J1720

I bought one yesterday.

If anything, piece of mind.

CurtP

Thanks Travis!

It was good talking to you today

Order placed

chrisc

Got 'em, came today. Need to find a clear cover, too cool to hide under the old one! The roller kit seems more stout than the stock kit??

Thanks Travis!

Whisper

Yo.

Water pump fine, rollers a little worn, but fine, 9k miles on belt. Teeth just stripped right off.

CurtP

Just take the covers off!

Mike C.

I don't mean this to rain on anyone's parade but is the increase in strength only tensile? As has been mentioned in this thread before, the more typical failure is missing/sheared off teeth if I'm not mistaken. It would therefore seem that an increase in shear strength would be much more worthwhile in this application. Although increased oil resistance and minimal stretching may be worth the additional $$ to some.

hacker-pschorr

See post #14:

CurtP

Didn't bother to read the thread, did you? Post #14.

eman930

Soooo putting one on next T-belt change

Mike C.

I missed that. I stand corrected.

Rock

When the belt strips teeth, it either is because the belt is

A. Too old or
B. The tensnioner failed.

A waterpump, can cause teeth to strip, but it rides against the back of the belt so its not likely. Can anyone show me one instance of a bad waterpump causing a belt to fail?

So if the belt is stronger, and lets say you didnt replace the belt in 5-6 years. On a normal belt, you would be replacing valves by the time you read this. Or lets say the tensioner failed. This belt can hold its own long enough for you to realize that something isnt right, and it will give you enough time to save your valves from being demolished.

So for the extra cost, you cold be potentially saving your engine. This is a great product, if you dont trust these belts, why are you trusting the standard 944 timing belt?

We need to get out of our little hobbit shire called rennlist and explore the world. We have a lot to learn from newer technology. Were dealing with technology here that is 20+ years old, and perhaps even older if you consider this engine was half of the 928 block.

Mark944na86

I never said I didn't trust the belt. Merely that since belt strength is not the primary failure point, a 3x stronger belt at about 10x the price is (for street applications, at least) a complete waste of money. Money that actually could be spent more productively on _effective_ maintenance.

Regular and proper maintenance is the only preventative for timing belt and related failures. You don't need a stronger belt. You need a properly maintained car.

Rock

Of course you do. Youre exactly right. A properly maintained car would cause no need for such belt.

Unfortuneatly, in a real world situation, these cars arent properly maintained. The 944 is a victim of its price bracket. 90% of these cars are hand me downs until a teenager gets it to show his friends in high school he has a porsche. Next thing you know the interior is spray painted with autozone wheels until the motor takes a dump and it ends up owned by someone on Rennlist.

Not only that, but we all get lazy and procrastinate about replacing our own belts. A lot of us fear going in there, and pay mechanics to do it. Well if a more expensive belt will pull us through another 15,000, then sign me up.

Yes, in the cars were properly maintained. This might be overkill. Unless you have a 951 pushing past the stock limits.

But then again if the cars were properly maintained, no ones timing belt would ever break. Food for thought.

Mark944na86

Sounds like we're 90% on the same page, Rock. My only concern is with the sentiment above -- with the idea that a "racing" belt can in any way substitute for regular and proper maintenance. That idea could potentially lead people into a false sense of security, and thereby lead indirectly to even more failures.

Remember, the recommended maintenance intervals for these belts are _exactly_ the same for these belts as for the stock no-bling belts. I think there's a good reason for that -- and not merely "***-covering" as you suggested in a earlier post. A "belt-job" actually entails more than merely replacing the belts -- it also involves checking other wear items, retensioning, etc.

Belts are a disposable maintenance item, like air filters and oil filters. As with any disposable maintenance item -- buy 'em, use 'em, chuck 'em out. Repeat. If you want to add about $120 to the "chuck 'em out' stage -- well, free country and all that. Just a different point of view. Someone said they are buying "peace of mind". Fair enough -- whatever gets you through the night! Fear, uncertainty and doubt is, and probably always has been, a great marketing tool. Many years ago, IBM marketing guys even turned it into an acronym.

As long as "peace of mind" doesn't turn into "false sense of complacency, leading to otherwise avoidable catastrophic failure due to lack of maintenance", I suppose no harm done. Might even make your car go a bit faster -- your wallet will certainly be lighter!

theedge

So are there any thoughts on the Kevlar belt killing the rollers and more specifically the water pump a lot faster due to the Kevlar belt not stretching as the block heats up?