Gates Belts HD or no HD

[Lenny]

I had to run some errands today. I stopped at the dry cleaners and when I came out the lunch crowd at the bar next door had emptied out and were looking at the car. One of the guys said he really liked the car but it looked like I broke a belt, I did, the alternator/water pump belt. It was only 5 blocks home so I drove and got there before the engine heated up.

Anyways the belts on the car are AC Gates 9530 and water pump Gates 7495. I went online and they offer a HD version of the AC belt 9530. What do you think stick with the original or buy the HD?

[Delorean Industries]

We run the standard gates numbers listed normally at our facilities. I would recommend staying away from the HD belt due to noise issues. Just our opinion after trying both across a variety of cars.

[Chris 16409]

I have two friends running the gates HD belts. They really like them. I have a set as well, but haven't gotten around to putting them on. Now, the alternator belt is normally a narrower belt then the AC belt. However, gates doesn't donthe HD belts in the narrower style. But, the wider style works just fine for the alternator. If you get the Gates 9500HD it will work for the alternator and Water Pump.

[David T]

I have two friends running the gates HD belts. They really like them. I have a set as well, but haven't gotten around to putting them on. Now, the alternator belt is normally a narrower belt then the AC belt. However, gates doesn't donthe HD belts in the narrower style. But, the wider style works just fine for the alternator. If you get the Gates 9500HD it will work for the alternator and Water Pump.

The application is not so hard on the belts that it requires the HD version. More important is to make sure all of the pulleys are in alignment, especially the idler ones for the A/C and you replace the belts if they get old, cracked, or the fabric is showing.

[hmcelraft]

I prefer the NAPA belts (made by Gates - but to some obvious different specs). They use the same gates numbers but with the NAPA XL brand. They appear different and seem to give much better performance.