Alternative timing belt material...

[HawaiianE30]

Surely someone else has thought about this so feel free to laugh in my face. This came to me this morning as I am finishing up my own broken timing belt job and looking at thread after thread of people replacing broken timing belts like it's business as usual. I don't know about you but I'd like to get more then 45k out of a timing belt... or at least a little more peace of mind for the boosted crowd which I will hopefully be a member of soon.

I started some searching and came up with this company: http://www.brecoflex.com/index.php?C...TID=1&SMENID=1

Looks like you can custom order a timing belt in any size... I sent them an email and will call them tomorrow but I am willing to even engineer something... seems like there would be a market.

Has anyone else thought along these lines?

[TurboJake]

45k miles is actually quite a long time for a belt to last... Those belts are primarily made for industrial machinery, and will be exposed to a lot less heat as compared to an engine.

Just because it's polyurethane, does not mean it will last longer. Go ahead and call them to ask. But I have a feeling you won't get the response you want.

[FLG]

I was thinking a kevlar belt.. Not for time change interval but for those of us with strokers or forced induction setups.

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[AbsorbantNut]

I was thinking a kevlar belt.. Not for time change interval but for those of us with strokers or forced induction setups.

How would a kevlar belt help with a forced induction set up? I'm asking because soon I'll be FI & I've been curious about that.

[LagunaVert]

If you can't be "Bothered" to change your timing belt at its regular interval, go drive a honda. Changing a timing belt is not hard and it doesnt take more then 2 hours. Higher output engines i can see wanting something stronger, but for anything less its simply over engineering the wheel.

[AndrewBird]

M42 timing chain FTW!

Oh wait...

[TurboJake]

I was thinking a kevlar belt.. Not for time change interval but for those of us with strokers or forced induction setups.

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Wouldn't make a difference. Kevlar wouldn't be used in the teeth of the timing belt. It's the backing material. The majority of the time when your talking timing belt failure it boils down to the rubber cracking and breaking. Leading to missing teeth or less support for the backing fabric causing it to shear. Kevlar doesn't help this situation.

As long as you have the tension set properly, which is really easy on our cars, you do not have to worry about stretching. Turbo or strokers don't put out nearly enough power to warrant any different material or procedure.

If you're that worried about a timing belt or its durability. Go M50. While 45k miles is half of what some other manufacturers do, it's a safe number that is actually quite a long time. Think about how many revolutions the engine will turn in that time frame. I once did a calculation on my Probe GT turbo. It was roughly 2900 revolutions per mile at 70MPH. That, is a low number by contrast when compared to adding acceleration, and idling (Which isn't counted) revolutions. Multiply that by 45k, and you get a conservatively calculated 130 million engine revolutions.

And, in all fairness. Even if your engine lasts to a million miles. You've only replaced your timing belt 23 times.

Which, over the course of however many years that is, by todays cost for a belt and tensioner, is $553.41 spent over that million miles. This is assuming your replacing the tensioner and spring every other belt.

Chump change.

[HawaiianE30]

Well said... yeah originally it was a thought stemming from strength vs. having FI. But yeah your right it's fairly easy, I just had to do 2 of them in a row that's why it's on my mind.

I also had a hard time finding a spare OEM 885 head... and every time it breaks that's another cost to factor in but I guess that only pertains to people who ignore the change intervals (the PO of my car).

[jlevie]

If you only get 45k out of a timing belt, something other than the belt is the cause. The tensioner might not have been replaced when the belt was last changed, the belt might have been over five years old, a failed alternator/water pump belt may have thrown debris under the timing cover, oil flow to cam shaft could be impaired, the crank bolt could loose, the cam sprocket could be loose, etc.

In the absence of other problems a belt should last five years or 60k. Replacing the belt and tensioner every four years or 50k gives a bit more margin.

[Cletonius]

Well said... yeah originally it was a thought stemming from strength vs. having FI. But yeah your right it's fairly easy, I just had to do 2 of them in a row that's why it's on my mind.

I also had a hard time finding a spare OEM 885 head... and every time it breaks that's another cost to factor in but I guess that only pertains to people who ignore the change intervals (the PO of my car).

parts aren't as scarce on the mainland. I suspect part of the issue is being in hawaii.

[HawaiianE30]

True, I guess my dreams of a space-age polymer timing belt are a little far fetched... damn.

[Vtec?lol]

Boosting a car doesn't put any added stress to the timing belt.

Timing belts work. they're cheap, and only take 30min to change.

[FLG]

It puts added wear on the belt. Your spinning the engine the same rpm but your doing so at a much faster rate.

Also if your planning on doing upgrades to raise the rev limit like stiffer springs or a steeper cam, again more stress on the belt.

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[slammin.e28]

Timing belt update from the factory would be an M50.

[nando]

It puts added wear on the belt. Your spinning the engine the same rpm but your doing so at a much faster rate.

Also if your planning on doing upgrades to raise the rev limit like stiffer springs or a steeper cam, again more stress on the belt.

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yeah, no.

also, no point in making the belt last longer, because the tensioner and waterpump have the same interval (~50k).