If it is a CHEAP car then who cares about the cambelt! Just drive it till it blows up.
kcf,
May 31, 11:06pm
Not true sadly.Here's looking at you Nissan Micra (and Micra derived engines), and late model Nissan Primera's (not the old SR engines, the newer than that jellybean shaped Primera).
ema1,
May 31, 11:15pm
I had a set of 15" Yolohama A-Drives fitted & balanced to my car recently including the spare for $720 which I thought was damn good going. If that was going to be only 4 tyres it would have come in under $600.
kazbanz,
May 31, 11:26pm
PLEASE OHH PLEASE --show me where I can buy that product for the OPsbudget.($2000)I have CASH waiting right now
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 2:33am
Edit - removed because I'm lazy and don't want to spend a day explaining why chain drive engines are less efficient.
kcf,
Jun 1, 3:20am
I wasn't responding to the original poster . I was responding to the comment whom I had quoted who had made a blanket statement regarding all cars with cam chains
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 3:44am
If chains are the "be all and end all" then why aren't more engines using them.
bwg11,
Jun 1, 3:53am
A belt engine is cheaper to build and provides an income stream for dealerships.
realtrader1,
Jun 1, 3:56am
The same neglect is going to have consequences for any engine.Let's face it if your thermostat sticks open or your engine gets gummed up with short trips and or oil and filter etc doesn't get changed everything internally begins to suffer.Granted, some brands more than others.But the only way you can make a comparison that's in any way scientific and fair is to study a number of engines, same brand, same cc rating etc if poss. as close as poss anyway, half of them belt drive and the other half chain drive.They'd need to be treated the same way and serviced the same intervals etc. with same quality oils, filters etc.They may come out equal in the long run, though, if anything went prematurily I would say it will usually be the belt rather than the chain and so the thing that makes the biggest difference in the above scenario will be if it's an interference engine or not.
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 4:17am
How much cheaper!
I bet you can't find any specifics to back up that claim.
mugenb20b,
Jun 1, 4:17am
Clearly, you had no idea what to look for when buying a used car. And $600 for a cambelt job on a Lancer! Why not do it yourself!
mugenb20b,
Jun 1, 4:23am
Doesn't matter where you're going, a cambelt can let go any time for any reason. What happens if a transmission fails, or a computer, or an oil pump, or a water pump, or you have 3 flat tyres, etc! A cambelt can fail and leave you stranded but so can anything else.
You could be driving a chain driven Bluebird to Hanmer and seize a camshaft and break the chain.can you fix that on the side of the road!
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 4:33am
Of course he can. Male_Timaru can fly and shoot lazers and everything. Didn't you know! He can bend the space time continuum, turn invisible, bench press a million tonnes one handed and he picks up FM radio in is left earlobe.
When you can fabricate a particle mass spectrometer out of a rubber band, home made plastic exhaust manifold and last nights left over fish and chip oil you can certainly replace a snapped chain on the side of the road, simply by willing it fixed!
It's the "whip lash factor" my own termof a chain or a belt , but feel free to copy cat it lol, For more direct drivesGears can be usedfor best performance. for example thegood ol Kawasaki z1 which was the fastest production bike in the world , usedgears for a more direct link between the camshafts & crank. No real maintenance issues with gears depending on the composition.Holden Commodes among others & more common now days among other engine makers. hehe , That Timaru Male is definately one of a kind lol
strobo,
Jun 1, 5:19am
They say thatonly milk & juice comes in 2L
realtrader1,
Jun 1, 5:28am
Because it's about consumables.By its very nature, the cambelt set up provides more by way of after sales spares.Waterpump, drive belts, tensioners, cambelt etc.Then with fear of breakage some will change every 80,000km.It's all about money.
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 5:37am
So its got nothing to do with the original purpose which was lighter weight, more engine design and layout flexibility (which massively effects the costs of automotive engineering and design) or quieter running and marketability.
Of course not. Its all one big conspiracy by "big auto" to get everyone with a used car under the thumb. Right!
kazbanz,
Jun 1, 6:51am
have you walked around a caryard lately! All sub 2.0l nissans use a camchain post 1990 All post 2000 toyotas with an 1800cc or smaller engine uses a camchain. Most 2.0l or smaller mazda engines are using camchains post 2002 (ignoring the familia which is a 90's desighn) Selected Mitzi's have a camchain. 3.0l subies--camchain. THATis just the vehicles I can rattle off of the top of my head.
nzeva,
Jun 1, 7:06am
I used to work on the original 1970's Honda Civics, Never changed a cam belt for maintenance, as the engines were worn out at 80,000km! Engines now last longer, but cam belts haven't been upgraded. They now have to spin 2 cams not one and open 4 valves per cylinder, making their life hard and short. For piece of mind get a car with a non-interference motor.doesn't matter if the cam belt breaks, no damage done.a list is here. http://www.lambsauto.com/belts.htm
realtrader1,
Jun 1, 7:13am
I'm not sure if you mean affects or effects. There's always sales talk that happens and reasons we are given for certain designs that come through.Ask around.How many cambelts, and I mean, usually, all the associated bits that go with it are changed as opposed to cam chains and associated bits.How many times have you seen a car advertised as having had the cam chain and assoc. bits replaced!Noisy chains, sure and usually due to lack of maintenance and lack of maintenance is bad news for anything to do with cars etc. It used to have something to do with marketability.That is until people realised a few things.After all, people ask if it is belt or chain and hoping it is a chain.
mugenb20b,
Jun 1, 7:16am
Hmm, my one did just over 200k when I sold it. It broke the cambelt at 155k and lived (of course).
foxdonut,
Jun 1, 7:17am
Never from a branded dealer.
Why! Because at 100k when the average belt is due to be changed, the vehicle has made as much profit as its ever going to for a manufacturer. Honda isn't keeping itself afloat selling 15 dollar rubber belts to people who own four year old Accords.
The notion that its about long term profitability to keep engines using belt is quite frankly, stupid.
mugenb20b,
Jun 1, 7:17am
Yes they have. A lot of Toyota and other manufacturers have cambelts that last 10 years or 150 000kms.
vtecintegra,
Jun 1, 7:19am
I would absolutely not let an aging Nissan with a GA or SR go 10,000kms between oil changes - unless you are doing entirely long distance running they really need to more frequently than that
mugenb20b,
Jun 1, 7:20am
Really! Subaru engines have 4 cams to spin, a tensioner, water pump and at least three idlers AND the cambelt is good for 100 000kms. And yet, a SOHC 8 valve Astra and Vectra cambelts are good for 60 000kms. Go figure.
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