Gear drive pros and cons

[ninjapumkin]

Hi
Thinking about going gear drive on my 383. Whats the pros and cons?
Noisy versus quiet.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I'm puttin one on my 383. I have it on the dinin room table. The gear drive, not the 383. lol I've never run a gear drive on a Mopar. But I have run them before. Here is my opinion. There is NO quiet gear drive. lol There's noisy and then REAL noisy. LOL

On edit....I tell you what the quiet gear drives remind me of. You ever heard an old chebbie with a power glide sittin there idling? When they get a little wear on them, they have a little whine. That's just about what the quiet gear drives sound like....to me.

 

[Kernel Sanders]

Interested and have additional questions...

Q1: How much longer life are the gear drives?
Q2: Recomendations for street/highway use only or for strip or both?
Q3: Although I have not looked into it anyone with price comparisons for quality gear drives?

Thanx for any additional info

 

[Cranky]

Why not use a belt drive? They don't transmit harmonics from the crank into the valve train. Yeah, they ain't cheap but it depends on what you are doing too. Making noise or making tons of power......

 

[Hemi Rebel]

Why not use a belt drive? They don't transmit harmonics from the crank into the valve train. Yeah, they ain't cheap but it depends on what you are doing too. Making noise or making tons of power......

Belts stretch. Belts break. BUT, and this is a big BUT, if you get a geardrive, dont get a cheap one. Milodon, for instance, makes a good one but it will set you back about 700 bucks

 

[RustyRatRod]

I have heard the harmonics arguement....and even argued FOR it, but it's just not true. I started grabbing every article I could find on it and reading. Just do a google search. PLENTY out there on it. There's absolutely ZERO conclusive evidence that any harmonics more than usual is transferred. I know there's alwasy gonna be a story like "my girlfriend's mama's ex boyfriend's lover's cousin's daddy had one and it tore up all hell". But the fact is nobody has proven it beyond the shadow of a doubt. I made more of a idiot outta myself than I usually am trying to argue the other way and I was WRONG. LOL Gear drives aint the devil.

 

[67 B-body]

I have heard the harmonics arguement....and even argued FOR it, but it's just not true. I started grabbing every article I could find on it and reading. Just do a google search. PLENTY out there on it. There's absolutely ZERO conclusive evidence that any harmonics more than usual is transferred. I know there's alwasy gonna be a story like "my girlfriend's mama's ex boyfriend's lover's cousin's daddy had one and it tore up all hell". But the fact is nobody has proven it beyond the shadow of a doubt. I made more of a idiot outta myself than I usually am trying to argue the other way and I was WRONG. LOL Gear drives aint the devil.

One of my best friends had a noisy gear drive in his 67 Chevy truck (350 engine).
He drove that truck everyday for several years.... Nothing ever happened to his engine.
He didn't rev the piss out of it, as if he was racing every time he drove it though..
I haven't done any research on the topic, nor do I have any other first hand experience with them aside from my good friends truck.
I was however REALLY close to buying a set myself when I built my current engine. The prices are pretty reasonable if you shop around a bit!

Lets here some more first hand experience on the topic....zzie and the spide

 

[blackblazer717]

Ive got one, love it, will never go back, and youll never have chain stretch. and make sure you find a good one with needle bearings not brass bushings on the rollers..

And read the directions, it explains to you how to make it fit under the stock timing cover. theres pins that the two small idler gears spin on, and there machined long so you can message them down to the correct lash

 

[RustyRatRod]

Lets here some more first hand experience on the topic....zzie and the spide

I tell you who has first hand experience. "POSDakota". He's over on FABO. Ask him. He's one of the guys I got into the arguement with ....LOL But he was right.

 

[69clone]

I was thinking about one, but my dad told me not to. I guess he did it on a
Mustang back in the late 80's (before my time) and had people always tell him his water pump was going or that his engine had a whine... But performance wise I don't think he had any problems. Nonetheless I am going with dual chains in the 440.

