Skill

I'm looking at getting some Acer bearings, but I'm not sure which ones to go with. Has anyne got the Super Polyamide Bearings? How do they compare to the Ceramics? Are the Ceramics worth the extra $40? I'm just looking for some bearings which spin nice and free and are reliable.

Thanks,

dawgmeat

iTrader: (9)

Your best bet is just go to www.rc4less.com , they have the best bearing ABEC7 and the best prices

SRW141

iTrader: (4)

Skill

I have Acer's ceramic and super polyamide. They both are great bearings. I have had problems with the ceramic ones, because the wall jumps out in front of me sometimes. The ceramic balls break. I haven't had that problem with the super poly ones. I haven't had a casing shatter yet.

Skill

Thanks for the responses, I didn't realise that the ceramic balls could shatter, in that case I'm probably better off with the Super Polyamide ones

How free spinning are they? Much better than normal bearings?

CRASH

iTrader: (26)

How free do the polyamide spin compared to metal shield and ceramcis? I was told to either use ceramics or metal shield abec3 or 5.

Just curious to what everyone thinks before I buy some new bearings.

Later,

koabich

First of all, if you hit something hard enough for the ceramic balls in the bearing to shatter, then the same impact would do worse damage to a steel bearing.

Yes the Acer Ceramic bears are worth the extra money...if they were a $100.00 more they would still be worth it.

I had a set of the Super Polyamide Bearings and they were ok...I did not feel they were as good as the stock bearing teflon sealed TC3 bearings however...depending on your car the stock bearing are very good. Associated, Yokomo, Tamiya, Schumacher, X-Ray, Losi are all really good bearings and I would stick with stock unless the bearings are rubber sealed, they are just plain worn out or you are going to upgrade to the Ceramic Bearings.

The Acerc's Ceramic are the best I have ever used. Give them a try...you will not be dissapointed.

koabich

Polyamide or the plastic sheilds that Acer uses need to be broken in. When brand new, metal sheilded bearings will spin more freely. Once broken in, the Polyamide spin jsut as free as a metal sheilded beairing but has some more added benefis...first if all they sheild the bearing better from dirt and debris than metal sheilds and second, if you hit something that would cause a dent in the sheild, the metal bearing is shot as the metal sheild will rub on the balls inside where the polyamide sheild will not be effected as it will regain it's original shape!

Skill

The problem that I seem to be having at the moment with the bearings in my Pro 4 is that the bearings are nice and free when working right, but I've had quite a few of them seize up on me because they have so much dirt in them, I've managed to revive a few of them by soaking in motor spray but not all of them. The amazing thing is that I only race indoors on carpet, so I wouldn't have thought dirt would have been a problem.

Anyway, I guess what I'm looking for is some reliable bearings that spin just as free as the standard metal shielded bearings...is this what I'll get with the Super Polyamide ones?

J-P

I run acer super polymide bearings and they are awsome, i run a pro4 indoors and outdoors,and sometimes in the wet weather we have over here and ive had no problems at all with them, i do clean them after every outdoor race and they are ultra free, i would recomend going with these as they save you $40,BTW i run them in my TC3 for a year and a half and they were awsome as well.

J-P

koabich

I used to run into the same problem. Running indoors is sometimes worse than running outside. All depends on how they take care of the track but carpet traps all kind of nasty stuff.
Yes, the Polyamide sealed bearings will keep your bearings much cleaner than metal sheilds will. And they will spin just as free as metal sheilded bearing after they have broken in...usually 10-15 runs. My suggestion would be to run they bearings as they come...do not clean out the heavier oil and re-lub them. After they are broken in clean them and re-lube them.

ZoomAddict

Our little buyer's group has been purchasing ceramic diff/thrust bearings from a manufacturer for about five years now. We have tested eleven of the major brands of ball bearings. I'm posting since what we've found via testing directly contradicts some of the info posted above.

Quality ceramic bearings can perform better (much better) than the best carbide. The problem is that even the very best quality ceramic balls (for our use that would be grade three silicon nitride) can also perform worse -- much much worse -- than carbide. The durability can & does vary radically even when ordering the exact same grade balls.

There is generally very little difference from lot to lot when producing carbide or chrome balls. Ceramic balls are produced in smaller lots & there can be HUGE differences in ceramic balls from one manufacturing lot to the next. All lots are not tested for hardness or durability, in fact generally very few are. This is why R/C racers usually love or hate ceramic bearings. If they get balls from a good batch they are amazingly durable, and if they get balls from a bad batch they can at worst "powderize", which means they disintegrate during use as SRW141 mentions above.

When we asked the manufacturer's response was that a bad batch "is not a rare occurrence". This is consistent with what we found by testing: Seven of the of eleven samples we tested (all were grade 3 SiNi) were more durable than carbide. Four were not, and two of those failed completely (disintegrated) during testing so I'd imagine it is a fairly common occurrence. The only way we've found to insure consistently excellent durability is to buy balls from "certified" lots (where that specific manufacturing run has been tested). The problem is very few ball lots are ever certified since only the USAF, NASA, and a few other buyers require certification (most distributors don't even know what a certified lot is). We need certified balls to race since our little vehicles really put the bearings to the test (especially thrust bearings). NONE of the balls sold for R/C use (by Boca/Acer/IRS/etc) are certified. This is why, even when ordering the best quality, the durability of the bearings varies significantly in R/C. This is also why most experienced racers and all of the pros I know only use ceramic balls from certified lots, or they stick with carbide. And this is why our little buyer's group has been going to the trouble to buy certified balls from the same manufacturer for the past five years or so. We've never had a ball fail & it is simply amazing how long they stay smooth.

We only buy two sizes, as we've found a consistent source for for 3/32 & 5/64 inch size ball bearings (the two we use most in diff & thrust bearings) but there is no consistent source that we been able to find for sealed bearings built exclusively with certified balls. When they are available in the sizes we use they are way up in the stratos in price (around fifteen bucks a bearing) so racers would be better off buying low cost/high quality standard sealed bearings from avidrc.com or rc4less.com.