[flash]

roflmao - i can attest to that theory being complete BS.  at less than 25k, my belt went in front of countless witnesses.  it was just too old, at 5 years,  and yes, it had been inspected annually, and the balance belt re-tensioned annually.  this was in a car that is meticulously maintained, and in the best of weather.

 

the problem is that the system is under-engineered for our car.  when they decided to use the 944 system, they underestimated the increased load and heat that the larger engine produces. 

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[ds968]

The belts are different than those they sell for 944s , not just in the width, but the construction the material composites , etc etc are far superior in terms of durability and longevity. That said, yeah, it's still under-engineered for our cars' engines ..particularly with drivers who frequently push the car into high rpm ranges . ( and especially the SC'd cars where the significant torque on top of the heat puts a lot mores stress on these belts ). Like I said, it is POSSIBLE , although improbable , the belts could last as long as they claim, but not worth the risk of a $ 6,000 top engine rebuild expense . I regretfully experienced that first hand, though in fairness that was probably a Conti belt and at seven years + , on top of the 58,000 miles the majority of which were spent between 5K to 6k RPM, I was essentially playing russian roulette .

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[flash]

not sure who told you that.  the balance belt is the same on all, and only the timing belt is different, and that is a bit wider (2mm) than the early 944 belt, but it is the same belt as the S2, and from everything i can find, is the same construction across all of them, within the same brand.

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[ds968]

I spoke to two different reps at Gates , including their chief engineer at the time . Now, they were refering to the 968 belts being made during the timeframe when I was speaking to them - maybe when the car came out in 92 and for a few subsequent years the belts were the same as the 944S2 ones, but like anything else with passing years technological and manufacturing technique advances led to significant improvements in the belts quality so I am pretty confident the newer ones are far superior to what was being distributed 20 years ago.

P.s. No idea about the balance belts , I only spoke to them about the timing belts.

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[flash]

i think that was hype.  it's still the same part number, which would mean it still followed the same specifications.  it would be nice to think that they would spend the time and energy to improve something though.

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