What Harmonic Balancers Do and Why You Need One! 

Fluidampr was the best thing I did to my old EJ25. Smoother shifting, easier to started on hills, much smoother throughout the rev range.

Mr. Kojima you sir are a living legend! Thank you for sharing your wisdom over the years.

Awesome video with a lot of detailed information on how these harmonic dampers mitigate internal twist. I've got a fluidampr (and no balance shafts) on my Evo, wish I had done the fluidampr from the start

Appreciate the cross examination between the Fluidampr & ATI damper

Haha Mike struggling not to upstage homeboy is great. Dude is literally an encyclopedia

Thats so cool to hear you guys worked on Dai Yoshihara car. I got to meet Dai at WBM 2023 this year. That turbo ls7 brz is absolutely amazing. And he’s a super chill guy, very approachable and willing to answer questions. We also got to see him drift around the track for a good hour or so. Totally awesome to see that level of driving skill in person.

This videos are the boom! Love hearing engineering at its best, not from clase room but from year of experience! Love this videos!

Cooked my oil pump gear on a toyota 2zz engine because of harmonics from installing an under driven crank pulley. These guys speak the truth

Welp.....this is just great. I had to pause this video about half a dozen times to look up terms these guys use. This is both a compliment to Mike and guest and a non compliment to my meager vocabulary.

I decided on an ATI for my Whipple supercharged Gen 2 Coyote and I rev it out to 7600 all the time very smooth and loves the revs. However we just built my 2007 LBZ Duramax using the Fluidamper and I love them both. I love the fact that I don’t ever have to rebuild the fluidamper so I’ll be switching out my ATI instead of rebuilding it to the fluidamper.

Did i just hear Kojima say "bro"

You sold me! I was doing my do diligence and now convinced I need this for my Duramax LMM build. Thanks for the video!

I know this isn't the thing on this channel, but I think we'd all appreciate seeing/hearing some shop cars, maybe a little tour through the builds. I love the technical details, never a bad time to learn something!

Ok hold on, what on earth was that big word you just said at 4:10!?😅 “hiesteresisisss”

I've always wanted to know how a fluidampr works. Thanks

Would be cool if there was one for the Volvo 5 cylinder.

wish you could put up a poll, several years ago I did my own research and I always thought the technology was better on the fluidumpr vs the ATI. a lot of guys were running the ATI and suggesting the ATI. I don't recall the reasons for going ATI versus of fluidampr . thinking that something to do in tuning the damper for specific frequencies. nevertheless I bucked the trend and went with the fluidampr haven't looked back since or thought about it really. but you never forget how smooth the motor is at high RPMs

Good show, Thanks!

excellent info & demonstration! keep up the good work guys.

I had no idea. Thanks for waking me up.

That ball bearing moving so slowly through the fluid is spinning me out ! Haha

I have one on my built B20vtec motor, definitely a noticeable difference and smoother idle with these big cams

I'm cleaning a carb while I'm listening. And this spokesman sounds like Dan Aykroyd . Very informative, thank you

I always learn so much from MotoIQ!!

Love these types of series !

I run a fluid damper on my car, its not even really high output but it has really smoothed out my idle and revs. As for power freed up I cant really tell there but for any car I build, a fluid damper will be going on it.

Always wanted to put a fluidamper onto my k20, but the price is what kept me from getting one

Would be great if this was available for sr20 Going from dualmass flywheel to single mass with the CD009 trans has caused some issues Id love to get rid of. Please consider?

Great video, now I'm convinced to go with fluidampr

Watch for cracks along keyway.

Would love to see what they could develop for the VW Porsche Aircooled world.

What is amazing is all the Toyota aftermarket "performance " stores that push light weight billet crank pulleys- especially for the 4age. The Toyota WSR racers quickly (lightly tuned 4age) learned running without a damper resulted in reduced bearing life. But shops still promote the "performance advantage" of a light weight pulley

just bought a fluidampr for my sti. thank you for putting out this info

My experience with dampers is to not drop one onto your toe when removing them.

Your forgot to mention Canyon runners 22:22. I beat the crap out of my mostly stock engine 350Z for over 1200 turns on Tail of the Dragon, easily more than an hour ON the throttle at high rpms, just having so much fun! I did it 4x back to back, LOL! My aftermarket brakes and clutch did start to get soft at the very end and I had to call it a day. When I rebuild that motor, which still runs alright at 128k, I'm adding an aftermarket damper.

