i'm at 69k and as far as i know (2nd owner) i'm on stock belt : ( hasn't given me a problem but then again it's all or nothing...when it does give me a problem it'll be a BIG problem! haha oem t-belt and oem waterpump coming realll soon

 

I used the gates racing Timing and Balance shaft belts. But OEM will be just fine make sure you guys change the tensioners and water pump too.

Personally I change everything including the idler pullies

 

i hava also head that the stiffer kevlar belts have cause problems with some evos.

 

I broke a T-belt on my 2003 EVO 8 with 35k miles on the clock. It was a freak accident though. Here is how it went down. A peice of road debri kicked up against the underneath of my car and hit the timebelt cover. Well the cover cracked and a peice of the plastic cover dug into the balance shaft belt and snapped it, which then wrapped around my timing belt and destroyed it. If that was not bad enough it was like 2 am in the morning I was in shorts and a t-shirt in freezing cold weather with no cell phone or wallet because I had been in my garage tinkering with the car and had just taken it for a test drive. Luckly some redneck came by in his pick up truck and gave me a ride home which was not far. I had to sit in the bed though cold as hell. But the good in all of this was there was somehow no head damage and warranty paid for the repairs.

 

I use gatorback belts..high quality and are molded , not cut..and I believe that they are a carbon fiber mix.

 

I changed mine at 64k. There were about 3-4 teeth ready to shear off any moment. I've read of people going past 80k on the original belt. It's all a game of chance.

Would you rather pay the $100+ for the belt, tensioner, and balance belt, or the thousands of dollars for catastrophic engine failure? I decided to get a new belt

 

see the thing is you can go up to 100k, depends on the driving style.

BUT after 60k its like a ticking bomb. I did mine at 58k. OEM.

 

I wonder what the high hp guys are using..
I just saw Ifarted's new video and he's using the power enterprise belt

 

so all this being said...where's a good place to get an oem replacement timing belt? i think i saw on mitsubishiparts.net a kit they sell where it includes more than just the timing belt...do i need the rest of it or is the timing belt replacement good enough?

here's the link: http://www.mitsubishiparts.net/catalog/?section=586

 

Buschur sells the complete kit w/o the water pump. You'll have to get that elsewhere. I got mine from Lancershop I think

 

I can sell these kits in any combination you want. Lots of people order these from me with Gates belts, w/o belts all together, minus a pulley or two...etc etc. PM me with what all you want if you want a customer kit, I can put it together for you.

 

I cannot believe some of the misinformation posted in this tread.

Anyway, I would be more concerned about the balance shaft belt slipping, tearing or "breaking" before the Cam belt. If tensioned properly it will last quite a while. I still recommend them based on mileage and abuse level. The majority of the time, if you were to have a failure of this kind, it will be a hydraulic tensioner that gives out under hard decel or over a period of time.
We have always used Kevlar belts with absolutely NO PROBELMS. None.
The problems arise from the installation done by those who do not clearance properly.

 

How about the one Greddy sells? Is it a good unit?

 

The only time that I have seen a lower mileage Evo break a timing belt in when it os over rev'd (like over 8K). What happens in the skinny little balance shaft belt breaks and takes out the timing belt with it. I am not a fan of the balance shafts as they are more of a liability than anything else. Just another part to break. I removed mine and felt no difference without them. Also I always like to stay with OEM unless there is a known problem with a particular part. The OEM evo timing belt is not one of those item. No reason to go to anything else IMO. Same for the head gasket.

 

I had one break on a 1992 Eclipse GSX -- 11,500 miles, 6 months old! The tech blamed it on a batch of faulty hydraulic tensioners.