Dear Comrades All, My understanding is that Cam Belts in The United States of America have a 'Service Life' of five years. The United Kingdom Cam Belts have a 'Service Life' of three years. No doubt 'Ferrari' regularly monitor this Forum, and perhaps they will be able to confirm that if this is indeed the case, then why it should be so? With kind regards, The Original 512 Tea Are - Tea Arse
the "by the book" answer from FNA now is three years. prior to that there was a long period of no time-based data on NA cars, but the conventional wisdom was five years. they (re-)instituted a formal time policy when they put the pre-owned warranty option in place. three years worldwide. some folks would consider changing the belts on a three year old, 5K mile car pretty damn excessive. but if you want the pre-owned warranty, that's what you have to do. doody.
Hahahahaaa! You have got to be kidding!? I don't know who told you that but they are full of it. Don't listen to old wives tails. It all depends on how much and how often you drive the car. Just follow the owners manual.
It varies due to operating conditions.... I picked up a car in Oregon where it's cool and humid, belts were 1,000 miles..12 years old. Drove it 3,200 miles home, but babied it, only 120 MPH or so. Some would say these belts are "expired", but they went to the grocery yesterday! Now it's in Texas where it gets pretty hot so I guess I'll take 'em off before romping on it. We use five years as interval regardless of mileage, but you can push your good luck as far as you want....It seems they last LONGER on cars that are used often, as counterintuitive as that sounds....
As it was explained to me, if a car sits unused for a long time, the cambelts can develop flat spots, due to being in the same position for a prolonged time. They are then out of shape and need to be changed. If a car is used on a regular basis that does not happen. What's interesting is that I have been told to change my cambelts every two years (1988 328GTS). Is the general consensus that three years will be OK?
Man I'm telling you again I just ran across three states worth of desert with 12 year old belts! Not by choice, but they made it! They were only 1,000 miles old, but that tells you right there how the PO used the car......1,000 miles = 12 years! My usage: 3,200 miles = 4 days......LOL! I did have Mario Andretti bless them in his front yard however! Maybe that's the secret....I bought some virgin olive oil from him as well....... I also gave the brand new Konis a workout, in Sonoma County....