 

[moparstuart]

they are annoying , noisey and I associate them with chevys double steel roller chain and gears are fine

 

[HEMI-ITIS]

Ive been running gears drives for over 25 years.When they are sdjusted right they can be very quiet

 

[TheSwede]

24 USD! This must be Chinese crap!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOPAR-383-4...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5d313d81e4&vxp=mtr

Or this one
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Idler-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item4aa81c196d&vxp=mtr

41.50 USD If you look at the feedback there is plenty of satisfied customers, anyone here?

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I had a set in a small block before, the only reason to have it was to make your motor sound like it had a super charger under the hood, other wise there is no difference in performance between a double roller chain and gears. I ran early Pete Jackson gears, It's all for sound that's all. I would not run it in a 383 or 440 just not a mopar thing and really not needed.

 

[moparstuart]

I had a set in a small block before, the only reason to have it was to make your motor sound like it had a super charger under the hood, other wise there is no difference in performance between a double roller chain and gears. I ran early Pete Jackson gears, It's all for sound that's all. I would not run it in a 383 or 440 just not a mopar thing and really not needed.

:headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang::headbang:

 

[terzmo]

the "quiet" version is still loud. Noise is cool or can be agony to others. (I'm over 62 and My next car will have gear drive. Had it before on a smallblock camaro)) Plus ; once the timing is set, there is no chain stretching and the mark stays dead on , every time.

 

[moparstuart]

the "quiet" version is still loud. Noise is cool or can be agony to others. (I'm over 62 and My next car will have gear drive. Had it before on a smallblock camaro)) Plus ; once the timing is set, there is no chain stretching and the mark stays dead on , every time.

see totally a chevy thing

 

[67 B-body]

see totally a chevy thing

I disagree,,,, If it has no other ill affects to the engine mechanicaly, I can only see benefits by using this setup.... Chains DO stretch, and timing is thrown in the dumpster as a result.... Everyone preaches degreeing your camshaft, and is often leaned on when engines aren't running right regarding new builds... It's always the ol' "did you degree your cam?" question.... I do mine, but your talking like two degrees,, maybe 3? This is lost in chain stretch by the end of summer!! When I last had the timing cover off of my engine, the chain already had a noticable slack difference in it... Nothing terrible, but just the usual expected amount.... I'm sure if I put a wheel on it, things wouldn't be dead on anymore.... I think with a gear drive arrangement, things would be just as I set it initialy!
Just saying.....:eusa_think:

 

[Hemi Rebel]

see totally a chevy thing

i thinks its "a chevy thing" because they were not available for mopars at first. Or if they were, you didnt see them listed in jegs or summit. I just feel like they didnt have them for chrysler engines. Or i guess they did for big blocks only because of the hemi popularity, but. Just for that reason they were stupid expensive even for the middle of the road setups like pete jackson. From what i can remember that is, I could be talking straight out of my ***.

On another note, i dont really think they sound like a blower. I hate that comparison. Maybe a sick blower with the belt too tight or something. The sound they make shouldnt even be a consideration when choosing to go that route for a timing setup. Just my 2 cents

 

[RustyRatRod]

Gear drives have been available for Mopars since the mid 1950s. They were perhaps available for Mopar FIRST. Can you say early Hemi? You think Don Garlits ran a chain? Not hardly.

i thinks its "a chevy thing" because they were not available for mopars at first. Or if they were, you didnt see them listed in jegs or summit. I just feel like they didnt have them for chrysler engines. Or i guess they did for big blocks only because of the hemi popularity, but. Just for that reason they were stupid expensive even for the middle of the road setups like pete jackson. From what i can remember that is, I could be talking straight out of my ***.

On another note, i dont really think they sound like a blower. I hate that comparison. Maybe a sick blower with the belt too tight or something. The sound they make shouldnt even be a consideration when choosing to go that route for a timing setup. Just my 2 cents