22LikesBearings and maintenance
11-08-2023, 09:33 PM
#1
Tech Adept
Thread Starter
Bearings and maintenance
My kit is a couple years old and the bearings have been neglected.
Question 1:
I was looking at the Fast Eddie or Avid sets at $30. I don't think I can justify ceramics. Are those kits OK, or are there better options?
Question 2:
what is a good maintenance routine and what products (cleaner, lube etc) you recommend?
thanks!
Question 1:
I was looking at the Fast Eddie or Avid sets at $30. I don't think I can justify ceramics. Are those kits OK, or are there better options?
Question 2:
what is a good maintenance routine and what products (cleaner, lube etc) you recommend?
thanks!
11-08-2023, 09:47 PM
#2
They're fine.
I prefer rubber sealed steel bearings. Pry out the seals with a #11 Exacto knife. Put a blob of grease in the palm of your hand. Drag bearing quickly across your hand until grease squirts out the other side. Rotate, repeat.
I recommend Lucas green agricultural or marine grease. I use Lucas Red N Tacky.
I prefer rubber sealed steel bearings. Pry out the seals with a #11 Exacto knife. Put a blob of grease in the palm of your hand. Drag bearing quickly across your hand until grease squirts out the other side. Rotate, repeat.
I recommend Lucas green agricultural or marine grease. I use Lucas Red N Tacky.
11-09-2023, 04:24 AM
#3
Tech Master
iTrader: (39)
maintenance depends on what conditions the bearings are exposed to. For my 8th scale and 10th scale outdoor dirt cars I use regular Avid rubber sealed bearings. Every other race I pull the bearings, pry out the rubber seal, spray them out with electric motor cleaner and lube them with a light grease. For my indoor clay cars, similar step but I use trinity bearing oil since the bearings wont be exposed to as much moisture. For my indoor carpet cars, I remove one of the rubber seals that faces inside and wont be exposed to carpet fibers and leave that seal off (reduces resistance on the balls/guts of the bearings for spec class) and I lube them trinity bearing oil every couple races. Only the carpet cars have ceramic bearings in them
11-09-2023, 05:01 AM
#4
Tech Adept
Thread Starter
Forgot to add that it is a 1/10 black carpet buggy
11-09-2023, 05:29 AM
#5
Maintenance is talked a lot:
cleaning bearings - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
How to clean ceramic bearings? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
How do you clean and tune your ball bearings? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Ceramic bearing question - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Bearings and maintenance - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Ball Bearing Maintenance: How do you go about it? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
And many more to find.....
cleaning bearings - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
How to clean ceramic bearings? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
How do you clean and tune your ball bearings? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Ceramic bearing question - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Bearings and maintenance - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
Ball Bearing Maintenance: How do you go about it? - R/C Tech Forums (rctech.net)
And many more to find.....
11-09-2023, 08:18 AM
#7
Tech Adept
Thread Starter
should I install as is and then use oil after cleaning them instead of the grease or should I clean grease off immediately and use oil to begin with?
11-09-2023, 09:42 AM
#8
Cheap bearings, rubber sealed if running outdoors, bin them when they get gritty.
11-09-2023, 10:35 AM
#9
Tech Addict
Personally i am not a fan of the AVID bearings, because they are not graded. There is argument as to whether this really matters, but i personally think it does. I like to know what i am getting, rather than "Trust me, bro".
Now, this is just me, everyone's financial situation is different, so I dont judge, but for me personally, it is a fools errand repacking RC bearings. Its just not worth my time, when the replacement bearing cost is a matter of $5.
I would recommend looking at the bearing kits from 1up Racing or J&T Bearing Company. They use genuine NMB bearings. Which are very smooth, and very high quality steel bearings, and will give you great life and good serviceability.
Because you are racing on black carpet, there is no need for rubber sealed bearings. You wont suffer from the gritty dust issues of dirt or clay. So you can run a full metal shielded bearing on the car without issue, and get the benefit of reduced friction.
Likewise, i also wouldnt use packed grease bearings either. They tend to be very draggy, and require a lot of running in to get the grease flowing nicely. With the metal shielded NMB bearings, for maintenance you can use brake clean to blast out the bearing (out of the car, obviously), dry with some compressed air, and then use a light oil, like the 1up Bearing Oil or J&T's Advantage Bearing Oil, to keep them well lubricated and protected. Then give them a little dab on race day to keep them running smooth.
Both 1up and J&T also offer "Pro kits" which keep the NMB in the axels, and steering system, but use ceramics in the transmission where they are protected, so you dont have to be as crazy with the maintenance on them, as they are not really exposed to dust and dirt.
