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Bearings: Plastic Sealed or Steel Shielded?

Bearings: Plastic Sealed or Steel Shielded?

Old 07-19-2015, 08:21 PM
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Default Bearings: Plastic Sealed or Steel Shielded?

Recently changed all the bearings in my TC6.2s to the steel shielded bearings, from the kit supplied sealed bearings. Was wondering if there is a noticeable difference in drag from the plastic sealed bearings that anyone can expound on.

I checked the sealed bearings as I took them out and I couldn't tell the difference between the new shielded bearing and the old sealed bearings in relation to rolling resistance. My first night out with the new bearings installed I couldn't really notice any difference in performance either, but would it be more noticeable in motor temps and usable battery power throughout the race?
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Old 07-19-2015, 10:23 PM
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Are you going to clean the bearings yourself or just replacing then after they get gritty?

To me, the plastic sealed bearings are easier to disassemble and clean where as the metal shield bearings might seem to be smoother without the drag, are harder to disassemble and clean. I almost always end up destroying the shield and run the bearing unshielded.

Most of the time the bearing are packed with grease so to get them to run the smoothest, soak the bearings in some sort of solvent to get rid of the grease and lube it with your choice of bearing oil.

But at the end of the day...are you looking in ultimate performance to gain the tenth of second... Or looking for durability
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Old 07-19-2015, 10:55 PM
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If by plastic shielded you mean rubber shielded - then yes, this type does have more drag. I only use them on cars that will go into dirty environments.

Metal shielded bearings are freer.

In my opinion there is no need to rebuild bearings. Good quality bearings are available for pennies - just leave them with the factory grease and replace when they get gritty.
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Old 07-19-2015, 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by disaster999
Are you going to clean the bearings yourself or just replacing then after they get gritty?

To me, the plastic sealed bearings are easier to disassemble and clean where as the metal shield bearings might seem to be smoother without the drag, are harder to disassemble and clean. I almost always end up destroying the shield and run the bearing unshielded.

Most of the time the bearing are packed with grease so to get them to run the smoothest, soak the bearings in some sort of solvent to get rid of the grease and lube it with your choice of bearing oil.

But at the end of the day...are you looking in ultimate performance to gain the tenth of second... Or looking for durability
I don't mind cleaning the shielded bearings but disassembly isn't on my plan, so maybe I'll just replace them after they get gritty. Soaking them in a solvent would be my first choice, rotating the bearing periodically to work the dirt out, then oiling with a light oil.

Performance or durability....hmmm, can I get both?

Not sure I need a tenth (yet), I do run in the expert 17.5 and our Spec 21.5 GT class and they are both highly competitive with a lot of close racing. If that's all the gain I can expect by using a shielded bearing over a sealed bearing I may decide to run 'sealed' for the durability and ease of maintenance...and just stop hitting discs........

I must admit that I ran one set of sealed bearings in one car for a little over a year without cleaning them, just a little light oil. They still felt good and showed no signs of grittiness, only 1 wheel bearing felt a little rougher than the rest and 1 of the larger diff bulkhead bearing seals came apart when I removed it from the car so I thought that was pretty good.....all things considered.

Thanks for your input.
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Old 07-19-2015, 11:16 PM
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Don't waste your time to open and clean the bearing as they are so cheap now.

Just buy Japanese made metal shield bearing. They will last longer and less play. Something like EZO or NSK will do.
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Old 07-20-2015, 10:10 AM
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One thing I don't like about box-new bearings is that they are packed with grease instead of oil, and make 1/12 scale axles or front wheels feel like they have dragging even though the bearings are fresh.
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Old 07-20-2015, 11:04 AM
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I prefer the metal Tamiya ones as they are smoother, but I too use the nylon sealed ones in my offroad trucks and a few in my m-chassis.

For bashing, I can't tell the difference between nylon sealed and metal either.
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Old 07-20-2015, 01:14 PM
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I like the avid $1 bearings. Metal shielded in onroad and rubber shields offroad. Right now I have some unshielded avid bearings in my bd7 and they have held up well on carpet.

Amain also has some cheap bearings I plan on trying next.
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Old 07-20-2015, 01:19 PM
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Originally Posted by DesertRat
One thing I don't like about box-new bearings is that they are packed with grease instead of oil, and make 1/12 scale axles or front wheels feel like they have dragging even though the bearings are fresh.
Try avids unshielded bearings. They come with light oil instead of grease.
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Old 07-20-2015, 01:27 PM
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Originally Posted by 2uzferunner03
I like the avid $1 bearings. Metal shielded in onroad and rubber shields offroad. Right now I have some unshielded avid bearings in my bd7 and they have held up well on carpet.

Amain also has some cheap bearings I plan on trying next.
After making my bearing purchase I learn from a local that Fast Eddy Bearings has some good deals on bulk orders and single bearings, I'll be looking into his when I need another batch.

Thanks to all that took time to respond.
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