Bearing Brands
 

I've been using Avid bearing for about 4-5 years now, and up until recently they have been awesome, but the recent changes in their bearings seem to not fit the crankshaft, (clutch bearings), and the wheel bearings seem to lock up pretty easily. It could be my maintenance schedule is sliding a bit. anyone had similar issues?

On that note, any other brands that are good for 1 bearing.

the ones I've found...

Boca, any experience with their 99cent bearings? they seem really smooth, I innstalled them but havent raced them yet..

Advantage, they seem like good ones, never bought them...

Answer, also look good never tried...

e bay chinese bearings? prolly answers that, but who knows....

and when and if you regrease them what grease do you use? I usually just replace them, but I noticed the rear hub bearings could use a cleaning and regreasing, but then replace all the next time....

Hi,

So I can't give you an unbiased answer as I own Advantage Racing Products, but I can tell you that I've been selling the same bearings from the same manufacturer since 2005 and can assure you that you'll be happy with the bearings. Any questions or concerns, and I'll replace or refund immediately.

For standard steel bearings, they come packed with grease. I normally replace them on a regular interval, as they are less than $1 each (normally 2x/season). If one or two need servicing, I usually clean, blow out, and lube with a light bearing oil (recomend TrackStar TS1+). Repacking with grease is a pain, and not worth the time/cost vs. replacement bearings, IMO. Once you use light oil on steel bearings, they will require service more often, as the oil does not stay in/on as long as grease.

For ceramics, they come pre-oiled with light oil, and the balls have self-lubricating properties. Since they're pricey, I normally service them during every re-build, and replace them only as needed...they last a long time if cared for well. Don't recommend ceramics for clutch, but they're great for drivetrain.

Regards,
Jon

I run the Advantage Bearings myself. Tonight was my 1st race with them in my clutch and they held up like a champ. I tried Kyosho bearings in my clutch and they don't last at all. Price and quality can't be beat. I have another full set on the way and 10 of each of the rubber sealed bearings for my clutch.

Thanks for the info. Just ordered 30 3/16x3/8 Bearings to try from advantage. Can't beat the price.

So I finally got to run the Advantage bearings in my clutch and I'm real happy with them. Pulled the car apart for maintenance, and after inspecting the bearings they were rolling just as good as when I 1st put them in. This is after 1 practice and 1 race day.

Yes that is in my kitchen and yes my fiance wants to kill me :) My son on the other hand could care less. He is busy in the family room removing every DVD we own from the rack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEtBAWUcuvg&feature=plcp

You should try First Turn Racing Bearings http://www.firstturnracing.com/

If you want the best of the best get Kyosho 8x16s. Better than any ceramic bearing by far. A little pricey though but they last forever and are super smooth. The bad thing is a lot of cars are going to smaller bearings where the roller balls are very small, like the 8x14s. I don't think Kyosho has a bearing that size.

Japan for some reason just knows how to make a better bearing than China.

Bearing "brand" is one thing... bearing manufacturer is another. Avid, Boca*, ProTek, etc, are merely resellers with their own brand connotation. They are not manufacturers, however. The aforementioned all likely come from bulk Asian manufacturers and are just repackaged. This includes manufacturer bearings (Losi, Mugen, etc).

The RC industry is too small a scope to have custom bearing applications.

If you are interested in actual quality manufacturers, like SKF, FAG, etc, then that is another topic. Unfortunately as it's been documented before, it's not cost effective to install expensive bearings. Over the course of their lifespan you could install several new $1 bearings in their place.


*Referring to their $1 and $10 store

TKO BEARINGS! solve all your problems

+1

The mugen bearing are very good quality, their 8x16 can last for months and still run smooth.

SKF for when i feel i don't want to replace stuff, XLBearings for when i don't want to pay through the nose for a premium. Generally speaking more ceramic XLBearings then SKF. Lately i've been using hybrid ceramic clutch bearings from XLBearings, (Does anyone use full ceramic bearings? i mean, where balls & race's are ceramic, not just the balls.) with a rubber seal on just one side. A lot of bearings used here are single seal, or one rubber, one metal shield. I just don't want to add the drag of full seal bearings, but want the rubber seal to protect from the "world".
B!

TKO or Avid for drivetrain, Boca for the engine Nd TKO special for the clutch. That's what I run.