Gates B18B/B18C Timing Belt for 90-01 Integra/97-01 CR-V

Every B-series Integra runs an interference engine. If your timing belt snaps, your valves meet your pistons and your weekend turns into an engine rebuild. The Gates Racing timing belt is the upgrade that actually matters here, whether you're maintaining a stock B18B1 daily, building an LS-VTEC for the track, or keeping a high-compression B18C5 Type R alive at 8,400 RPM.

Why the Gates Racing Belt Over OEM

Here's something most people don't realize: Gates already manufactures the OEM timing belts that come in Honda and Acura parts boxes. The Racing series (the blue one) uses the same factory tooling and dimensional specs, then upgrades the materials. The compound is HNBR rubber instead of standard neoprene, with teeth reinforced by Aramid (Kevlar) and nylon fiber. In real terms, that means 300% more tensile strength and roughly three times the heat resistance of a stock belt.

Gates tested these at 6,000 RPM for over 2,000 continuous hours at 212°F before failure. A standard belt reaches its failure point at around 1,200 hours under the same conditions. If you're running higher-than-stock valve springs, aggressive cams, or sustained high RPM on track, that extra margin is where this belt earns its keep.

The belt is noticeably thicker and stiffer than OEM when you have both in hand. That stiffness means you may need to use a flathead screwdriver to lift the tensioner slightly during installation to get proper tension. With an OEM belt you can usually just rotate three teeth on the crank and snug the tensioner bolt. The Gates Racing belt doesn't always cooperate with that shortcut.

Specs

Available Options

These are two different belts with different tooth counts. You must select the correct one for your engine. If you pick the wrong variant, it won't fit.

Gates Racing Timing Belt Fitment

The T247RB also works on LS-VTEC and B20-VTEC builds since those use a B18C or B16B VTEC head with the corresponding cam timing. If you're running a Frankenstein combo, match the belt to whichever head you're using, not the block.

What to Know Before You Buy

This is just the belt. You'll also want a new tensioner and water pump while you're in there, because getting to the timing belt means pulling the same covers and components you'd remove for both of those jobs. Doing the belt alone and then coming back for the water pump at 120k is doing the same labor twice. Most B-series builders replace all three together every 60,000 miles or so.

For a stock or mildly modified daily driver, the OEM Honda belt works perfectly fine. People have run them well past 100,000 miles without drama. The Gates Racing belt makes more sense if you're running aftermarket cams, heavier valve springs, sustained high RPM on track, or a boosted setup where the extra heat and stress load actually matter. It's not a night-and-day difference on a stock commuter, but it's cheap insurance on a built motor.

On install: set your crank to TDC, align your cam gear marks, and do not rotate the engine backward with the new belt on. B-series timing is straightforward but if you skip the alignment step you'll be pulling the covers again. The blue color makes it easy to mark with a paint pen or regular marker for timing reference, which is a small but real convenience over the black OEM belt.