What is the Best Subaru Timing Belt kit?

If you have a WRX or STI, about every 100,000 miles you are due to go in and replace your timing belt. Typically, when you do this service, you want to replace most of the parts associated with the timing belt so that you will have another 100,000 miles or so of trouble free operation.

For a long time, the Gates Timing Belt Kits were what we recommend as a great option for OEM quality parts, but at about half the price.

But now all that has changed.

Around the beginning of 2018, we noticed that the tensioners that came in the various Gates kit were starting to fluctuate, and then we noticed that the idler pulleys started to do the same. At this point, none of the components that come in a Gates kit are of OE equivalent quality, and pretty much everything except the belt itself is coming from China.

Gates Timing Components

This left us to look for another good option for Subaru quality parts, but fortunately we were able to find a couple good ones.

First, we found the Aisin Timing Belt kit. This kit is pretty much what the Gates kits used to be. All OEM equivalent parts, including an Aisin water pump. For a stock or daily driven car, this is a great option.

Aisin Timing Kit

We also now stock the complete line of Roger Clark Motorsport timing kits. They have an OEM timing kit that comes with a Subaru timing belt, and OEM equivalent tensioner and pulleys. Their kits just require you to add a water pump separately.

The really nice thing is that Roger Clark has a timing belt kit that comes with an HKS timing belt (which is actually made by Gates, and is equivalent to their racing belt), and their top of the link kit comes with the STI Kevlar-reinforced timing belt.

All of the Roger Clark kits are great options, and for a modified, or high power car, their HKS and STI-Kevlar belt kits are definitely the way to go.

RCM OEM timing Belt Kit

Roger Clark HKS Timing Kit

RCM STI Kevlar Timing Belt Kit

RCM HKS Belt High Grip Timing Kit

RCM HKS High Grip Timing Kit

RCM STI Belt High Grip Timing Kit

RCM STI Belt High Grip Timing Kit

IAG Performance has now put together their own line of Subaru Timing Belt Kits as well.  Here are links to their options:

IAG Standard Timing Belt Kit

IAG Standard Timing Belt Kit

IAG Timing Belt Kit with Adjustable Idler Pulleys:

IAG Adjustable Idler Timing Belt Kit

IAG Racing Timing Belt Kit:

IAG Racing Timing Belt kit

Hopefully this helps to clarify the differences between these kits, and if you have any questions at all, please drop us a line!

If you would like more information on what Timing Component Upgrades are available, we have put together a new blog with that information here:

Timing Component Upgrades

 

We just put up a new video going into details about the various Timing Belt Kit options mentioned here as well