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Here's a curly one... whats the pitch of the vintage CAT belts (SWB,XL,ProCAT) 0.08" or 0.0816"
am looking for an online supplier for said belts.

They are MXL belts from memory. Probably looked at the things thousands of times, and MXL just leaps to mind.

MXL is 0.08" from a quick google search. Maybe have a look at a Cat manual online to double check.

EDIT: Just had a quick search. Have a look at one of the parts list pages from the XLS manual here:
http://www.oople.com/rc/manuals/xls/imagepages/xlsparts02.html

The procat belts might be 0.0816"...

Just remembered BITD that they released the high torque belts with the Procat, which had a slightly larger more rounded tooth. I remember I had issues running an MMS layshaft with Procat belts and diff... It created more drag and pushed up the free amp draw of the drive train.

What I would do is tighten up the belts, put in an old 540 motor, hook up a 12 battery charger to the motor and let it run (no wheels on) on and off for an hour or so to break in the drivetrain.

ANOTHER EDIT: found a procat manual and it looks like they were released with MXL belts.
http://www.retromodelisme.com/scan_pages/6197/pro-cat-schumacher-page-28.html

The high torque belts must have been an option and come out after the procats release. Been a while and I never ran a true procat, always bitsas.

Be careful when commenting on high torque belts as the term has two meanings.

One refers to just a higher load bearing belt (as an example it's possible to have a high torque MXL belt)

The second refers to an actual belt pitch named HTD (High Torque Drive). This is the large square tooth belt used on the Optima Mid series of cars.

Bender, that was what Schumacher called them at the time, not my terminology.

You're right, I do seem to remember them marketing those belts as such. Come ot think of it, I think most manufacturers at some point in the old days have added "high torque" to any improved transmission part

The "ROUNDED TOOTH BELTS" and pulleys were released in the Bosscat series of cars. They are not interchangeable with the previous series of cars. -Jeff

Found a bit of info on the high torque diff and belt conversion released by Schumacher for the procat and earlier cars. Jeroen previously submitted the following scan.


From here:
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5287&p=50464&hilit=schumacher#p50464

Would you like the actual part numbers for the front and rear belts from Stock Drive Products here in the USA? All you have to do is specify a width. These are the standard belts for the Procat, XLS and previous models (not the rounded tooth design). I used to have these manufactured (almost 20 years ago) because it was cheaper and faster to have them made myself than order from overseas or a LHS. They were very reasonably priced too, although there was a minimum order. I am sure you could get a few guys together....-Jeff

Jay Dub wrote:Would you like the actual part numbers for the front and rear belts from Stock Drive Products here in the USA? All you have to do is specify a width. These are the standard belts for the Procat, XLS and previous models (not the rounded tooth design). I used to have these manufactured (almost 20 years ago) because it was cheaper and faster to have them made myself than order from overseas or a LHS. They were very reasonably priced too, although there was a minimum order. I am sure you could get a few guys together....-Jeff

Jeff - can I ask whether you (or anyone else) knows if this is the belt which will fit the CAT SWB? https://sdp-si.com/eStore/Direct.asp?GroupID=342

I'm trying to get hold of a few....

Hi Bender, you said it's possible to have a high torque MXL belt... do you know who supplies these? All the MXL belts I've found have the older trapezoidal tooth profile and not the rounded "high torque" profile. Thanks

Bender wrote:Be careful when commenting on high torque belts as the term has two meanings.

One refers to just a higher load bearing belt (as an example it's possible to have a high torque MXL belt)

The second refers to an actual belt pitch named HTD (High Torque Drive). This is the large square tooth belt used on the Optima Mid series of cars.