A range of belts for my Ranger

[Kira]

Looking to order a belt for my Ranger (4.0l SOHC). Rock Auto had these, among others.
These are the 5 most expensive offerings.
Dayco.................$ 22.79
Continental..... $ 24.79
Gates..................$ 29.79
Motorcraft........$ 34.79
ACDelco.............$ 36.79

I believe all 5 are top shelf. They're all manufacturers, no?
Dayco was given the OK by the Corvair builder Finch...but that was 50 years ago
Continental is a known good name. If you limited me to one tire company, I'd likely choose Continental
Gates might be the most iffy on this short list as their name has been hung on some questionable items in my experience.
Motorcraft and ACDelco might be the best ones.

Anybody with any comments? The price difference is of no concern.

 

[Urshurak776]

I used to always buy GoodYear Gatorbacks. When they shifted to Continental, I went with those. Never used a Motorcraft, but have used all the others (had an AC Delco in my Ford Ranger back in the day.) Not a big fan of the Dayco belts. That's the only one I would personally avoid.

Continental at $24.79 is a no brainer if it was me.

 

[drtyler]

Motorcraft or Continental

 

[Egg_Head]

Gates or Dayco probably made the Motorcraft, trick is figuring out which one.

 

[DuckRyder]

Ive run Motorcraft and Conti, they are both fine.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

If you don't care about price, get Motorcraft. Otherwise, Bando

 

[Timmastertech]

Bando is about the best belt you can get and would be what I would install in my shop.

 

[Dave9]

Last I checked (having a vehicle with the 4L SOHC), some manufacturers have a standard and a premium belt with the aramid aka polyamide aka kevlar in it. That's what I'd choose, from any of those brands. I got the Dayco w/aramid about 9 years ago and it's still holding up fine, though I don't put a lot of miles on that vehicle.

As mentioned, there's the cheaper standard version with same(?) part # (but has "DR" at the end on Rock Auto):
https://www.amazon.com/Dayco-5060868-Serpentine-Belt/dp/B00180JCL4

then there's the aramid version:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=960523&cc=1304413&pt=8900&jsn=516

IDK if your Ranger takes the same part #... probably assuming it has A/C.

Does it really make a difference? The fibers are exposed on the pulley grooved side, which seems to make them quieter, but you'd probably get good service life out of either.