Variator Ponderings........

[Lennox]

Ok, the bench grinder took the "built in" washer restrictor off the Yellow Adly... but it still only reaches a lowsy 35-37 MPH. This is just not fast enough.

This did get me thinking though..... has anyone ever ground down the face of one of the pully halves? so when they come together, they press closer....

How high is safe for the belt to ride? Can it SAFELY run 2-3mm above the outer edge of the pullies? 5-6mm? I just might try it.....

[shayandaman]

Ok, the bench grinder took the "built in" washer restrictor off the Yellow Adly... but it still only reaches a lowsy 35-37 MPH. This is just not fast enough.

This did get me thinking though..... has anyone ever ground down the face of one of the pully halves? so when they come together, they press closer....

How high is safe for the belt to ride? Can it SAFELY run 2-3mm above the outer edge of the pullies? 5-6mm? I just might try it.....

If you grind it, then your acceleration would be affected because your belt will sit higher between the pullys, right?

[XPS1210]

and if you look at the way they are made... grinding the face won't do anything... you need to shorten the shaft... then it would cause the pulleys to get closer togeather... right? as the part that holds them apart is the metal bearing it rides on... if that were shorter and you put washers inbetween the nut and the finned pulley to make up for the space you took off the other side... then the belt would and could ride higher in the variator...

[florida derbi rocket]

Am I nuts here...Shouldnt the face have a surface that grabs the belt better?...wouldnt grinding "Polish" the face and make the Belt slip more?....

[Lennox]

the pully faces meet near the shaft, and grinding just that area WOULD allow the pullies to close more!

I compared the stock vari to the techno, and the smart makers of the Techno have already done this..... I'll post pics tomorow. But, It would work for a stock vari :naught: ;)

[XPS1210]

How about belt wear? I'd think that unless you also took the time to "clean" it well and polish the metal again... it'd eat belts... with the rough materials running on the belt...

[Aviatrixie]

Jered... that's the info I'm getting. Polish is a good thing. A new vario tends to eat belts and chew rollers until pulley faces and roller ramps get broken in... polished. In fact, I'll do that poll today. (meant to do it last night, but was too tired... went to bed early.) It all makes perfect sense to me and I want to get that info out so people understand why their belts and rollers wear so fast with a new vario install.

[Lennox]

here, on the left is the Techno. See how it sits just a bit closer to the table? The table in theory is the other pully half......

I do not think wear from grinding would be a problem... when the belt sits that low, it is only for take-off and low rpm's... most of the time the belt will be higher on the pully. Obviously you do not want jagged edges though!

My concern for belt wear is the belt riding up past the edge of the two pully halves. What is the safe limit?