Soaking belts??
 

Does anyone soak there belys, if so what in, and what is the purpose of this?

Thanks

People soak their belts in WD-40 to soften them up more so they are more flexible. This will free up the drivetrain making it more efficient.

-H

on my tamiya manual it tells you not to soak it

should i still soak it???
will it make it faster?

Calvin, Do you plan on racing your Tamiya? One thing that I didn't point out before is that soaking your belts in WD-40 will make them wear faster.

Also, depending on how the belt is made, it might make it stretch making prone to skipping if you don't have belt tensioner.

I don't have a Tamiya, so I don't know the specific answer to your case.

-H

i better not soak it then

what kind of sound does it make when the car skips?????



when im going full throttle on my car then slowing down a little and then full throttle again it gives this short slap sound. its hard to explain but is this a skipping sound????

i have a tensioner
its a trf414mii

Yep thats your belts skipping. Use the tentioner, tighten it little by little untill you don't here the sound anymore.

but its a trf414mII

it cant do that

i've ran the belt for more then half a year. is it because its stretched

So the tentioner has tightened the belts the most it can? If so buy new belts.

how long does it take before the belt is streatched????
stock class

There is no one correct answer. Have you ever heard "Your mileage will vary!"

Change the belt if you think it's too loose and you can't adjust it with the belt tensioner anymore.

-H

the trf has a belt tensioner but it isnt adjustable

i'll just change the belt and see what happens

The more worn out and stretched it is the better. If it skips a little on decel its not a big deal at all infact I wouldn't worry about it. the only time its a problem is on acceleration. The more worn the belt is the more effiecent the car will be. I soak my TAMIYA belts for weeks in wd40 to make them really free. I have never had one break yet and my belt cars have very free drivetrains.

If you can't feel a noticable difference then don't worry, but if you feel a difference then change them. If you floor it from a stand still what happens, do you hear the sound?

My god, are you really a 414 owner? Read your manual. 414 adjust tension by adding washer to tensioner. If you want the adjustable one, buy Square belt tensioner.

i've done the wd40 thing, but now i just use traction compound on the smooth side of the belt when it's on the car. i'll actually wet them prior to a run. seems to be the softest when they are wet.

something that hasn't been mentioned yet, is that the belts can shrink when soaked. infact, i've yet to find something that doesn't shrink them. while this can help a stretched belt remain useable, it also messes up the mesh between the belt and pullies. it isn't noticeable on the layshaft (small) pullies, but i can see it on the diff pullies. look closely with a loose belt. it will actually "bulge" above/below the pulley on the last few teeth due to improper mesh. i would think when running that it may not make a difference, or maybe the belt will stretch under tension enough to match. just something worth pointing out.