blue Kevlar V-belts

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Was looking on Amazon for some spare belts for my snowblower and they sell blue Kevlar belts (PIX brand) where they say they are stronger than a normal belt. About the same price. Any experience?

These will be sitting on a shelf for a year or more, so I will not know how good/bad they are until I break the current one.
 
I used those on my JD318 then all blew up for some reason.
went back to JD brand belts.
 
Kevlar is strong and stretches less than polyester by volume and weight. But it generally has a shorter life when flexed.

The lack of stretch (lower modulus of elasticity) make the exact weave and layup of fibers much more important. You can end up with just a few fibers carrying the concentrated stress, with the over-stressed strands changing as the belt moves. With a fiber that stretches more the load can be spread over more strands.
 
OK, so nix on the blue Kevlar belts. Are replacement belts OK, or go for actual Airens belts? I do not see Gates or Dayco belts for the snowblower.
 
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Go for the Ariens belt. I have had problems with aftermarket belts saying they are a certain size and they won't fit properly. Not something you want to happen with a spare belt when in a jam. Now when I replace belts on snow blowers I use an OEM belt, and have not had any more fitment issues. The OEM belts also seem to last a bit longer.
 
I work on a lot of equipment and change a lot of belts. I find that aftermarket belts can be ok, and they can be junk. Also, they sometimes are too small or too big. I price the aftermarket and factory belt. If they factory belt is much more expensive, I will give an aftermarket belt a shot. On critical equipment that I can't afford to have down, I will always go with an OEM belt,because it fits right the first time and should last a while.
 
The scooter guys love the Kevlar drive belts for high performance scooters. (remember, they use a belt type CVT) Take a maxi scooter, and install a big bore kit, and some other mods and it easily overheats the OEM rubber belt.

The Kevlar ones will slip until warm on such applications. Then they work properly.

However, Kevlar is hygroscopic and will actively absorb water. In my scooter example above, the belt is well protected and runs hot. So water is generally not an issue.
 
I've found over the years that it's far better to pay the price and use the factory belts. I'm guessing the design calls for them and anything else wouldn't last as long. You might also get lucky and buy an equivalent, and it would work fine, but it's a [censored] shoot.
On my current Husqvarna tractor, cheap belts from local auto stores work good for a while, but the factory belts tend to last a lot, and I do mean a lot longer.
 
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