Balancer /Hub

[The_Six]

Trying to decide when or If I should upgrade to a TA performance Hub/ balancer. I know its not a Harmonic Balancer but Im not trying to brake in to the low 10s or any thing. So far Im looking at a stock rebuild with maybe TRW pistons. My stock hub seams to be ok with 130k on it I serched the site and only seen one failure but read in sevral of the Balancer threads that they failed all the time but no one seams to post about it. At what Time are you required to have a SFI Approved Balancer on the track?
Any suggestions or opinons on this would be great. I did a lot of searching didnt find any good threads on this. I know these engines have cpoblems in high hourse power builds with the center caps walking that is why you guys change out the caps and girdle them would the need for caps and a girdle be less if a Harmonic Balancer was used instead of the hub?

 

[pacecarta]

the stock is not a balancer its a hub so doesnt fall under the sfi reg

but if you run a balancer (like the BHJ, tci ) its required to be sfi certified at 10.99

now just because the stocker is accepted doent mean that its a good idea to run it in the 10s or that the TA peice is a waste of money , its a better unit than stock and also a cheaper alternative when going to a external balanced crank (like the current available forged units)

 

[m233roller]

If your hub is good, No gouging inside and the keyway is tight with NO cracks, run it. There are ALOT more guys runnig stockers in the 10's than the aftermarket ones.Not that the aftermarket ones are not good units but they do get kind of spendy. Iv'e been running in the 10's for years and never had a problem with the stocker.

 

[charlief1]

Another way to look at is if you go over 6K then it would be a good idea to help cut down on internal vibrational stress. Below 6K it really isn't needed.

 

[Nick Micale]

the stock is not a balancer its a hub so doesnt fall under the sfi reg

but if you run a balancer (like the BHJ, tci ) its required to be sfi certified at 10.99

now just because the stocker is accepted doent mean that its a good idea to run it in the 10s or that the TA peice is a waste of money , its a better unit than stock and also a cheaper alternative when going to a external balanced crank (like the current available forged units)

The NHRA rule is that you MUST have a SFI approved balancer at 10.99 and faster.

The TA hub is not a harmonic balancer, but it is steel, not cast iron like stock, and it is SFI certified and legal for NHRA.

 

[The_Six]

Thanks guys guess I’ll have to take a good look at my stocker if it doesn’t do much good for a harmonic balancer until 6k then I may not need it, although it may be worth getting the TA unit for the added insurance.

 

[bison]

the stock is not a balancer its a hub so doesnt fall under the sfi reg

The stock setup uses a balancer. You can visually see the counterweighting. It is not a damper like a BHJ, Fluidampr, or equivalent and not an SFI approved piece. Making it a balancer does not make it SFI approved either. The SFI cert doesnt last forever either. The item needs to be re-certed after a period of time. For anythign where a non stock crank will be used its best to go with a damper. Most aftermarket cranks have enough counterweighting to be able to easily keep the entire balance in the crank itself.

 

[pacecarta]

The stock setup uses a balancer. You can visually see the counterweighting. It is not a damper like a BHJ, Fluidampr, or equivalent and not an SFI approved piece. Making it a balancer does not make it SFI approved either. The SFI cert doesnt last forever either. The item needs to be re-certed after a period of time. For anythign where a non stock crank will be used its best to go with a damper. Most aftermarket cranks have enough counterweighting to be able to easily keep the entire balance in the crank itself.

well then i guess i needed to be more specific , yes its a balancer on stock , a hub balancer but not a harmonic balancer which is used by the other common brands which were dominant on the tracks (chevy/pontiac/mopar/ford) where the failures occured , a harmonic balancer which is how its written and to which the SFI reg applies in the rules was written due to the failures of the major brands which use a harmonic balancer that has a separate inertia ring that often would separate and fly off the motor , this is why the rule is in place , not to regulate a hub balancer that does not have a separate inertia ring

 

[The_Six]

Thanks guys,
So I guess if your not trying to get lower then 10s then a harmonic balancer is probably not needed and since I dont know if Ill be trying to get in the 10s some day I should get the TA balancer for just in case.