Gear Drive vs. Double Roller Chain....pros and cons

85_SS_302_Coupe · Dec 11, 2006

Who's running a gear drive and what do you like/dislike about it, and what are some pros and cons of them vs. a typical double roller chain setup? Anyone run one on a street car that sees regular driving? How about longevity and wear and tear?

Foxfan88 · Dec 11, 2006

as a chain gets miles on it, it stretches a bit, so in theory cam timing would vary and move around slightly, but i believe the variance is so small u couldnt tell at all.

a gear drive is always the same, keeps cam time very accuratly. but NOISY and they transmit vibration from the crank to the camshaft. so i would say the life of your cam bearing will be reduced.

for a street appplication i would get a chain. much better. the gear drive will be noisy and like i said transmit vibration. the chain has no drawbacks really.

Sicarius428 · Dec 11, 2006

The gear drives are very accurate but typically reserved for race cars. Gear drives put a lot of harmonics through the engine and sometimes require the block machined to accept them. I am not sure about the H.O. motors but the FE does. A good double roller will last you more than 100k and I think has less friction too.
Kevin

fastranger347 · Dec 11, 2006

the backlash in the gear drive will cause spark scatter at a certain rpm determined by the resonance frequency of the valvetrain, for all intensive purposes the chain will do the job just as good with less wear on other parts while producing no scatter and requiring no machining, ther are plenty of 1,500 hp pro 5.0 cars running chains, so they cant be that bad

DMAN302 · Dec 11, 2006

Foxfan88 said:
as a chain gets miles on it, it stretches a bit, so in theory cam timing would vary and move around slightly, but i believe the variance is so small u couldnt tell at all.

a gear drive is always the same, keeps cam time very accuratly. but NOISY and they transmit vibration from the crank to the camshaft. so i would say the life of your cam bearing will be reduced.

for a street appplication i would get a chain. much better. the gear drive will be noisy and like i said transmit vibration. the chain has no drawbacks really.

Damn son!!!! after all this time you've actually not only made perfect sense..you might have actually taught me something...holy smoke!!!!!!! Nice job.:SNSign:

Roland69 · Dec 11, 2006

I like the sound of a noisy gear drive but at the same time.....it's friction causing that noise

85_SS_302_Coupe · Dec 12, 2006

What i really wish i could afford is a Jessel belt drive but they're like 800 bucks for the whole setup, and they're probably a bit more race than i need right now.

Rick 91GT · Dec 12, 2006

Everyones thoughts on the downside of the gear drive is dead nuts on, they are accurate but transmit a lot of vibration through the motor and bearings. The key to the double roller sets is the chain. I use a lot of the Rollmaster timing sets just for the fact that they come wih a very accurate low stretch chain and billet sprockets, they also now have a built in thrust bearing for less friction against the cam retainer plate. This does require countersinking the bolts but that is easily done. If you need a Rollmaster let me know my dealer has them in stock ready to go. The sprockets are so nice on the Rollmaster that you can just get a new cahin and re-use them over.

Danny Bee does make a belt drive for the SMBLK FORD that is a little cheaper then the JESEL. It does make cam adjustments and swaps a snap.

86bluecobra · Dec 17, 2006

I bought a timing gear set for my 351w. After looking at it i set it on a shelf at home and got myself a good double roller chain. Forget the gear set they are to loud and as stated transmit vibration.

Lxstang306 · Dec 17, 2006

gear drive sound like a supercharger chains do get lose of time only time i realy see gear drive when there runing BIG BIG cams my dad had to change to a gear drive in his big block 89GT snape a timing chain becuse of the valve spring where stiff chain was new

FastDriver · Dec 17, 2006

If you want people to think, "damn that supercharged car is slow," get a gear-drive set.

310stanger · Dec 17, 2006

they are both good, but theres no real reason to be running a gear drive on a street car. the negatives outweigh the positives. jus go with a good high quality double roller.

