Continental Elite Stretch Belts are made specifically for drives that don't have a mechanical tensioner to maintain constant belt tension or an adjustment slot that allows for belt installation or tensioning. Since 2004, automobile manufacturers have been designing drives using self-tensioning belts. These drives do not have a mechanical tensioner to maintain constant belt tension and they do not have an adjustment slot that allows belt installation and tensioning. The Elite Stretch Belt incorporates low modulus and high elongation technologies that allow the belt to be installed on these fixed drive systems and provide the “self-tensioning” capabilities necessary to maintain proper belt tension in the absence of an automatic tensioner. Continental Elite's distinctive design uses the latest OEM technology in EPDM compounds and a polyamide tensile cord that stretches for installation, then recovers once installed to maintain proper tension. Although Elite Stretch Belts look similar to Elite Poly-V belts, they are dramatically different and not interchangeable with our Poly-V or other serpentine belts. The Continental Elite Stretch Belt can be differentiated by its part number. The functional Poly-V part number that includes the number of ribs and length also has an “S” suffix, indicating an Elite Stretch Belt.