I've never seen a report of one causing premature wear or engine failure to a VQ, only forum Chinese whispers.
From UR
People are getting the pulleys confused with the harmonic dampers found on 90 degree V8 and V6 engines. The pulleys on most of the new import and smaller domestic engines have an elastomer (rubber ring) incorporated into the pulley that looks similar to a harmonic damper. The durometer in the OEM pulley serves as an isolator, which is there for noise suppression from the A/C compressor, P/S pump and the alternator, What the manufacturers call NVH (Noise Vibration & Harshness) when referring to passenger compartment noticeable noise andv vibration.
If you look at some of the pulleys on older imports there is no rubber to be found. We have samples of mostly Honda, An Altima, 1.8L Eclipse, 2.3L Ford, Chrysler 2.2L, 1.8L VW and a few others all with no rubber.
The purpose of a traditional harmonic damper is to keep the crankshaft from cracking which is not necessary on your engine. You have probably heard stories about bearing and oil pump failures. Any abnormal bearing wear is due to a lubricating issue, The most common examples are using the wrong weight of oil, a faulty head gasket or poor engine assembly practices. The idea of increased bearing wear from not having a damper on the engine is false. Using too heavy of an oil can shatter the oil pump gears. Most of the time oil pump failure is caused by something being sucked up into the pump.
The fact of the matter is the pulleys have been out there running for over 5 years and there have been no failures
attributed to the pulleys. There is a lot of internet hearsay about the pulleys, too often people are too quick to blame the pulley first rather than looking into why there was a problem and then go and post it on a message board. You really have nothing to worry about. If you would like to read more info on the subject, visit the FAQ section on our web site
https://www.unorthodoxracing.com/Page/About-Us/564a3413-cd89-496b-ae68-42cb734e5ff8