Just ran across something interesting and somewhat disturbing while I was changing my 05 Civic's timing belt. Last time I changed the belt in 2016, I used a Gates blue belt (their high performance one) and it has not given me any issues, but it was due to be changed. This time I decided to get an OEM Honda belt (which is made by Gates) since I had to go to the dealer to pick up some other parts anyways and I'm glad I did.
As I was comparing the new belt to the old belt, I noticed that the aftermarket Gates belt is actually significantly narrower than the OEM Gates belt. The difference isn't huge, but it's enough to easily see. Although the Gates belt didn't give me any issues, as critical as the timing belt is on interference engines, I think it's a bit disturbing that they didn't at least create a belt of the proper dimensions. If nothing else, this is a good reminder that an aftermarket part being made by the same manufacturer as the OEM part does NOT mean the part is the same. In some cases, that apparently doesn't even mean the part is the proper size.
I'd be interested to know if any of you have noticed obvious issues like this before with Gates or any other brands. Here's a few pictures of the differences in width.
As I was comparing the new belt to the old belt, I noticed that the aftermarket Gates belt is actually significantly narrower than the OEM Gates belt. The difference isn't huge, but it's enough to easily see. Although the Gates belt didn't give me any issues, as critical as the timing belt is on interference engines, I think it's a bit disturbing that they didn't at least create a belt of the proper dimensions. If nothing else, this is a good reminder that an aftermarket part being made by the same manufacturer as the OEM part does NOT mean the part is the same. In some cases, that apparently doesn't even mean the part is the proper size.
I'd be interested to know if any of you have noticed obvious issues like this before with Gates or any other brands. Here's a few pictures of the differences in width.