Aftermarket Drive Belts

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frosty

Member
Who has bought an aftermarket drive belt and what has been your experience? I'm looking at Carlisle Ultimax for 11 Crossfire SP Ltd. Just not sure on picking up an aftermarket belt be the best decision, not enough info out on the web to be sure or just not looking in the right spot for info. I hate wasting money :mad:

Any opinions good or bad are needed!:p
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
I have the Carlisle Pro which is the new name for the Carlisle 3 belt, and I'm liking it so far. No problems yet, but only 600 or so miles so far.
 
F

frosty

Member
Hey Indy, don't you ever do homework or something? Is the Pro a setup or down or the same as the ultimax?
 
indy_500

indy_500

Well-known member
1 step down from the ultimax, although, i was told when it was renamed, the quality of it went halfway between the old 3 and the ultimax.

And I get my homework done in school. We had to read 35 pages in huck finn today, we get 6 min. between each class so i get to the next class right away and read for 5 min. I make use of my time ;)

One more thing to add, you get a 1 year warranty on any carlisle belt. So, keep that in mind too. A lot of people will probably chime in saying to get oem, but I paid the same price, and got a 1 year warranty.
 
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polarisman_98

Member
I used to run a Carlisle Ultimax belt in my old Fusion 900 (which I sold). Had no problems with it. Prior to that I ran the oem Polaris belt which was something like $130. The Ultimax was cheaper than that so I gave it a try and it ran fine.
 
F

frosty

Member
indy_500 said:
1 step down from the ultimax, although, i was told when it was renamed, the quality of it went halfway between the old 3 and the ultimax.

And I get my homework done in school. We had to read 35 pages in huck finn today, we get 6 min. between each class so i get to the next class right away and read for 5 min. I make use of my time ;)

One more thing to add, you get a 1 year warranty on any carlisle belt. So, keep that in mind too. A lot of people will probably chime in saying to get oem, but I paid the same price, and got a 1 year warranty.
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Well thats good to hear that you multitask and get your homework done in school. But you know, back in the day, that 35 pages would been more like read 3 chapters and give the teacher a short summary of what you thought Huck Finn and Jim Brown were doing and why they were doing it.

I think there was a Jim Brown, lots of bad suppressed memories. :p

I wasn't aware of a 1 yr warranty, thats good to know. I figured most belts are probably made at the same rubber factory anyway, kinda like kitchen appliances. Its good to hear that there are guys out there running aftermarket belts and that I'm not the only cheap skate here.
 
F

frosty

Member
polarisman_98 said:
I used to run a Carlisle Ultimax belt in my old Fusion 900 (which I sold). Had no problems with it. Prior to that I ran the oem Polaris belt which was something like $130. The Ultimax was cheaper than that so I gave it a try and it ran fine.
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Thanks Polaris_man98 on the reply. Its good to get real world reviews on stuff. I sometimes wonder about some of the reviews you read and wonder if they were planted by the manufacture to fluff up their product when it really is a total disaster. Appreciate the feedback.
 
R

radrick

New member
I have ran the ultimax belts on my last 4 sleds. I have had pretty good luck with them. I usually blow one belt per year, the one year warranty is nice. If anything just buy the ultimax for a spare, keep it till the oem blows.
 
5

5_spot

Member
I personally would stick with OEM on a Diamond Drive Arctic Cat. Any aftermarket belts I've tried on my Firecat were much softer than the Kevlar based compound used in the OEM belt. This results in the belt grabbing more, which required a weight change in the primary clutch to run at optimum performance.
 
H

harvest1121

Well-known member
I and using a Carlisle Ultimax belt now on my 800r Skidoo. I have about 1600 miles on it I think they seem a little harder but its fine for trail riding. On the skidoo belts I got 2000 miles so I think they are about the same for lasting. I bought it for a spare for the price but would buy another its been fine. But do have a new oem belt for the next trip and that will be the spare.
 
B

Big Baby Dan

New member
You can order Gatorbacks from GoodYear/Veyance Authorized Dealers

I have been blowing belts all too frequently (I might have a clutch alignment issue) on my 2008 Ski Doo XP 800 and after paying through the nose a couple of times to buy replacement belts from dealers becuase I forgot to get them before 4pm on a Saturday...I decided to try the new Goodyear belts. I ordered two and have not put them on yet and will let you know how they perform. In the meantime, you can look up authorized dealers on Goodyear's website.
 
snowdance

snowdance

Member
Big Baby Dan said:
I have been blowing belts all too frequently (I might have a clutch alignment issue) on my 2008 Ski Doo XP 800 and after paying through the nose a couple of times to buy replacement belts from dealers becuase I forgot to get them before 4pm on a Saturday...I decided to try the new Goodyear belts. I ordered two and have not put them on yet and will let you know how they perform. In the meantime, you can look up authorized dealers on Goodyear's website.
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Keep us posted!
 
F

frosty

Member
Just picked up a Carlisle Ultimax belt, so let see what the difference is between oem and aftermarket. I think this season I'm going to switch belts between trips to see what happens. It might be a waste of time and money, but you won't know until you try. :eek:
 
W

whitedust

Well-known member
I guess it depends on sled type. Yam 4s..... I think entire line up uses the same belt so Yam belt very good & like $65 so works well & not expensive & made for Yam 4s so not sure moving to aftermarket belt makes sense or reaps any benes.
 
J

JimAndros

Active member
As a Cat dealer, we have a handbook called the quick reference guide which gives belt numbers & sizes.

There are some belts with the same dimentions but different hardness. The book gives details of what to expect by switching hardness. Expect different engagement RPM.

When you look up the applications in aftermarket, you find one belt to cover where Cat has 2. I can only assume they are splitting the difference. I don't know for sure.

As for quality, typically no problems. And yes, aftermarket is frequently cheaper. We stock only Cat belts for Cats. We do carry a few Carlisle for Polaris & SkiDoo.
 
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