Occasionally, bearings will go bad, You should check your bearings regularly after race days when you clean your car, to make sure they are all still running smooth, and free. If there is grittiness, binding, or clicking of any kind, throw them out and replace them. Both J&T and 1up carry bearing packs in the common sizes (usually the axle bearings) that you can use to replace worn out/damaged bearings, and they are usually $5-7 for a pack of 4 bearings. So why spend 15-20 minutes cleaning and repacking a bearing, when you can spend $1-2, and just replace it in 30 seconds?
https://pick1up.com/collections/comp...-ball-bearings
https://promotionrc.com/collections/...-kits-by-brand
You can also order both brands bearing kits from AMain as well.
Now, this is just me, everyone's financial situation is different, so I dont judge, but for me personally, it is a fools errand repacking RC bearings. Its just not worth my time, when the replacement bearing cost is a matter of $5.
I would recommend looking at the bearing kits from 1up Racing or J&T Bearing Company. They use genuine NMB bearings. Which are very smooth, and very high quality steel bearings, and will give you great life and good serviceability.
Because you are racing on black carpet, there is no need for rubber sealed bearings. You wont suffer from the gritty dust issues of dirt or clay. So you can run a full metal shielded bearing on the car without issue, and get the benefit of reduced friction.
Likewise, i also wouldnt use packed grease bearings either. They tend to be very draggy, and require a lot of running in to get the grease flowing nicely. With the metal shielded NMB bearings, for maintenance you can use brake clean to blast out the bearing (out of the car, obviously), dry with some compressed air, and then use a light oil, like the 1up Bearing Oil or J&T's Advantage Bearing Oil, to keep them well lubricated and protected. Then give them a little dab on race day to keep them running smooth.
Both 1up and J&T also offer "Pro kits" which keep the NMB in the axels, and steering system, but use ceramics in the transmission where they are protected, so you dont have to be as crazy with the maintenance on them, as they are not really exposed to dust and dirt.
Occasionally, bearings will go bad, You should check your bearings regularly after race days when you clean your car, to make sure they are all still running smooth, and free. If there is grittiness, binding, or clicking of any kind, throw them out and replace them. Both J&T and 1up carry bearing packs in the common sizes (usually the axle bearings) that you can use to replace worn out/damaged bearings, and they are usually $5-7 for a pack of 4 bearings. So why spend 15-20 minutes cleaning and repacking a bearing, when you can spend $1-2, and just replace it in 30 seconds?
https://pick1up.com/collections/comp...-ball-bearings
https://promotionrc.com/collections/...-kits-by-brand
You can also order both brands bearing kits from AMain as well.
11-09-2023, 12:16 PM
#10
Tech Adept
Thread Starter
Personally i am not a fan of the AVID bearings, because they are not graded. There is argument as to whether this really matters, but i personally think it does. I like to know what i am getting, rather than "Trust me, bro".
Now, this is just me, everyone's financial situation is different, so I dont judge, but for me personally, it is a fools errand repacking RC bearings. Its just not worth my time, when the replacement bearing cost is a matter of $5.
I would recommend looking at the bearing kits from 1up Racing or J&T Bearing Company. They use genuine NMB bearings. Which are very smooth, and very high quality steel bearings, and will give you great life and good serviceability.
Because you are racing on black carpet, there is no need for rubber sealed bearings. You wont suffer from the gritty dust issues of dirt or clay. So you can run a full metal shielded bearing on the car without issue, and get the benefit of reduced friction.
Likewise, i also wouldnt use packed grease bearings either. They tend to be very draggy, and require a lot of running in to get the grease flowing nicely. With the metal shielded NMB bearings, for maintenance you can use brake clean to blast out the bearing (out of the car, obviously), dry with some compressed air, and then use a light oil, like the 1up Bearing Oil or J&T's Advantage Bearing Oil, to keep them well lubricated and protected. Then give them a little dab on race day to keep them running smooth.
Both 1up and J&T also offer "Pro kits" which keep the NMB in the axels, and steering system, but use ceramics in the transmission where they are protected, so you dont have to be as crazy with the maintenance on them, as they are not really exposed to dust and dirt.
Occasionally, bearings will go bad, You should check your bearings regularly after race days when you clean your car, to make sure they are all still running smooth, and free. If there is grittiness, binding, or clicking of any kind, throw them out and replace them. Both J&T and 1up carry bearing packs in the common sizes (usually the axle bearings) that you can use to replace worn out/damaged bearings, and they are usually $5-7 for a pack of 4 bearings. So why spend 15-20 minutes cleaning and repacking a bearing, when you can spend $1-2, and just replace it in 30 seconds?
https://pick1up.com/collections/comp...-ball-bearings
https://promotionrc.com/collections/...-kits-by-brand
You can also order both brands bearing kits from AMain as well.