85_SS_302_Coupe · Dec 17, 2006

FastDriver said:
If you want people to think, "damn that supercharged car is slow," get a gear-drive set.

yeah, but a true motor head knows the difference

thumper460 · Dec 17, 2006

The gear drive is killer on the street... untill someone tells ya to fix the powersteering pump!! LOL the roller chain is good also!! Back in the day when cams ran a lot of spring pressure and the timing chain sets were crap.. the gear drive was to keep things all together at the 7500-8000 rpm range!! today where the rpm is 6500-6800 and the hyd roller cam is the choice.. the gears arent needed!! HOWEVER.. they DO sound great!! And I have had a gear drive in my BBF ( thumper) for over ten years Street driven.. ( not a lot but driven) and on my small blocks.. the vibrations are there yes, but I have NEVER had any issues with bearings ect!! Just the not knowing and the powersteering pump thingy.... lol

Just me..............................

Thumper

85_SS_302_Coupe · Dec 17, 2006

LOL yeah i guess they do sound a little like a winey power steering pump! That's pretty funny...

Chuckman · Dec 17, 2006

the gear drive in my truck is pretty silent (300ci 6), but then again it has a phenolic gear so as to not trip the knock sensor. back in the 60's and 70's these motors came stock with all steel gear drives, and ive heard of a few people switching to them on an efi truck and have it work just fine.

anyway, i guess my point is, why would a phenolic (or whatever it is) gear not work for a street setup? are the stresses of a 302 really that much more severe than a truck motor?

Nibblesworth · Dec 19, 2006

Lxstang306 said:
gear drive sound like a supercharger chains do get lose of time only time i realy see gear drive when there runing BIG BIG cams my dad had to change to a gear drive in his big block 89GT snape a timing chain becuse of the valve spring where stiff chain was new

Holy jebus. Drop the mustang and enroll in a grammar course at your local community college.

If that's out of the question, here's a quick lesson:

The Period: Looks like this ---> . It is used to end a sentence. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Capital Letters: Look like this ---> A. They are used at the beginning of a sentence, or with proper nouns/pronouns. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Dictionary: Looks like a big book. They are used to define words, as well as to check the spelling of words. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

enyawix · Aug 4, 2007

Nibblesworth said:
Holy jebus. Drop the mustang and enroll in a grammar course at your local community college.

If that's out of the question, here's a quick lesson:

The Period: Looks like this ---> . It is used to end a sentence. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Capital Letters: Look like this ---> A. They are used at the beginning of a sentence, or with proper nouns/pronouns. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Dictionary: Looks like a big book. They are used to define words, as well as to check the spelling of words. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Do you have a life? I bet he knows his English is a bit lax.
:OT:

RYC CUKR · Aug 5, 2007

Yeah but it makes it sucks when you have to decipher it.

montegoman351 · Aug 5, 2007

Nibblesworth said:
Holy jebus. Drop the mustang and enroll in a grammar course at your local community college.

If that's out of the question, here's a quick lesson:

The Period: Looks like this ---> . It is used to end a sentence. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Capital Letters: Look like this ---> A. They are used at the beginning of a sentence, or with proper nouns/pronouns. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

Dictionary: Looks like a big book. They are used to define words, as well as to check the spelling of words. Very useful tool when trying to communicate with written words.

:Word: Oh, that's just priceless, well put.

Gear Drive vs. Double Roller Chain....pros and cons

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

Foxfan88

My Grandpa has great wood.

Sicarius428

Active Member

fastranger347

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DMAN302

My mom says thanks for the pearl necklace.

Roland69

Sergeant Tangnet

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

Rick 91GT

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86bluecobra

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Lxstang306

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FastDriver

I was uncomfortably high & wearing a helmet

310stanger

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85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

thumper460

85_SS_302_Coupe

it sucks (I know) to be on the receiving end

Chuckman

GTFO you fat, heavy bastard

Nibblesworth

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enyawix

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RYC CUKR

montegoman351

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