I have a bone stock LS3 with headers, an ACT prolite lightweight flywheel, solid hub 6-puck clutch, solid serpentine tensioner, T56 Magnum, and a DR44G alternator. I don't baby the engine. I go through two sets of tires every year, clutch kick it, shift hard, and have towed 70% of the vehicle weight. Ever since new, on acceleration pulls, I can hear a rattle in the transmission from 3000RPM up that matches the engine speed. -- The stock harmonic balancer has started to wobble and at 5 years/80K miles, and it may have done damage to my power steering pump. If the crankshaft snout isn't bent, I'm going to install a "Fluidampr" and see if that calms things down. -- If the crank is bent, I'll use a Fluidampr on my rebuild, which will have a mild cam (228/240-112, .591"/.551"), 3.75" stroke, 6.2" rods, 1.165" flat top JE pro pistons, and a 4.07" bore. -- The fluidampr assembly is nice because it's one piece that does not depend on the strength of rubber to make it run concentric with the crankshaft snout. I'm not too concerned with the weight of the damper because it's small in diameter, so inertia is less of an issue. -- I do suspect two other things: I might need to get a smaller alternator like a CS130D, a larger alternator pulley, and re-consider how I tension the belt. It's always been in the back of my mind, and now here I am with a busted crank pulley.

Great video. Like mentioned in the video, it's not a sexy part. People still tend to focus on the bling rather than function.

Great video! Really learned a lot from both of you. Appreciate the insight as always

Thanks for the info, just bought a Fluidampr for my FG2 (k20) and it definitely improve the NVH noise especially after the oil pump swap (no more balance shaft). Easy installation, add protection to the engine, great idle and it revs smoother! Can't comment on potentially HP difference as i didn't dyno the car before and after the install.

I'm glad that I'm currently using fluidampr on my car. Thanks for the really helpful info

Interesting that Subarus are mentioned, I would have thought there wouldn't be much crank whip in a EJ crank due to the short length. I'm certainly considering a damper for my AMC I6 build, almost all of those old American I6s have big crank whip issues and are well known to not rev much past 5k rpm without breaking.

You need to do a back to back comparison with the ATI Super Damper......

I bought myself one of these for my honda B series today so thank you both for this video 👍👍

I love the theory behind this technology. Could the centre hoop be made with offset heavier elements like some cranks have in their counter weights?

I see a lot of misconceptions on these so called "Harmonic Dampers". In order to effectively transfer harmonics to the damper an interference fit must be used, that is, where a diameter of the inside of the damper is smaller that the outer diameter of the crankshaft's snout. These dampers need to be pressed on with special tools (like a bearing into a hub). Subaru (EJ...), on the other hand, do not use a Harmonic Damper as such, it is a location/clearance fit pulley that has a thin rubber strip to reduce audible NVH (Noise, Vibration, Harshness) which is a major concern for OE manufacturers. However, same cannot be said of other types of engines.

5:42 honda dampeners are good to about 11,000 rpms.

I wish Fluiddampr would make a harmonic balancer for the SR20DET :( I think for my usage 350 to 400ish hp stock OEM balancer should be ok.

I didn't know Ray Zalinsky from Tommy Boy was your guest today.

I got a 2jz on poly motor mounts, adding a fluidampr, no joke, the motor at idle no longer vibrates the interior, the engine runs super smooth and this may be an placebo, but i swear the motor rev's up faster. And with the 2jz you can ask any owner of one, the oem pulley is a ticking time bomb, and for the price of a oem replacement, for a virtually lifetime part, its an no brainer.

I really want one of these! Going to need to get rid of my dual mass flywheel soon and it already brings the ruckus with the chatter

He says- "we go from -40 to +300 and I've never never seen a damper come close to either end of that spectrum." What does this mean? If you cool a damper to -40, it is exactly at the end of that spectrum. Heat it to +300 , and it is at the other end. I'm trying to read between those lines, but not coming up with anything. I like the fluid idea, and have had several elastomer damper failures. Nothing dramatic, but outer ring slipping, or just gone. Stock honda, gm, and toyota.

I want to put one on my '11 Legacy GT with an EJ255 but it has a special size that's not used in any other subaru application :/ earlier EJ motors used the 2 belt setup but the USDM 5th gen legacy only has 1 belt like the FA engines. FA harmonic balancers are a different size too so it looks like I have no options

One of the best car channels on RU-vid! Thank you for your hard work. Waiting for more great videos!

