Thanks, Dave. Been searching w/o any specific hits. Purpose of this experiment is really to share results.....We'll see once we hurdle the belt search challenge.
It can... but you are better off buying the whole asembly. I actually went so far as to contact Stabilus about the cost to replace that little effer. One of their suppliers got back to me with a price that made me laugh hysterically. It's not that "cheap" $-wise anyway.
I have offen thought about braiding a bunch of office rubber bands together to get just the right tension and resistance and the rubber will absorb and damper any movement. I call it the Office Depot Mod. :idea::lol:
read the spec sheet I posted. the tensile force generated is only 10N worth. compared to the 200N of compressive force.
Thanks for the damper spec sheet, Savvy. Much like most dampers, resistance is greater on compression to prevent too much spring bounce. Too bad, they're not exactly durable & are priced ridiculously higher than a tensioner assembly.....Thanks, BMW MINI! The search for those Stretch belts continues....:fingerscrossed:
The cost probably has to do with the fact that this engine may be the only one to use that size/spec of damper.
Help me comprehend why those longer rear hatch struts are way outpriced by the much smaller tensioner damper. That won't just be about supply & demand? Gates Micro-V Horizon Stretch Fit Contitech Elastic V-Ribbed Belts Goodyear Stretch Dayco ELA Searched all the above & never came up w/ details on our belt size equivalent.
I've changed the damper once though. After about 45k mi. A poll might show its average life. How often have you guys done yours?
Just an update. I've tried how the drive felt w/ a busted tensioner damper, how new it felt w/ a new tensioner.......Dug into my tensioner assembly today for inspection. Damper resistance still good. Decided to swap it w/ the adjustable Alta. Marked the tiny stock tensioner stop above the spring as base for proper belt tension...... Guess what....It felt better than when having a new damper. Call it psychological, but drive was way smoother. Alternator voltage saw consistent maxima/minima. Idle fluctuation range seems more limited. This is my 1st impression on test, not yet a recommendation. We'll have to see how this does long term. I'm still in search of those STRETCH Belts! Help me.:beer
Update....after a lil over 5k mi of non-track use...my Stabilus tensioner damper is limp....dead...AGAIN.... Renewing that 3yr old quest for 6PK1374-1388 StretchFit equivalent for a tensioner delete experiment.....Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, guys.
See my other post to your duplicate post in another thread. Buy a new tensioner from Amazon. Tensioner a wear out just like belts, brakes and tire's. The little shock is not the only part that fails.
But 5k mi is like oil change interval....unlike belts, brakes & tires, Dave.....& they're no longer $80 in Amazon.
My best guess... A stretch to fit belt will not work on a MINI S due to the extra load of the SC...hate to be the Debbi downer on stuff...but maybe I'm the voice of reason....the fact that gen1 cars are a shrinking market.... doesn't bode well for many more changes beyong the "homebrew" type of changes.... SURE, those belts work fine with an alternator and air-conditioning compressor....but you are likly doubling or trippling the load with a SC.... Just make the best of it...heck....my car was still on the OEM unit with about 100,000 miles and 10 years....might have swapped it if I kept it....but I'm thinking cheaper units might get a junk strut to save a few $$....
Thanks, Zip. We'll never know til we try. Stretch belts weren't used during the time the gen1s were designed. Might be worth giving it a shot. Worst thing is going back to stock. You reckon cheaper tensioner assemblies hook in a differently made or inferior Stabilus damper? Hmmmm.
Look at this: $38.80 Belt Tensioner Damper Shock Absorber Stabilus OEM 1112000414 https://www.amazon.com/Mercedes-Benz-Tensioner-Absorber-Stabilus-1112000414/dp/B00V5F32OA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1473687267&sr=8-3&keywords=belt+damper Dave.....& they're no longer $80 in Amazon Yeah the price of the whole unit went up to $92.68 https://www.amazon.com/ACDelco-38404-Professional-Automatic-Tensioner/dp/B001KSDZOY/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1473687267&sr=8-8&keywords=belt+damper