Now, this is just me, everyone's financial situation is different, so I dont judge, but for me personally, it is a fools errand repacking RC bearings. Its just not worth my time, when the replacement bearing cost is a matter of $5.
I would recommend looking at the bearing kits from 1up Racing or J&T Bearing Company. They use genuine NMB bearings. Which are very smooth, and very high quality steel bearings, and will give you great life and good serviceability.
Because you are racing on black carpet, there is no need for rubber sealed bearings. You wont suffer from the gritty dust issues of dirt or clay. So you can run a full metal shielded bearing on the car without issue, and get the benefit of reduced friction.
Likewise, i also wouldnt use packed grease bearings either. They tend to be very draggy, and require a lot of running in to get the grease flowing nicely. With the metal shielded NMB bearings, for maintenance you can use brake clean to blast out the bearing (out of the car, obviously), dry with some compressed air, and then use a light oil, like the 1up Bearing Oil or J&T's Advantage Bearing Oil, to keep them well lubricated and protected. Then give them a little dab on race day to keep them running smooth.
Both 1up and J&T also offer "Pro kits" which keep the NMB in the axels, and steering system, but use ceramics in the transmission where they are protected, so you dont have to be as crazy with the maintenance on them, as they are not really exposed to dust and dirt.
Occasionally, bearings will go bad, You should check your bearings regularly after race days when you clean your car, to make sure they are all still running smooth, and free. If there is grittiness, binding, or clicking of any kind, throw them out and replace them. Both J&T and 1up carry bearing packs in the common sizes (usually the axle bearings) that you can use to replace worn out/damaged bearings, and they are usually $5-7 for a pack of 4 bearings. So why spend 15-20 minutes cleaning and repacking a bearing, when you can spend $1-2, and just replace it in 30 seconds?
https://pick1up.com/collections/comp...-ball-bearings
https://promotionrc.com/collections/...-kits-by-brand
You can also order both brands bearing kits from AMain as well.
11-09-2023, 01:24 PM
#11
Depends on your dirt. An outdoor track nearby makes wheel bearings gritty in less than 2 race days.
Replacing a perfectly good wheel bearing 7 times a year would add up quick.
Replacing a perfectly good wheel bearing 7 times a year would add up quick.
11-09-2023, 08:20 PM
#12
Tech Regular
I wouldn't recommend oiled bearings. Oiled bearings are typically found in clean/filtered environments where they are continually bathed ie engines or low stress environments such as instrument panels or watches. Reno Savoya claims his metal shielded bearings (NMB or SKF??) last him a season. Even if you call BS on a 3/4 of what he says that's still more wheel time than most.
Not all grease or bearing is created equal. A small tin of Kluber for example can cost more than most buggies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMlWJjOMWk
Not all grease or bearing is created equal. A small tin of Kluber for example can cost more than most buggies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gMlWJjOMWk
11-10-2023, 12:14 PM
#13
Do you guys go for greased or oil for bearings in the transmission. Going through The transmission every other race seems excessive. Also if you run exposed bearings in the hubs, how long does oil last in there before going everywhere else?
11-10-2023, 12:59 PM
#14
Grease only.
I noticed no positive effect of oiled metal bearings. Or mah use per run. But I did notice less durability.
I noticed no positive effect of oiled metal bearings. Or mah use per run. But I did notice less durability.
11-10-2023, 02:15 PM
#15
The AVID bearings are OK I've been using them and have no complaints. The NMB bearings are a good choice too. I use steel revolutions with avid grease and toss them when they feel bad.
The fastest will be no shield and a very light oil. It will also require constant maintenance every meet. Probably not worth it. Steel or rubber shields lasts longer but still needs a lot of attention every couple meets. Grease is a bit slower but much easier to maintain, lasts many hours, more then two or three meets.
Ceramic is "better" but costs a hell of a lot more. If you flush them with citrus cleaner every maintenance they can also last a long time. So you could run oiled ceramics and if you keep up on cleaning and oiling they'll last but it's a chore. Maybe it's worth it on carpet if you're a very good driver.
The fastest will be no shield and a very light oil. It will also require constant maintenance every meet. Probably not worth it. Steel or rubber shields lasts longer but still needs a lot of attention every couple meets. Grease is a bit slower but much easier to maintain, lasts many hours, more then two or three meets.
Ceramic is "better" but costs a hell of a lot more. If you flush them with citrus cleaner every maintenance they can also last a long time. So you could run oiled ceramics and if you keep up on cleaning and oiling they'll last but it's a chore. Maybe it's worth it on carpet if you're a very good driver.