're learning in here will be the end-all-be-all for this kit. If there's still issues beyond this I think we can definitively say it wasn't us, lol. But I'm very hopeful.

Btw, what were the part numbers for the ARP bolts you ordered? I'll be sure to update the thread and start a new bolt template with the proper stuff once we get all of this sorted.

Code

No worries! I love getting super duper detailed about this stuff.

I don't have PN's because I used http://allensfasteners.com and just bought them by the size as needed. If we go back through my posts here I think we can find everything. The ONLY bolt I haven't found is a fully threaded 65mm length bolt for the tensioner "slide". I find plenty in that length from ARP but no fully threaded ones. I am not certain that bolt is too scary to be honest though.

I did receive feedback elsewhere that the 12.9 grade bolts provided with the KW kit for the Pulley-to-supercharger can break. I was convinced these would be ok since there are 6 of them and they are of very high grade. The questions is are they TOO brittle because they are strong, which is a thing in some cases. I did a bit more research into aerospace engineering on this topic and they often wont use 12.9 for that reason. Not sure what to make of any of that yet, just thinking........

I suspect too much tension is a major culprit for those. I'm betting a fair bit on it. From what I am reading on tension you should be able to turn the belt 45 degrees and it should feel almost loose as when it heats up it tightens. I almost wish there was a way to put spring pressure on that pulley and have it "float"....................................... .... More to think about. I know Leespring.com sends me tons of catalogs, I wonder if they have a good spring rate that could work. We woudl have to isolate the pulley so it can move freely, not sure how feasible that is with this design.

In my test mounting I've also determined that the most likely issues are belt torque, let me explain, when the kit is mounted you can see that from a side profile 2 of the 3 mounts are fixed solid (Vtec and stud) but the intake mani side slides in and out. That can "twist" or torque load the system. I am taking a different approach. I am test fitting and locking down the vtec bracket and stud, then ill basically let the last bracket float into position, let it rest naturally, and lock it down
there. Not sure if that makes sense. I have a hunch these ARP bolts and tips and tricks are more of a bandaid over a tweaked hurried install that loads the pulleys and stress' the system out until something snaps......more to come!

Code

New update on the stud @Kyle sent me.

The kw fully threaded stud allows for roughly 11mm of thread engagement the new stud is longer and allows for roughly 16mm of thread engagement before bottoming out in the block. I am going to bottom it out with red loctite I THINK and then back it off like a 1/8th of a turn so its not' rubbing up against anything in there I don't want it to be.

​​​​​​The non threaded shaft actually provides a hair less play or "wobble" for the pulleys and spacer than the KW threaded shaft. Awesome. I'll need to space the nut on the end out with maybe two washers to get it to sit right but no worries there. This seems like this could be a great solution!

Any reasons to not red loctite the stud to block?

Also, I bought a stud puller, invaluable tool for this stuff. It pulled a blue loctite KW stud right out of there