Goodyear Gatorback vs Nissan OEM belts

[mclasser]

I noticed some cracks on my I35 drive belts and am considering either Gatorback or Nissan replacements. OEM belts are by Bando, I believe, and cost nearly double than what the Gatorbacks do.

People seem to have good things to say about the Gatorbacks online. They seem to be quiet and more tolerant of worn/misaligned pulleys & tensioners compared to other belts. Any opinions on the subject are welcome.

 

[bullwinkle]

I have a Gatorback serpentine belt on the 6.2 in my sig, due to noise & chirping on shut off, so far it's been good (about 2 years & 15K).

 

[Donald]

The Gatorback is a very good belt. Maybe better than OEM. Certainly equal.

 

[splinter]

Have you priced a Gates replacement for yours?

Chewed up my last one owing to a failing (and misaligned) idler.
The gatorback's sawtooth design had trouble spinning up the AMG supercharger at ~17-psi. Probably not an issue with yours.

Swapped out the recalcitrant idler(s) and its tensioner concurrently.

 

[BISCUT]

I have the Gatorback on the Armada, F-150, and have had good things to say....so another Gatorback is waiting for my BMW. I'm in low 80's and waiting due to the expected demise of my plastic fin cooler fan. Go Gatorback and sleep well.

 

[michaelluscher]

Anecdotally on non serpentine belts

My '01 VG33E and a Neighbors '99 VG33E have Factory Nissan/Goodyear dual branded belts on them

FWIW.

 

[anonobomber]

I have used a Gatorback and Bando and both work great. Take a look around online as usually the Bando belts are cheaper. For your application it looks cheaper to go with the Bando, at least on Amazon:
Bando: http://www.amazon.com/Bando-6PK1095-Quality-Serpentine-Belt/dp/B000CB0KE8/

Goodyear: http://www.amazon.com/Goodyear-4060433-Gatorback-Poly-V-Belts/dp/B000C30IYS/

 

[stevejones]

I'm a big fan of using OEM parts for repairs. Having said that, I run Gates belts.

 

[WiskyBadger]

Gatorbacks are all I use. Nice and quiet, last just as long as oem. I buy them off rock auto pretty cheap.

 

[buck91]

Gatorbacks have always been my go-to replacement belt when one is needed. Never had an issue with them.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: Donald
The Gatorback is a very good belt. Maybe better than OEM. Certainly equal.

I would agree 100 percent, especially with the "maybe better than OEM." I replaced the OEM on the Mercury around 50K miles with a gatorback belt and now 90K miles later the Gatorback belt looks better than the OEM I took off (yes I carry it in the trunk as a "spare" - not sure why, probably just force of habit.)

 

[Xeno]

I got a good price on my OEM Nissan belt. The OEM one I had before was the original (7+yrs) and was cracked to [censored], but it never broke.

 

[Lubener]

Goodyear, Gates or Dayco should be fine. I wouldn't waste my money on OEM, I doubt it's any better and is likely made by one of those three anyway.

 

[Joel_MD]

A couple of months ago the alternator failed in my 2003 Saab 9-5. I replaced it with a rebuilt alternator and used a new Gatorback serpentine belt at the same time. It seems to be very high quality, and it was the lowest priced belt at RockAuto.