Craney

iTrader: (2)

Is there any advantage using timing gears over a timing chain??

articfriends

iTrader: (1)

When I was a teenager I thought gear drives were the coolest thing, could never afford one then though. As I have gotten older I have read and been told that they have a higher parasitic hp loss than a quality chain. Personally, I would buy a quality/premium timing chain set, make sure when you look at it the chain rollers are "seamless", do not have a "seam" across the roller, they can split at the seam or start disintegrating under hard use, Smitty

rgrgoog

iTrader: (3)

Well on Harleys the gears will be alot smoother/more reliable and free up some HP. No chain to stretch or wear out either. Not sure about other motors though.

tinman565

The chains dont "stretch" like in the old days....unless you got 200K miles on a motor...lol. A quality chain is the way to go. The problem with gear drives..is that they send any and all vibrations thru your whole cam/valvetrain system. Basically, there is alot more wear and tear on a motor with a gear drive setup in it. It's a direct drive system, as opposed to a chain which acts sorta like a buffer in the system.

bcfountain

your right,gear drives are harder on the valve train because of the harmonics tranmitted.the chain acts as a shock arrester.they sound pretty cool though.

ezstriper

cost you h/p...chains/belts much better

picklenjim

Then suckers are loud too! They don't call'm a "poor man's blower" for nothin.

Griff

Too much harmonics and not good for sustained higher rpms. No marine engine builders use them and that should tell you something.

GPM

Just curious, have any of you actually run a gear drive in a marine application to know this, what brand ? what motor ?

tinman565

I personally have not. What we are saying is...most people who have built motors (street cars, drag, circle track, boats, etc.), and have done the research...dont use gear drive set-ups. It's a known and proven fact about the vibrations/harmonics transfered throughout your entire cam/valvetrain with a gear drive. Look at it this way...with a gear drive...the crank is actually DIRECTLY driving the cam...which is driving the rest of the valvetrain. Any vibrations...harmonics...tremors...or bumps and thumps, are being sent to the top end of your motor. The roller chain acts like a buffer...or absorber in the system. It's basically healthier for the rest of the system. Especially in a boat motor.