Unorthodox Racing® (UR) was founded by
an enthusiast who had spent a decade wrenching on American muscle cars working with many products, some as simple as spark plugs too as complex as
super/turbocharger systems. By the early 1990’s it was clear the era of small-displacement performance engines was upon us. He began developing what would become Unorthodox Racing® (UR) MAXX Power pulleys. The first pulley was for his 1988 T-Bird Turbo Coupe with the 2.3L SOHC 8V Turbo engine. His father-in-law, a
class A machinist trained in Germany, machined this first crankshaft pulley. The pulley performed flawlessly, the seat of the
pants improvement told him he was onto something.
Over the next few years more pulleys
were made and tested. Another was made for a 1992 Civic Hatch (EH2) the founder
bought for commuting to graduate school. The pulley made the little 1.5L SOHC 16V
feel like a whole new engine, especially when the VTEC kicked in. He knew some underdrive pulleys
for V8's he worked on caused charging, cooling or other accessory issues. The amount/percentage of
underdrive would have to be tailored to each engine. Every new
pulley was put through rigorous testing to guarantee the accessories functioned at
factory specified output. Over many years of testing it was clear weight reduction not underdrive freed up more power on small- displacement engines. Today Unorthodox Racing® MAXX Power pulleys are stock diameter and designed for the most possible weight reduction.
Market research showed the demand for small-displacement performance parts was growing fast. After the early engineering/testing Unorthodox Racing® was registered as a Sole Proprietorship in early 1996. A final business plan was created and at the heart of it is UR's Mission Statement, the strict policy of only making products that “DID WHAT WE SAID THEY WOULD” / “FIT
LIKE WE SAID THEY WOULD” / “LOOKED LIKE ART” and “WOULD LAST A VEHICLES LIFETIME.” There would be NO compromises meaning a
higher-priced product. It was the ONLY trade-off he was willing to make, sure end-users would not chance damaging their engine with a
cheap part. What’s the point of saving fifty or hundred dollars if it
causes thousands of dollars in damage. It was simple, it was about
quality, customer satisfaction and word of mouth. This philosophy is
still the cornerstone of Unorthodox Racing® 25 years later.
In early 1997 Unorthodox Racing® was incorporated and
launched our first web-site. We introduced our pulleys to this hungry
new market in May of 1997 with our first ad in Turbo magazine. Unorthodox Racing® pulleys were officially the first pulleys for the small-displacement
market. UR was quickly accepted by enthusiasts, racers and tuners as
a manufacturer they could trust. Enthusiasts worldwide have used Unorthodox Racing® products
in vehicles ranging from everyday street to full out race cars. 25 years later UR is still the pulley leader with hundreds of billions of user driven miles.
Unorthodox Racing® products are designed, engineered and
manufactured exclusively in the U.S. using the latest 3D product
development tools. Only the strictest quality controls are followed from material
selection (Using only the finest U.S. produced raw materials), machinery and tooling.