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In November Gates introduced its new carbon fiber cord belt, and elevated the belt transmission capability by as much as 30%. This technology is not new; in fact Gates has been working on carbon fiber technology for more than 10 years.
The first application was on Harley-Davidson motorcycles, replacing the rear chain with a cog belt drive system. The first belts used Aramid (Kevlar) cords and were 1.125 inches wide. Gates’ belts that use carbon fiber cords will be able to reduce belt width to 0.75 inches because of the carbon fiber’s increased strength.
The carbon fiber snowmobile CVT belts have been under development for more than 4 years. CVT belts are a more demanding design because they transmit power from friction and pressure through the sidewalls so they must be stiff in their cross section, yet flexible in the direction of travel.
Making the carbon fiber cords bond with the rubber in the belt requires a new technology in cord treatment that took years to develop. Many think of carbon fiber as stiff, but that is because in most structural applications it is baked into pressurized resin. In the belts the cords are molded into the rubber and retain their flexibility.
Although the cords flex they don’t stretch as much as Aramid (Kevlar) cords. The modulus of elasticity is much higher, in other words the cords don’t stretch as much under load nor do they stretch as much under quick load application. Acceleration is therefore markedly improved. Although the cords are flexible in the direction of travel, they don’t compress as easily as the standard cords from side load. So, there is more side load resistance, which prevents belt distortion.
When a regular belt wears, the Aramid cores start showing and begin peeling out of the sidewalls. Carbon fiber wears differently and there are no loose strands. You get a clean belt sidewall with better grip as the belt wears.
So how pricey is a high-tech carbon fiber belt going to be?
Actually it will cost nearly the same as most belt makers’ high-end performance belts, so it should not be out of reach for the average consumer.
Currently the belt will not be available from OEMs, but rather only through performance outlets and selected distributor networks. With the obvious advantages of this new belt-technology, racers will be the first to try them and Steve Scheuring’s AMSOIL snowcross team has been among the first to sign up.
Most racers will be able to get these from dealers and performance outlets. There also will be race teams from snocross to vintage to oval and cross country that will participate in a “race development” program to make sure the belts are put to the toughest test possible.
Gates is serious about this new technology. I visited the Gates technology center in Detroit recently. This is a top level facility with rows of endurance testing dynos, engine dynos, quality control equipment, temperature chambers, chemistry lab, prototype shop and the latest computer design capabilities. There also is a dedicated team of managers with extensive snowmobile racing experience leading the design, engineering and test teams.
Expect to see another step up in CVT belt performance this winter. Racers and turbo guys cheer up, Gates’ new carbon fiber performance technology is coming your way this year.