I have the gates racing Kevlar belt and I has given me no issues, there is no uneven belt wear or signs of damage and its been about 20k since I changed it
If so, I had the same issue with until I did my first belt change at 100k miles. I thought it was the tensioner, but turned out to be the writing on the back of the timing belt as it passed over the tensioner roller. After I did the belt and tensioner and rollers, etc., the swish, swish, swish sound never came back. FYI, went with a Conti-tech belt rather than VW.
Gates T306rb for 16v aba or abf
I'm sold on the Gates Racing kevlar belts, seems like cheap insurance for $30-40 extra.
Part of the reason I run a Gates racing belt with the manual tensioner (dynamics of the belt). I'm a good 30K miles deep with this set up and the belt hasn't needed a single adjustment. I trust it just fine.
It's a great belt. Do it. As to noise, it's no more noiser than stock (aka not much noise at all)
So, a bit more longevity that actually holds up to the OE change interval with the conti belts is a plus.
I already flipped the belt around (now I have two fuzzy sides). I'll try de-tensioning it a little, and I guess if that doesn't work, a new belt and another new tensioner are in order. Might as well go with ContiTech this time around I spose.
Bumping this necro-thread to add my review for anyone searching the archives. Bought the ultimate plus with Gates belt kit. Car started rattling like a diesel last night. Quick inspection shows a loose timing belt, hydraulic fluid everywhere and a dead tensioner. Total mileage since install 28,225 and less than two years (21 months). I was lucky to have caught it before it jumped teeth and pistons met valve train. Just wanted to caution people to pay attention to the warning signs. If your car sounds like a diesel or a spray bomb being shaken, take a quick look under the timing belt cover and replace what you need to before driving any further...
So my gates racing belt snapped. This is the reason i bought gates so my t belt wouldnt break, 40 miles after valves were replaced t belt breaks. Fantastic. They have great QC. Just kidding. There had to have been a flaw, the way it broke
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