What are the pros and cons of each? I'm at a decision making point on a built and need to choose which route to go. What say GRM?
What are the pros and cons of each? I'm at a decision making point on a built and need to choose which route to go. What say GRM?
Ribbed for her pleasure
V...is for....
V belts if you have no other option.
I would never purposefully use V belts on anything but a lawnmower if I had the option. V belts can't handle the HP or the RPMs that a ribbed/micro v belt can.
That said, I wouldn't change from V belts if the car already had them on it.
V belts are usually easier to work with for me, but I'm going to confuse the situation and add in one more type of belt, The gilmer belt drive. The benefits of a V belt with no slippage ever. It's usually a little easier to adjust drive cog diameters if necessary.
The only benefit of a V belt besides design inertia (the parts is there, why change if it isn't broke) is you can easily change belts with a prybar and a starter bump button mounted underhood.
You DID put a momentary switch under the hood so you can bump the starter, didn't you? Wait you mean you roll the engine over by HAND when you adjust the valves?
My admittedly unscientific experience with V-belts has told me that they're much more sensitive to tension and always end up slipping a lot sooner than ribbed belts. Plus they seem to shred or get pitched off the pullies much more easily. Put me in the "V-belts as a last resort" camp.
From what I remember (right or wrong) v belts require more tension comparatively, which eats more power / fuel mileage. You can run lower tension (or even just a spring tensioner) with ribbed belts and eat less power. Must be some truth to it, or you would still be getting a 2016 F150 with a v belt....
A lot of friction and heat (and power loss from it) with V-belts. Plus, I love me some spring loaded tensioner; no setting of tension required.
Now, they are doing away with the SLT. One less part to fail. Real pain to replace the belt though.
my experience has taught me that simply switching from a factory v belt setup to a wide flat belt on the 355 in my 71 Nova stopped me throwing belts at high rpms. this was a straight A to B comparison: the Nova had a v belt running the alternator from the factory, which i couldn't keep on the damn thing on during my occassional 7000 rpm blasts. just switching the crank, water pump, and alternator pulleys to the flat grooved belt pieces from the 87 Caprice that donated the engine core eliminated the belt tossing altogether.. it still had the v belt running the PS pump but that one never gave me any problems.
my 355 currently in my Camaro is running a serpentine setup from a 97 Tahoe, and the only problem i've ever had with that was a weird chirp that would not go away until i swapped the craptastical smog era 305 heads out for a set of vortecs last summer.. it shouldn't have fixed it, but it did..
Great info, guys!!! Thanks for the insight.
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