[ds968]

I think the regular belts are perfectly fine, but I'm willing to test the high performance one on the six speed not just because of the high horse power and torque of the SC, but because of how I drive that car . I won't put a racing belt on my Tip 968, that would be useless.

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[Ernie]

Ok, so now I'm really confused. I have read on this site that, even though the recommendation is 6 years, 4 years is the consensus guideline. That belts have failed prematurely and damage the engine. So what's the scoop? I'm at 5 years and 3 months, 15,000 miles and I bug out every time I go out to drive, thinking I'm driving a tiicking time bomb! What say you, with long term experience in these cars???? AND is the racing belt for street application total overkill, if it's not more durable?

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[ds968]

The most prudent thing to remember here is the adage : YMMV ! The belts could very well last 100,000 miles and / or 25 years, or they may fail after 40,000 miles and / or four years .. Hell, they could even fail after 10,000 miles but that would be an extremely rare possibility ..so unless you're a gambler, I'd err on the side of caution and change them at a more frequent interval than Porsche , or Gates suggests . Cheaper " insurance " .

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[Ernie]

I' m not familiar with YMMV? Hoping it's not a your momma, something?! If so, pm me, ok? So I guess I will stop torturing myself and return the racing belt, have Max put in what he has, and take a xanax and go to sleep?!!!

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[ds968]

Lol, that stands for : Your Mileage May Vary . A catch-all for the predictability of anything and everything which is variable.

From what I hear about Max, following his advice and / or work on our cars is about as safe as it gets, so I'd go with whatever he recommends. By the way , a good glass of wine, cognac, tequila , scotch , or grappa is far better than Xanax.

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[Ernie]

Lmao! It was a joke. I prefer a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. Slightly dirty with no vermouth. It makes me feel like James Bond! I do in fact, appreciate your advice to steer me away from medication! So, lets hear some input from some people with long running experience with these engines. I trust Max, please don't get me wrong, but I would like other opinions for those of us that don't get his sage advice. JMHO.

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[Waylander]

I would just consider the risk,


4 year change regardless of mileage

5 years an extra 25% chance of breaking

6 years an extra 50% chance of breaking


Broken belt = 8-10k bill


I do know a man that drove his red tip coupe on the same belt for 16 years then sold the car, depends on how much of a gambler you are


I do know that if I skimped on a $40 belt and broke the engine I would have to scrap the car, so its s no brainer


As for long term experience not of these cars but cars in general, I was a motor tech from leaving school in 1976 to 1998 during that time I would take a guess at 20-25 broken belts, on all sorts of Euro cars


Each time it was due to not following the service recommendations on change intervals, the latest failure I know of was my neighbour in his Ford Focus Cabrio 2 months ago, he over ran the change by 20 months and 15k miles, the engine was totally destroyed, car scrapped

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[94SilverCab]

In my own case 56K and 8 years did my belts (and my head) in...do not drive until it fails  :whine:

 

I put so few miles any more that I'm willing to risk 5 years/15,000 miles, but YMMV.

 

Jay

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[Waylander]

Arrived in the post this morning, a Dayco Balance Belt, dated January 2018, and I think it will be fine Ferrari use Dayco as their supplier

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[MCL968]

I had a Dayton / Dayco belt in my 968 up until a couple of years ago. Like yours, it was very new, but unlike the Gates belts, it was rather noisy. The last change I went with Gates. Check the profile of the teeth on the belt, on the Dayco unit I used, the teeth were more squared, and they generated a lot more noise. They may have corrected that in the last few years.

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[Ryan]

I wonder how Toyota gets 90k out of a belt on their V6 ?

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[flash]

the issue is that the belt drive design was intended for a motor with half the power, and more importantly, a lot less friction and heat.  it was barely able to keep up with the smaller engine 944.  the 968 puts a LOT more stress on that design.  they kept "upgrading" the system, but it was nothing more than turd polishing, widening the belt at one point, and adding a hydraulic tensioner, but still never really got it right.  

 

further, porsche anticipated and assumed 10-15k miles per year.  it's not so much about the mileage as it is the time, though obviously extreme mileage, even in a short time, can cause failure.

 

belt life is all about polymer cross-linking.  this can be affected by heat cycles, friction, and weather.  as the belt ages, it gets stiffer.  this can lead to a failure.

 

a car that is not subjected to temperature extremes will see belts last longer than one that does.  for example, a car on the west coast of california may go 5 years, but one up in new york may only go 3 years.  i shredded my balance belt at less than 5 years, and narrowly escaped catastrophic failure.  on the same road trip, ds968 was not so lucky, and had the privilege of getting a full valve job as a result.

 

moral of the story - don't roll the dice.  "pay me now, or pay me later."

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[Waylander]

I have a Conti belt at the moment and that is really noisy, a fraction over tight and it wails like a banshee


A fraction loose and it starts slapping the water pump pulley, don't think the Dayco is any worse

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[MCL968]

I would have kept the Dayco's and just lived with the noise but my car lost a roller bearing and was leaking on the belts from the front balance shaft seals. So while it was apart I had everything done and replaced the belts with Gates. A little quieter, but not a lot.

 

It will be due for belts and a water pump this coming spring, assuming I can get the airbag light sorted and figure out the ever-present gas vapors. The good news is it just passed smog with flying colors, so the rebuilt injectors are doing their jobs.

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[Waylander]

Just arrived,

 

A Gates belt from AutoDoc in Germany, and guess what, its going back again

 

 



 





 

 

I make that the 3rd Day of the 22nd week, possibly 1995, 2005, 2015, so even at the best date its nearly 4 years old

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[MLB]

The painted toenails are a nice touch, though.

U should keep those. Thanks for sharing.

;0)

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[Waylander]

Eh toe nails, I have socks on?

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[MLB]

LOL

Keep looking...

Sorry, couldnt resist

Happy friday everyone

:0)


BTW, my bet is 2015 is the most recent / only batch of these.

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[Waylander]

That has to be a ghost, I was home alone when I took the pictures ?

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[ds968]

I do know that if I skimped on a $40 belt and broke the engine I would have to scrap the car, so its s no brainer

Correct , if you do the job yourself !! But if you don't, it's a minimum $ 1,000 total cost for the belt change . And that's if you can even find a shop who can and will work on 968s. If you have a supercharger , most shops will not touch it at any price even if you offer them a written release of liability. My ( now retired ) mechanic quoted me over $ 2,000 for the belt change . But even at $ 2K it's still good insurance vs. the alternative of having to rebuild the head .

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