1st Gen R53 Cooper S Most liked posts in thread: New Parts on the way!

Keep us posted.

 

:cornut: The Silicone ones don't deteriorate from the oil/petroleum junk in the engine compartment as fast the factory ones do(barring of course the new R56 N18 metal turbo intake pipe).

Jason

 

It is basically a clone of the DT tuned strap...a cable style one. They are silent. They just sit and wait...if the belt on the tensioner fails...it just prevents it from over extending, and striking the crank damper and damaging it, and it self....I think there have been a few BAD clones around,, made with cheap aluminum eyelets...but IMO no worries if you get them from WMW or DT tuned!!
Best insurance is to regularly change the belt...IMO yearly with the 17%, and every other year with the 15%...but if you loose the belt...say at an auto-x event from over reving, the stop can save you some serious $$...
One tip...the cable Style stops DO WEAR...the eyelets on the ends can rub, and overtime can wear-through....so when you do any type of heavy MX, take a look at it!!
The newer style that waymoroworks is now selling....not sure, have not seen it, but it looks good, heck it eliminates the main way the cable style ones fail....so looks like a winner!!

WMW Tensioner Stop - Way Motor Works



The stop style employed by ALTA has been modified and changed a few times....but most folks conclude it makes noise...buzzes or rattles...the only plus is some find it slightly simpler to put on..it goes OVER the tensioner, rather than UNDER the bolts on it....but anybody who has ever had a rattle or a buzz in a motor knows the issue.............

 

OK...lets clean up the previous post rolleyes5

The WMW is NOT a clone of the DT stop. It is a solid piece and imo a better design than the DT one as you know it will perform as designed w/o failing. I have an earlier version of the WMW one (from a different vendor, no longer made) and besides a little bit of a rattle that can only be heard with the hood up, works great.

Another option is the replacement for the damper from Alta. Instead of dealing with the damper or bushings failing, you simply have an adjustable tensioner arm.

ALTA Performance — — R53 Tension Stop

 

Before alta came out with the new tensior, they sold a stop....was a noisy hunk of metal...yhey then shipped some foam thinggs to quiet it..had a million threads on it back in the day......etc, etc....they finely gave up on it, and redesigned then tensioner entirely....eliminating it as an add on stop....it becomes a aftermatket replacemnt part....
Over the years, there have been several desgins for stops...the ones that have endured are the simple, cheap cable...many places have made their own....a few with poor results...slightly too long, or soft eyletsthat wear, or crimps that don't hold when it is called to perform.
The newest one...from waymotorworks looks line a winner...heck one of the FEW NEW AND INNOVATIVE products for the r53 in a couple years....adresses a few issues.

 

To tell you the truth, I have always wondered why there was a damper or even a tensioner for the belt. How many other cars have a spring mounted tensioner for the serpentine belt?

 

According to belt manufacturer Gates there over 100 million cars out there using spring loaded automatic belt tensioners.

 

I'm thinking having the belt run the supercharger makes all the difference. I can only imagine the problems with slipping belts there'd be without that spring loaded little beauty.

 

I know my Volkswagen does

 

Wow....news to me.

Do they also have the damper?

 

Sounds like you are on a roll!

 

:cornut: The Samco intake hose, is it reenforced? There's a LOT of vacuum pressure on that hose. Years ago I got one from Alta and after 3mos it started collapsing and throwing codes. Now I have a metal intake pipe and problem solved.

Jason

 

Intake hose is mostly bling. Might get a slight increase in power...it sounded like you took care in fitting it, trimming it to fit tightly, and allowing it to stay flexed, so it did not bend making a bottleneck in the soft side :biggrin5:
When it comes to silicone hoses like Samco, many folks switch to them for radiators...the issue ifrom what I have read is they are a bit more permeable than the stock style OEM hoses used in the cooling system.. Maybe they just got a bad ebay deal, but many folks report the need to add a bit of added coolant..and no leaks...but to some folks, the LOOK is worth it. OEM rubber hoses seem to be OK...folks usually seem to be replacing them after about 10 years or so