I used the gates kit on my NA with oem studs and have had no issues. Gates supplies other big names. Quality wise the parts seem to be comparable to the OEM RB kit I've used. Really it depends on your build I'd say. For my 300 dollar NA engine I couldn't justify a 800 dollar OEM kit.
I used a Gates timing belt and some other parts from an ECC kit (new water pump, tensioner, etc.) The timing belt looks tight and normal still
I don't have a problem with Gates. I install lots of those without problem so I went with one on my Z32
Forgot to add I test drove her last night to the store, holy $hit it runs like a beast, if I had to guess it feels like it got 20hp back and idles smooth as a new mk7 no shaking no cel lights just butter, it accelerates much smoother and faster then I ever had it. Such a difference it was amaze balls.
Don't cheap out on the timing belt. Get the entire kit with rollers, tensioner and water pump. If it fails it is catastrophic. I use Gates kits all the time.
Usually with auto parts you get what you pay for. So pay a little more for better quality stuff. The brands I like to go with for timing belts are gates and continental.
2008 Honda Accord, 3.5L. Bought with 163k-ish miles and having no history, I probably ordered a timing belt kit. Gates usually treats everyone well, so I didn't hesitate and installed it. All new including water pump, idler, tensioner roller and hydraulic tensioner. Everything in-time perfectly and it ran for 2,000 miles without issue.
The gates kit is junk and is Chinese parts, I know this from experience. Don’t risk it.
About 20k miles ago I replaced the timing belt on my 02 lancer with a gates timing belt kit. However, after a few thousand miles the belt started to make noise. Now it’s louder and annoying so I plan to put a new kit on but would rather not use gates again.
I have seen early failure with the Gates water pump and wont use them.
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