Different Brand Bearings

lineboy55

Registered User
I was also wondering what brand of bearings people prefer. I know there are Fed. Mogul, Clevite, my builder uses ACL, not sure if that would be my first choice. Any input?
 
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I have used all of the above with good success. Really depends if your tolerances are correct. No bearing will survive if they are not. I think the King Brand of bearings is a little higher quality. They all will work...
 
At a minimum, you'll want to make sure the bearings you use have a half round groove. The King and Federal-Mogul bearings do. I believe Clevite does as well.

I like the higher quality King bearings for rods. Federal-mogul or Clevite seem to work just fine for crank bearings.
 
Clevite all the way. Their street bearings are better than stock IMHO, and they have the tri-armor line if you feel like throwing some money at the engine. They are the most common brand in the sanctioned race world.
 
Understanding a little about bearing design will help you to select the right bearing as opposed to what "feels good" to you. King or Clevite bearings are not any higher quality that a Federal Mogul bearing, and there are other important factors to consider.

I'll just touch on a few things to get you thinking. Feel free to do your own research.

1) There are two types of bearings typically used on engines like ours. Bored aluminum, and tri-metal coated. Clevite does not have a patent on the tri metal construction. ;)

2) Bored aluminum such as the King bearing and the Federal Mogul main bearings, are used in the OE because they are made to tighter tolerances and can last longer. +1 for bored aluminum.

3) Tri metal bearings such as the Clevite 77 (not all Clevite bearings are automatically tri metal) have a higher load capacity and greater imbedibility. This means that trash will tend to imbed in the bearing instead of get dragged around and trash the journal. +1 for tri metal. Federal Mogul rod bearings are tri metal in consruction.

4) Oil grooves. Federal Mogul (and King, I believe) main bearings employ 3/4 grooving where as Clevite are 1/2 groove. +1 for Federal Mogul.

5) Bored aluminum is more expensive than coated tri metal.

6) More important than the choice of either bearing is the clearance which they are installed at.

7) Aside from clearances, there is also the factor of eccentricity of the bearing. Only by observing the wear patterns on the bearings can you determine the correct amount of eccentricity for the application. For most people this is something beyond your capability to check or control, but it is good to know that eccentricity is critical to bearing life and not all bearings are created equal.

In the motors I build I use Sealed Power 3/4 groove bored aluminum main bearings and either Sealed Power tri-metal rod bearings or Speed Pro HP tri metal rod bearings on my race engines.
 
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