It's too bad they don't make them for quite a few engines... so while this was a great video, I still can't get either the ATI or a Fluidampr...

Are y'all still gonna do a video on the 1GR-FE motor?

Love this, love to learn always been curious about fluid damper thanks!

cool. they don't make fluid dampers for my engine though so... FML I guess

thank you for your video, very informative great to see excellent work your passion for building engines sure is great thank you again

Can't beat a Fluidampr, 1100kw 2j dry sump, the best balancer on the market, full stop!

Tell him to make one for the 4.0 and 4.4 bmw v8s and to take my money!!

When is fluidampr going to come out with products for the Toyota ur series of engines

Thanks for the vid. If you could just move out of the way i want to see what you've got going on in that GD's engine bay

🥳😎 Awesome job.

Now I understand why it cost me $500 for one. I am glad I did it.

Sucks Fluidampr doesn't have one for my Z34

I had to look them up while I was watching. Too bad fluidampr doesn’t make one for an SR20. ATI will have to do.

I’ll take the fluidamper

So, even when you have an engine professionally balanced you still need to run a harmonic balancer. K, gotcha. Or should I say, "Gonna getcha" My own "Fluid Damper" ;-) L8R G8R!

Ok where was this video when I put a very light weight flywheel on my car and now I'm getting random misfires 😢. Calling them today

Fluidampr! Please make one for the gen V LT1 Camaro🙏

This is really helpful. I was about to install a lightweight damper that I've had laying around, but that isn't happening. I'll be sticking with my stock damper until I buy myself a fluidampr.

I know alot of dirt track racers with sbc motors .they all run a hub.on a nuteral balanced motor. Not saying I don't agree with the video. But I have seen people get alot of life out of their motor with no balancer at all.

Can you please do a video on how to get a job with you or another shop like yours

Thanks Mike for filling in the gaps for me 😂 I got lost a bit until you dumbed it down for me hahaha

I need one for 94 KA24DE

Do they make a liquid one for the KA I would rather go with that than the ATI now.

Please do it for sr20 engine !

I’ve been anticipating this episode with great dong

My Kia G4FJ needs one.

Great video, I have a questions. Does an ati pulley balance on a machine that balances engine parts ? Do we balance the engine parts without the ATI pulley and mount the pulley once the engine is finished ? thx

I run a fluid dampener on my tuned EVO.

Real sprint engines don't have belts use a mageneto ffs shaft driven off the crank water pump and shaft driven oil pump off the cam

Mike you’re the man! Just out of curiosity, how do they know which frequencies to attenuate on an unknown application? Do they use Modal Analysis or Orbital Plotting to predict? Or do they do experimental testing on the crankshaft? Also have they quantified how many dB of attentuation on the 2nd and 3rd order harmonics compared to a stock unit? Curious, which spectrum analyzer do they use?

Excellent explanation

Very, very informative. After watching the video and comparing the Fluidampr construction to my car’s OEM damper, I’m 99.99% sure it’s made by Fluidampr.

Dame! I want to get a fluid damper for my k swap now. My poor walleeeeeta 😢

I'll be adding one to the d16v1 turbo build

i want one for my 1.5L yaris now.

I chipped my ati dampner for my k20a idk how got hella upset about said oh well ill get a new one bought mine for $380 now there $450 or something shit im upset again ! 😐

Someone tell them to make a damper for the KA. The people want to rev!

I thought Fluidampr had Dan Aykroyd selling for them as I was listening to this before I glanced at the screen 😂

love the videos. im LEARNED!

Taking any weight of of the rotating assembly will for sure free up HP. It be nice to see these become lighter and lighter but still cushion the harmonics appropriately!

Put a fluidmpr on my gen2 coyote, I wonder if the timing has improved

I know & my theory was that a Fluid Damper is what 1 particular older "Odd-Fire" engine needed & found an old SAE paper that confirmed it but they decided not to design it probably due to cost. But Fluid Damper dyno analysis is $10k + R&D costs for a custom made damper. I think it would be so exciting what the OEM's left on the table back in the day!

Please I need it

How much do engine accessories like a PS pump help damp these vibrations?

yeah thanks so much

I wish they'd develop a product for the ND Miata.

Does Fluidamper make applications for the port injected Ford/Mazda Duratecs 2.0/2.3 ('03-'12)?