Racing Timing Belts from Gates

Hopefully I'm not flamed for this latest idea. My last hair brained idea didn't go over so well

Rennbay is a known and respected supplier of Porsche 944 parts. They have worked with Gates to adapt their kevlar reinforced racing timing belts to the 944:

http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/924-931-944-951-968-forum/489033-rennbay-racing-timing-belts-now-available-and-1-day-sale.html

"Assuming" this belt is superior to the OEM Ferrari belt, might be worth one of our vendors looking into having these made.

Site on the belts:
http://www.gatesracing.com/timing.cfm

 

Sounds good to me, I'd for sure buy a stronger, longer lasting belt. I'm just not going to test the first one on my engine

 

What the hell, my currents investments all took a header and I need something to invest in . What would the r&d cost? If a few guys wanna go in on a model run, I'll bite

 

R&D costs amount to chump change...wait until you price insurance for this product!

 

I can not imagine why a kevlar(or other material) would not be an option for the dreaded belt issue. Somewhere, someone must have a connection to Gates to explore the availability to manafacture these space age belts for our high tech machines.

 

Who makes the OEM belt for the 355?

 

Who said the OEM belt isn't strong? The one that came off of my car was 17 years old and looked quite good.

 

I thought the new 355 OE belts with the white inner lining were kevlar

 

I don't know what is dreaded about the belt issue. Besides while Kevlar will make it strong the other element is still rubber and that is the element that is the primary subject of aging. If you wanted to put 75000 miles on a belt, Kevlar would be a great fix but mileage never has been the issue, it is age.

 

They are. (Or at least that's what I think the white waxy stuff covering)

 

Well, I guess if they made the rollers, tensioners, oil pump update, and water pump out of kevlar, you'd be onto something. ???

 

Some of the 928 guys are working on a billet housing for the 928 waterpump with a bearing that should out live the car. The waterpumps on these cars is becoming a big sore spot, so the 928 community is finding a solution.

The current Audi timing belt tensioner has also been adapted to work with the 928, a big improvment over OEM. I'm sure the rollers & tensioners are next. I see no reason why similar products cannot be produced for the 355.

 

Heck then just make the whole car out of kevlar!

 

FWIW - Here is the information received about the 928 belt. In case anyone cares, a little trivia. The 928 has one of the longest timing belts ever used on a production car (might be the longest, not 100% sure)

 

And for those guys Kevlar would be important. A small percentage stretch in a long belt is a big deal and Kevlar would reduce that.