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Is it okay to use rubber blade belt or is kevlar much better? What is the factory murray lawnmower belt made of? The murray belt says its aramid and is more expensive 33$ with tax tho its brown in the murray package.

Do most 42" mowers come with rubber or kevlar for the blade belt and what about the drive belt?

Can anyone tell what material this is? This looks to be a black belt.

I was going to get a 810 belt just not sure if the rubber or kevlar. It is 10$ more for a kevlar belt what are the lifespans of each?

They all have a certain amount of rubber compound to hold the strengthening material such as Aramid or Kevlar.

The 8-ten belts are very good and hold up for a few years under regular use.

Auto Doc's said:

They all have a certain amount of rubber compound to hold the strengthening material such as Aramid or Kevlar.

The 8-ten belts are very good and hold up for a few years under regular use.

Click to expand...

so you think for a 42" 17.5hp riding mower the rubber belt for 17$ would operate just as well as the aramid or kevlar belt for 27$? 037x88ma all the local places have aramid or kevlar belts for 20$ so im not so sure about the rubber belt.

It says its just the cords that are kevlar but the other fabric coating keeps from stretching and durability or is it simply just a different color.

Kevlar generally refers to being wrapped in a kevlar fabric. Wrapped belts are used in clutching applications as they allow some slippage as they engage. Raw edge or unwrapped belts are not designed to be used in clutching applications. Kevlar wrapped belts are more durable than unwrapped belts. Not a fan of the 8ten stuff.

This may help:

Have to give lynn a C- on the article.

Yep, most DIY articles appear to be written by AI with a lot of filler words and very little technical content. On the other side of the spectrum are the technical articles from companies like Bando that jump all around with cross dimensional charts and fitment tables.

As for longevity of design, if using aftermarket designed belts, I prefer a Kevlar reinforced belt over a Nylon cord design.

The drive traction belt normally takes the most wear and heat simply for the lack of cooling air, so Kevlar is a better material. The deck belts generally last longer due to more cooling air and can be made from nylon reinforced cord material.

I am not sure what the poster is referring to when they say "rubber belt" an all-rubber belt would be much to light for any lawn mower application. Rubber is only a binding product used in the belt construction. The Kevlar, Aramid or Nylon cord is where the strength of the belt come from.

V-belts for mowers are designed to grip on the angled sides and not on the inner or outer circumferences/ flat surfaces.

When it comes down to what ultimately works, people should go with the manufacturers original belt when possible.

Why? Because they are designed for the machine. Belts that just say they will "fit" does not mean they have the correct profile design.

Examples: A belt that rides to far down in the bottom of a "V" pulley will slip because the side grip surface of the "V" is no longer functional. A belt that rides too high on the out edge of the "V" will wear a groove into the angled side face of the belt and eventually the belt will roll and twist or it will develop a "jump off the pulley" problem.

If cost is the deciding factor, that is strictly left up to the individual. OE belts are expensive, but doing a little research will usually reveal who actually makes them for the OE manufacturers.

Buy the proper OEM belt.