Belt width question

general01

Guys how do I tell when I need a new belt??

I used to get 36mph tops now I am lucky to get 27-28mph tops

Engine is running strong since I replaced the head gasket and have a electric pump.

BGW

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sho305

Go by the width. Yamaha says 1" is the minimum for a stock cart, you get that on a lifted cart it will bog badly so you have to replace sooner for high loads. New one is 1 3/16". Usually you can run off 1/8" and it will still go ok but I don't wear them down that far with my clone before replacement. Now I have a kevlar belt and its wearing much longer than the standard belts.

general01

I am using the belt that came with my vc engine kit.

It's nearing a year of use so should I replace it or should it be ok.(haven't measured it yet but it does have wear)

sho305

Hard to say, easy to measure it. The CVT is calibrated for that width so thin belt makes it shift poorly, worse if your clutches are worn. In fact on an old worn set of CVT it can be better to run 1 1/4 belt to take up the room from wear, for a 1 3/16 stock belt. Another issue is sand and dirt, lots of it will wear the alum sheaves way faster. People that run down beach sand all the time get way more wear, also more belt wear. Pulling loads, hills, working it hard with weight will also make more wear. Driving around on golf course with 18 tires and stock power makes for little wear. 1 3/16 belt is made for up to 60hp on sleds iirc, and so 10hp does not wear it in a stock cart. While the VC engine has twice the power easily, it will wear more, normally it would not wear that much you need a lot of miles to do that. But if you have some high wear things you do then it wears faster, like sand or towing, etc.

general01

Would driving on a gravel road be one of those classifications?

Some of the driving I do on my cart is mostly in grass or pavement but there is some
Gravel road also that I have to drive it on.

Ps I noticed my engine has moved ever so slightly towards the passenger side of the cart(blasted loc nuts not holding like they should)
I will measure it and see how much it has worn down since I installed it but I can start and idle the engine without the cart moving forward.

Shepard

When you did your VC upgrade to the 460 -- did you hook up the torque strap on the front left engine mount? I replaced all 4 engine mounts and used the original cable strap. I had to grind on the engine plate mount to make it fit the slot on the engine plate. It's local top middle. How much up/down play in your drive belt? You want the cable tight enough you can just spin the cable with your fingers

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general01

Shepard my cart is a club car not a Yamaha they don't have that strap.

Wish they did but they didn't.

I will check the belt tomorrow and see what it measures on the deflection but it's been like this for some time(like after my pulse pump went south back of this)

sho305

Gravel road should not be that bad unless its always a dust bomb. Here the gravel packs and not much dust or sand moves around when you drive on it. But some trails here will leave a thick coating of dust on my engine, and that is why I piped the airbox to the front of the cart.

Shepard

Sorry -- I forgot, about the Club Car that is. How does the CC keep the engine from shifting under torque. How stable are your engine mounts. I'll have to look at a CC kit from Vegas so I know how it hooks up.

sho305

The CC I worked on had four stiff mounts to the cradle, but the cradle is on leaf springs and it only has this hangar thing in front there is no solid mount. The yamaha has soft mounts and the torque tension cable that only holds under large throttle, but the cradle is hinged on the frame solid. So the yami does not get the isolation from the cradle like the CC, I imagine why yami have softer mounts.