I have done timing belt on my z32 two times. 1st time I used Gates timing belt and the timing marks were not ideal. After a while I gave up and just left it being not ideal. 2nd time I used OEM Nissan timing belt (Z1 120k timing kit) and the OEM belt definitely fits better and timing marks aligned perfectly. I don’t think there was any difference in how the car ran.
This is a solid car at a fair price. I had 3 of these over the years and put over 1 million miles between them. Timing belt every 90k with oem or gates belt only is the only real thing to worry about.
I bought the Gates kits (\u00a3180 total) and decided to do my first timing belt and aux belt. Done over a thousand miles on it since and all great \ud83d\ude4c hope you enjoy your new car
That ring of belt material on the idler *implies* an anti-skip plate was installed too tight and rubbing on the belt, but I don't see one over the crank. The DOHC engines have them in the corners of the timing guide. SOHC manual trans engines had one over the crank but auto trans had none. Never reuse an unknown mileage/history belt... And even then, if you've already got in apart, just replace it. (For what it's worth Subarus service interval is 105k miles or 105 months.)
Did you use a high quality timing belt? We had a 98 impreza 2.2 and put an aftermarket timing belt kit on it and the belt broke in 30k miles for no reason. Tensioner and pulleys were all fine.
Do you have a gates timing belt kit on this? Usually gates makes a whine when revving and coming down in revs and at idle makes a funky sound
Gates lasted 50k miles …. Aisin or OEM seem to go longer
Man i had some foo change my timing belt in my subaru and the timing belt broke less than a month after the warranty ended. So I had to get it done again. Super important thing to do with interference engine though
I installed a Gates timing kit on my 2011 2.5 N/A 5 speed manual 50k miles ago (150k total). The belt snapped while I was doing 80mph on the turnpike. My valves were bent with deeper internal damage more likely than not.
Personally I use the gates blue racing T-belt, I've had a belt snap prematurely and it was within a few months of owning my e30. Belt was only 4 or 5 years old too.
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If choosing timing belt across many manufacturers, check the part ranking. If your choice is down to two brands, the PartReview part comparisons help.
We compare timing belt across these categories:
In March 2026 on PartReview, timing belt Gates were overall better than OEM Subaru.
In March 2026 on PartReview, timing belt Gates were overall more popular than OEM Subaru.
By vote balance, timing belt Gates surpassed OEM Subaru:
By number of reviews, timing belt Gates surpassed OEM Subaru:
In March 2026, according to PartReview, these manufacturers led the same number of car-specific ratings:
OEM Subaru are chosen by owners of cars such as: Subaru Impreza, and others.
Gates are chosen by owners of cars such as: Honda Civic, and others.
If this comparison didn’t fully answer your question, there are many others on PartReview.
For example, comparisons of timing belt OEM Subaru with: AISIN, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Honda, OEM Toyota, Continental, OEM FORD, Mitsuboshi, Contitech, DAYCO, OEM Volvo.
Also available: comparisons of timing belt Gates with: AISIN, OEM Volkswagen, OEM Honda, OEM Toyota, Continental, OEM FORD, Mitsuboshi, Contitech, DAYCO, OEM Volvo.
You can also see who is better among other timing belt manufacturers: AISIN or Gates, Gates or OEM Volkswagen, Gates or OEM Honda, OEM Toyota or Gates, Continental or Gates.
