hm i do realize that 7075 is the most brittle out of the three, but for something like this, a rotating application, thought that it would be the best. I just have basic experience with 7075/2024/6061 alloys through doing battlebots as a hobby so guess I'm not too knowledgeable in the technical aspects. 2024 is definitely better than 6061 though I can say for sure.

 

That’s why we are here…to share our knowledge. I’m an aircraft structures engineer my trait, a machine design engineer by education and a gear-head by passion. Those are specific material properties for each alloy. To design to the absolute extreme, then the material properties become very critical. From the amount of material that is on those pulleys, none will be loaded to their limit. They could make it even lighter if they used 2024-T351…or it would last longer.

My guess why machine shops use 6061, is that is leaves a very smooth finish with a pretty heavy cut. 2024 is a very close second. 7075 is a _____ to make shiny. Since 99.98% of the population, even here on this blog only care about looks and not “go”, they use 6061. I’m more interested in go than show!

 

that's true. makes me feel good to be a part of this community. i guess you're well ahead of me since i'm in my 2nd year studying mechanical engineering and currently interning in the spacecraft industry. 2024 is no doubt a superior alloy to 6061, and the only reason machine shops use 6061 would be that it's rather significantly cheaper. I'm not too sure if the machine finish would be an issue especially with these pulleys since they're receiving an anodized finish, but it definitely is valid since most customers probably don't even know the difference between aluminum alloys and their material properties. If they wanted to make the lightest pulleys, I think magnesium would be the material of choice. I agree on more go than show! I think sleepers have a better appeal and that's how I'm trying to keep it with my tC

 

UHHHHHHHH

 

^^^ Agreed!!!

 

I went by NST yesterday and talked with Mike for a few minutes. Great guy. Obviously loves what he does. Then again, who wouldn't love modding cars for a job? Looking at the stock and NST pulleys for the tC1, the difference is huge and I understand the stock tC2 pulley is even heavier.

They were just getting everything together for their 6th annual drift competition and car show this weekend (Sunday, 12-6, if anyone is in the Houston area), so I tried not to stay too long, but Mike did pass on a few bits of info. Looks like testing on the crank pulley should start next month with deliveries to us normal folk in June or July. If there's enough initial interest, he even discussed a possible, limited edition color for the very first production run of pulleys for the tC2. (Blue or green maybe?) He also mentioned the water pump and alternator were completely redesigned for the tC2, making pulley upgrades for them impractical. Unfortunate, but understandable. A little later, Mike hinted at some work with Spec on a clutch and lightweight flywheel in the future. No info on timeline, but worth keeping an eye on.

All-in-all, Houston was a little out of my way on my trip to Dallas, but totally worth it, getting to meet the man behind the pulleys. I'm definitely disappointed I couldn't talk him into letting me play with a prototype tC2 pulley, but I'm sure the end product will be worth the wait. Plus, I got a free energy drink out of the visit.

Thanks for meeting and talking with me, Mike. I enjoyed the visit and hope to get a chance to do it again when you have more tC2 specific stuff to show.

 

Did you happen to ask Mike if he would make the 1st run out of 2024-T351?

 

^Ugh, highly doubt it.

Anyway, good info and thanks for sharing with us P

 

Or gold maybe?

 

Good to know that there are inteligent people here that only know how to grunt...

Look; these guys have a good product...we all agree to that. But this could be a truly great product if it was made out of the correct material. It won't cost the machine shop any more to make it out of good stuff than it will to make it out of junk. All you have to do is demand it. If the price was the same and you had the choice, would you not choose the good stuff? Is that so hard to understand?

 

No, I didn't ask about the specific alloy. Hell, I'm not even sure if you'd call it an alloy, compound or something else. If you email him, he's pretty responsive.

 

always an ___ or just on forums?

 

Yes, but, it might be over kill. What are you planning to do that you would actually need to have a denser alloy? I have thier products in my xD and have yet to have an issue with them. I am sure NST take things like material type into account when designing products.

 

Don’t you watch Myth Busters? They always say, “Anything worth doing, is worth over doing” J

Just because these guys are using 6061-T6 for this purpose supports my contention that engineers are not consulted on this product and therefore incapable of taking the “material type into account when designing products”. I’ll even barter the engineering for a set of pulleys…

 

release series color... def green. Matches my theme....

 

Any updates on availability?

 

Thanks for stopping by. Much appreciated!

And thank you for the kind words. I certainly do enjoy what I do for a living, I work very hard at it, and hopefully it shows in the products and the culture of our company.

We should have a crank pulley for the tC2 this summer, so please stay tuned!

And as far as material goes, we will use the same material that we have always used for all our products.... thousands of pulleys sold since 2005, thousands of happy customers, thousands of pulleys still going strong. Not to mention the same pulleys still being used on the same NST race cars for several seasons.

Thanks again, good luck and have fun with all your projects!

 

Looking forward to this summer! This will probably be my first performance mod...seems like a fantastic bang for the buck. Now if I can only find a shop that won't charge me an arm and a leg to install it for me...

 

Maybe NST can get a certain individual to do an installation video for them ;). Just throwing it out there I'm sure a lot more people would get this if they don't have to pay an arm and a leg for install...

 

i had a set on my 05 TC that i bought at a car show, weight difference is unbelievable. I will def want a full set of pulleys. as far as colors go, how bout doin some that come close to some of the new paint colors