Mark944na86

I noticed the replacement tensioner pulley I ordered from Pelican for my S2 (autotensioner) is metal, while the original is plastic. The brand is Ruville, made in Slovakia.

The quality seems fine, I was just surprised at the metal rather than plastic. Makes it heavy! My guess is that the rollers on my car are mostly original. Have Porsche upgraded the specs on these rollers at some stage, or is this just a non-OEM variation?

Edit: Actually, even though the box says "Ruville" for that part, the part itself says INA (and made in Germany), and Pelican says that INA is OEM. So: has Porsche specified an upgrade for these at some stage?

whalebird

In my experiance, the originals were metal and the aftermarket were plastic. I have never seen a metal replacement even over the Porsche parts counter. That being said, my memory is mainly of the replacement rollers for the belts on a car that has the eccentrics for tensioning. The automatic tensioners I recall, are metal. My memory is a little foggy, but you are probably ok. Just make sure that the replacement is exactly like the one you are replacing: diameter, and especiallt the thickness. Also, be sure to note the orientation of the rollers as not to put it on backwards. Should be obvious, but just LOOK at everything real close, and you should be fine.

Mark944na86

Fitment/quality seems fine. Actually, I was just curious about the history of this, whether there had been a change in spec somewhere along the road, some tech bulletin, due to problems with the original spec. Generally speaking, you don't start off with a plastic part and change it to a metal part without reason (assuming that's what's happened).

Maybe I'll keep my lighter plastic rollers as my secret weapon "racing rollers". Think how much I'd have to spend on CF to get the same weight saving...

fbgh2o

I have found Rouville to provide high quality parts. INA is a well-known manufacturer of bearings. We use them all the time.

Mark944na86

Looks like it may be the reverse in this case; VOoDOoGTX has fitted an original autotensioner to his car that also has a plastic gear.

No big deal, I'm sure the INA is a quality part. Just curious as to why the change, and whether it was in response to some issue with the original plastic gears...

VOoDOoGTX

im almost possitive mine is original. i cant see it cheeper too make a metal gear apposed to a plastic one.