Hey guys, newbie needing pulley advice...

Brand new to the forum, not quite new to off road lawn equipment, however this is my first semi serious build.

Anyways, im running a Ford LT8 chassis with a briggs 14.5hp I/C OHV single...

I found a pulley chart online, im wanting to run the stock 3.5 in engine pulley, and repulley the trans while i got it out for brakes, but my question is...

Im trying to decide between a 4inch, 5inch, or 6 inch pulley. The off road park ill be riding at has a 15mph speed limit, according to the chart..

4in- 20mph.
5in-16mph.
6in- 12mph.

It said a 5 speed trans would affect the top speeds, but im scared to pulley it just for speed and loose torque for hills and such, but i want wheelspeed for mud.

Im leaning toward the 6 inch, or do you think that the 14.5hp will have the power to deal with a smaller pulley and still have satisfactory torque?

Im running factory sized rear ag style tires.

Any and all input is apperciated.

Welcome!

14.5hp is plenty to get you to 15mph and still have good torque. For a while I ran a 5 1/2" front and 4" rear which got me to 22mph with a 12hp Briggs. It still had plenty of torque in lower gears with a good top speed.

you will not loose torque. that 14.5 will have more than enough balls to do that. i used to have one. good little engine. belt traction is a big part of it too, by the way. the larger the pulley, the more surface area the belt has to grab onto. a good double pulley clutch will help you too. if you do not know what i am talking about when i say double pulley clutch, im sure i can direct you to a topic that deals with that. i dont know exactly where, but im sure i can find one.
Something about that chart doesnt seem quite right. because my ranch king had the same 3.5 inch front and a 7 inch rear and it went top speed of 6mph. i dont think that a 6 will increase it that much more

http://smallengines.ca/pulley.

Here is a link to the chart.

What is the double pulley clutch you speak of? I was thinking about trying to possibly stiffin mine up some with an added spring or something, havent quite got that far yet, i gotta get brakes on it and work out some steering quirks first.

Here is a link to Fearless's video on his double pulley clutch:



hope this helps!

I was just about to get there and post the vid, but CQ beat me to it. thanks CQ, and i hope that video helps. that will help your belt traction immensely. the single pulley clutches that push the belt inward or outward to keep tension are awful. they will slip to no end when you are engaging your clutch. Im not all that good with clutches and belt stuff though. So someone correct me if i said something wrong

Hmm, seems simple enough, i might give that a shot, i can see how it would definatly improve belt grip

Yeah, double pulley clutch is the way to go for good belt tension. Fearlessfront's video is quite good on explaining everything.

I run on my 12 hp 6 speed craftsman 4.5 front and 4 on rear. Stock size tires and with factory gov settings it does exactly 15 mph. Plenty of power in low gears for hard pulling.