Are roller bearings really that great?, anyone out there with some experience? Options

[SirAndy]

are roller bearings really that great? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)


- anyone out there with some experience? preferably someone who did a install himself. and has driven some cars to compare.
- is the install really that hard?
- what about dirt getting into the bearings?
- change of effective springrate due to not fighting sticky rubber bushings anymore?
- got pics?


i still got my set (rears) in the box, they'll be going on the new trailing arms ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) Andy

[Brad Roberts]

We are up to 4 years now with no grease needed or installed on a car that sees double duty as a street car and a race car.

I first pulled it apart in front of Jeroen and placed a new bearing next to the used bearing that came out of the car... couldnt tell the difference. They had been in the car for 2+ years at that point.

The car gets beat on. Multiple drivers, multiple events, fun runs.

220+hp 3.0 9146, caged and big brakes

They work. Not the easiest install, but the results rock.

Porsche utilizes monoballs in all of their factory race cars. This is a little tough to do with the rear of a 914 and semi cost prohibitive on the front of a 914.

This is THE next best solution.

I beleive the Poly bronze setup has a place in this particular market space. It is not roller bearing, but it is leaps and bounds better than the Poly setup.


B

[kdfoust]

<SNIP>
We are up to 4 years now with no grease needed or installed on a car that sees double duty as a street car and a race car.

I first pulled it apart in front of Jeroen and placed a new bearing next to the used bearing that came out of the car... couldnt tell the difference. They had been in the car for 2+ years at that point.

The car gets beat on. Multiple drivers, multiple events, fun runs.
<SNIP>

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif)
That's good to hear. Even when I bought these I had reservations about the durability in this application. I don't think the Elephant bronze bushing were available at the time I purchased these.

Later,
Kevin

Here's the setup I used to assemble the rear bearing race into the trailing arm...

Big jack screw, grease, and heat on the trailing arm housing.


Note the setup here. 5/8 FINE thread rod and thrust bearing sandwiched in there. I'd hate to pull that race through the arm without the thrust bearings because the torque was pretty high at times. Both ends of the threaded rod were tooled up the same.