The highest quality belts still lose nearly 50% of installed tension, while lower quality belts lose over 70% of installed tension. You cannot “feel” the correct tension on a V-Belt. On a test given to over 200 experienced maintenance personnel, only 1% tensioned a belt correctly using the “feel” method.
Timing belts make lots more noise than v-belts. My Colchester Chipmaster lathe has timing belts between the motor and variator, and between the clutch and spindle. They whine, which gets annoying after a while. Since the lathe has a clutch, the motor typically runs continuously. I'd hate to be in a shop full of those lathes. Rich
Timing belts are used on OHC engines because the head and the block can't be sealed across, thus the chain housing would leak oil. Chains are used on pushrod engines where the crank and the cam are both in the block, so the cover doesn't cross a split line. Belts of course don't need oil. Historically anyway.
On the other hand, V-belts must be regularly adjusted to maintain functioning properly. Furthermore, serpentine belts can last much longer than v-belts due to their increased flexibility and ability to stay tensioned. For that reason, serpentine belts need to be replaced every 50,000 miles, while a V-belt must be replaced every 30,000 miles.
The stronger aftermarket belt is stiffer in tension, so when you install the belt to Ducati’s cold tension specification, when the engine heats-up the hot tension is higher than you get with the Gates belt. Loads on the pulley bearings becomes excessive, noise increases and heat build-up (from flexing a stiffer belt) increases.
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timing belt vs v belt
