Hey all, I'm working on getting a stage 2 kit, almost have all the cash for it. I'm still learning to trick out my car on my own, I'm sure you all remember those days. I have come up with a few questions...

I've been reading around the site and a lot of you have said you got the stage 2 and swapped out pulleys, how small of a pulley could i safely switch to without pushing the engine too hard? How much additional power can i get? Also, a guy at work has been talking about knock retard, so I'm wondering if this is a big concern at this stage of the modifications. If so, what can i do to reduce KR?

 

According to the findings of the majority of the people on this site, a 2.9" pulley is the smallest you should go on Stage II. Knock retard is the amount of timing that is pulled due to knock. The computer uses the input from a sensor to determine the amount of knock present and then retards the timing in response. When you go to a smaller pulley you increase the amount of heat created by higher boost pressures and this air enters your cylinders. This can create knock depending on the situation which is made up of many different factors. To combat this knock there are solutions that you can use to lower intake temperature as well as the temperature in the cylinder.

With the 2.9" on stage II you should not have to worry about this too much as long as you run premium fuel. However, it would be a good idea to run a step colder spark plug which by design is able to maintain a cooler temperature in the combustion chamber. Other modifications that people do are larger heat exchangers for the intercooler, methanol/water injection, increase intercoolers coolant capacity etc. There are many tricks to this which you will learn if you browse around the site.

 

^ditto

 

I got a 2.90" true pulley from nherb on here with the stage2 and it is well worth the $50

 

Sounds pretty good. What tools would i need to have to get to install the smaller pulley?

 

i have the 2.85 pulley on the stage 2 tune and i love it

when u buy stage 2 they give you the key to swap out the pulleys