Timing Belt - Who Makes The Best One?

[oldoutboardjim]

Since no one answered this on the sticky thread, I thought I'd put it in as a 'stand-alone':
Does anyone make a better-quality belt than Ford?

[Steve@Tasca]

Honestly Jim, it's like asking who makes the best oil.

As long as you change it when you should it really doesn't matter, barring of course bargain basement parts.

Lots of guys go with the blue Gates belt but I think that's more just an appearance thing for people with no upper timing cover.

Go OEM and change it every 90k or so and you should be fine.

[oldoutboardjim]

Go OEM and change it every 90k or so and you should be fine.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but it's going to take a lot more than a timing belt to make me fine!

[hermitmaster]

OEM is most likely a rebranded Gates belt anyway. Gates makes the OEM belts for many manufacturers.

[goinloco1]

actually with a little digging most are chinese made but branded. I traced oem ford timing belts back to a chinese supplier.

the gates blue belts are better. they use kevlar braiding instead of the nylon and will stand up to alot of abuse over an oem.

[Steve@Tasca]

actually with a little digging most are chinese made but branded. I traced oem ford timing belts back to a chinese supplier.

the gates blue belts are better. they use kevlar braiding instead of the nylon and will stand up to alot of abuse over an oem.

I didn't look at all the timing belts on the shelf but the Focus timing belt is produced in Italy.

The package says "contents produced in Italy" and the belt has "Made in Italy" all over it.

[iminhell]

^Thought the one I put on Greg's car said German all over it in yellow. Maybe it was Italy, Europe somewhere and definitely not France (f'kin pansies).
I'd be 98% sure it isn't a Gates, Dayco or Clyotes belt. Was thinking maybe Sachs, but can't find anything on their site. That's the only 3 I can think of besides Goodyear, and IIRC they are American made 100%.

Regardless, I was impressed with the fell of the stock belt vs the standard Gates.
Haven't had my hands on one of the blue belts yet. But for me the color would ware off real quick. The AL idler pulley does that.

[Steve@Tasca]

The belts do have some German and other multilanguage text on them but they say made in Italy, I don't remember what year Gregs was but there was a different belt on early year cars.

One of the OEM belts we have is even made in the U.S. but I didn't look at the application.

[oldoutboardjim]

So the bottom line is........what? Is the Gates a better belt? Anyone have mileage data to prove it? Is the SVT belt made in Italy, China, USA, Yo'mama-istan, or where? Maybe different suppliers for the Ford belt account for the differing results that users get.

[Steve@Tasca]

I've never seen a Ford belt that says China on it and my whole stock on the shelf says "Made in Italy" so I'm guessing they're "Made in Italy".