Kraftwerks Broken Belt - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

morswestford · 09-20-2015, 11:30 AM

I purchased the Kraftwerks supercharger for my 2013 Subaru Brz a few months ago. I only drove 1k miles with it with the supercharger so far and yesterday my belt broke. I wasn't even driving it fast. I just heard a loud snaping noise.

crazy. You know i was hesitant to purchase this system because of all of the other people's horror stories with the broken belts. I'm pissed. Is this because of the belt was too tight, or is this a design flaw? I am certainly not alone. I wish kraftwerks can fix this problem.

I wonder how many more belts will i have to go through before kraftwerks fixing there design issues.

Freeman · 09-20-2015, 11:58 AM

Weird never had a broken belt. Best of luck to you!

Dream20b · 09-20-2015, 12:11 PM

You knew about it, and ignored it? Not to be a ****, but you took a risk and lost.

FirestormFRS · 09-20-2015, 12:54 PM

More than 5k miles and no belt issues. Maybe it's an install error.

morswestford · 09-20-2015, 04:40 PM

maybe. i had the belt tightened just a few weeks ago because it was too loose. maybe it was tightened too tight. crazy. i guess it needs to be just right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by FirestormFRS

More than 5k miles and no belt issues. Maybe it's an install error.

DJCarbine · 09-20-2015, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morswestford

maybe. i had the belt tightened just a few weeks ago because it was too loose. maybe it was tightened too tight. crazy. i guess it needs to be just right.

I think there is an app floating around where you can use your smartphone to record the noise of the belt and it will determine its frequency/vibration or something along those lines. People seemed to have good results

Freeman · 09-20-2015, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJCarbine

I think there is an app floating around where you can use your smartphone to record the noise of the belt and it will determine its frequency/vibration or something along those lines. People seemed to have good results

Yes this^^^^ it's called the Gates Carbon Drive app. Works fairly well. Target is 60Hz

industrial · 09-20-2015, 05:04 PM

I think the belt needs to be just tight enough not to slap. It doesn't help that the belt continues to stretch once installed. Over the last 5000 miles I've had to tighten a quarter turn here and there to get rid of the slap and keep things happy in there. I just did it again the other day and maybe turned the tension nut 1/8 a turn.

I don't think the system is a flawed design from an engineering standpoint. It works just fine. There is just way too much room for user/installer error. The saving grace is that the primary mode of failure we've seen are just broken belts for the most part. It's not like some kits where user/installer error leads to catastrophic failure.

morswestford · 09-20-2015, 07:52 PM

thanks great information, i will def. check that out

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freeman

Yes this^^^^ it's called the Gates Carbon Drive app. Works fairly well. Target is 60Hz

morswestford · 09-20-2015, 08:03 PM

i think you're right. this belt setup is very sensitive. def. is a learning curve to getting it right. it's still very frustrating to learn how to get it exactly right.

Quote:

Originally Posted by industrial

I think the belt needs to be just tight enough not to slap. It doesn't help that the belt continues to stretch once installed. Over the last 5000 miles I've had to tighten a quarter turn here and there to get rid of the slap and keep things happy in there. I just did it again the other day and maybe turned the tension nut 1/8 a turn.

I don't think the system is a flawed design from an engineering standpoint. It works just fine. There is just way too much room for user/installer error. The saving grace is that the primary mode of failure we've seen are just broken belts for the most part. It's not like some kits where user/installer error leads to catastrophic failure.

DJCarbine · 09-20-2015, 08:05 PM

Would a spring loaded/hydraulic tensioner be appropriate for this application?

disclaimer : I don't know crap about belt harmonics and engineering of serpentine belts/cogged belts

ATL BRZ · 09-21-2015, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by morswestford

I purchased the Kraftwerks supercharger for my 2013 Subaru Brz a few months ago. I only drove 1k miles with it with the supercharger so far and yesterday my belt broke. I wasn't even driving it fast. I just heard a loud snaping noise.

crazy. You know i was hesitant to purchase this system because of all of the other people's horror stories with the broken belts. I'm pissed. Is this because of the belt was too tight, or is this a design flaw? I am certainly not alone. I wish kraftwerks can fix this problem.

I wonder how many more belts will i have to go through before kraftwerks fixing there design issues.

Fundamental design flaw. Sell your KW kit and get the Jackson Racing kit if you don't want to keep breaking belts.

Freeman · 09-21-2015, 09:43 AM

Lol I was waiting for Ian to show up

King Tut · 09-21-2015, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ATL BRZ

Fundamental design flaw. Sell your KW kit and get the Jackson Racing kit if you don't want to keep breaking belts.

Fundamental design flaw with both. Sell your supercharger and get a turbo if you don't want to waste horsepower spinning it with a belt.

09-20-2015, 11:30 AM	#1
morswestford Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2015 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Location: Philly Posts: 184 Thanks: 0 Thanked 24 Times in 17 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Kraftwerks Broken Belt I purchased the Kraftwerks supercharger for my 2013 Subaru Brz a few months ago. I only drove 1k miles with it with the supercharger so far and yesterday my belt broke. I wasn't even driving it fast. I just heard a loud snaping noise. crazy. You know i was hesitant to purchase this system because of all of the other people's horror stories with the broken belts. I'm pissed. Is this because of the belt was too tight, or is this a design flaw? I am certainly not alone. I wish kraftwerks can fix this problem. I wonder how many more belts will i have to go through before kraftwerks fixing there design issues. Attached Images

09-20-2015, 12:11 PM	#3
Dream20b Y u do dis? Join Date: May 2014 Drives: 2013 Scion FR-S Location: Northbrook, IL Posts: 465 Thanks: 832 Thanked 194 Times in 107 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	You knew about it, and ignored it? Not to be a ****, but you took a risk and lost. __________________ Dat Hot Lava Doe Clearly you have no clue what you are talking about. Everything you said was completely and utterly the ramblings of a babbling idiot regurgitating garbage from his mouth. Everyone here is now dumber from reading your post. Please die now.

09-20-2015, 08:05 PM	#11
DJCarbine Thupercharged Join Date: Mar 2013 Drives: 2013 FR-S Location: La Grange Park, IL. Posts: 1,501 Thanks: 116 Thanked 751 Times in 439 Posts Mentioned: 23 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Would a spring loaded/hydraulic tensioner be appropriate for this application? disclaimer : I don't know crap about belt harmonics and engineering of serpentine belts/cogged belts __________________ 2013 FRS Vortech V3 11psi Revworks UEL - PLM Overpipe - MOTIV catted frontpipe - Invidia Q300 2019 Series.Grey STI - Stage1+ SF

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09-20-2015, 12:54 PM	#4
FirestormFRS Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Drives: 2013 FR-S Location: Anytown Posts: 920 Thanks: 73 Thanked 643 Times in 302 Posts Mentioned: 3 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	More than 5k miles and no belt issues. Maybe it's an install error.

09-20-2015, 05:04 PM	#8
industrial Add lightness! Join Date: Apr 2012 Drives: 17' WRX Location: Boston Posts: 1,253 Thanks: 380 Thanked 888 Times in 411 Posts Mentioned: 20 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I think the belt needs to be just tight enough not to slap. It doesn't help that the belt continues to stretch once installed. Over the last 5000 miles I've had to tighten a quarter turn here and there to get rid of the slap and keep things happy in there. I just did it again the other day and maybe turned the tension nut 1/8 a turn. I don't think the system is a flawed design from an engineering standpoint. It works just fine. There is just way too much room for user/installer error. The saving grace is that the primary mode of failure we've seen are just broken belts for the most part. It's not like some kits where user/installer error leads to catastrophic failure.

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