School me on bearings.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,241
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From: Noblesville, IN
I'm building a 450rwhp 346ci ls1. Have a shortblock that I'm refreshing the bottom end on. Will be having crank polished and rods resized for arp bolts.
Now my main question is, what is the difference between bearings? For a 100% street motor, does coated or uncoated matter? I've heard good things about clevite, but which would suit my application best? Cost isn't a major issue with these. The whole engine rides on these (literally) so I have no problem shelling out some extra cash for peace of mind.
Thx in advance
Now my main question is, what is the difference between bearings? For a 100% street motor, does coated or uncoated matter? I've heard good things about clevite, but which would suit my application best? Cost isn't a major issue with these. The whole engine rides on these (literally) so I have no problem shelling out some extra cash for peace of mind.
Thx in advance
Coated bearings are nice but not necessary. You can run them tighter than uncoated bearings and still have a large margin of safety if something bad happens.
You will need a specific bearing for the resized rods. The ACL bearing for standard size journals seems to run a little loose in my experience. I haven't used the Clevite bearing but if I were to use a resized rod, I would use the Clevite and turn the crank .010".
You will need a specific bearing for the resized rods. The ACL bearing for standard size journals seems to run a little loose in my experience. I haven't used the Clevite bearing but if I were to use a resized rod, I would use the Clevite and turn the crank .010".
Your results may very but the standard clevites for oversized (.002) rods finished up a bit loose on my setup. The crank was even on the higher end of spec though the rod bores were on the large side as well. Not too loose to run but a little more than what I wanted. I'd suggest the clevites but like KCS said, use the .010 under bearings for the resized rods (yes they do make them, just not a .001 undersize), and have the crank turned to the exact clearance you want.
PS they only come in the A series (aluminum bearing) for resized rods. Nothing wrong with that for most applications. Same as factory too. I'm not sure if aluminum bearings can be coated though. Anyone?
PS they only come in the A series (aluminum bearing) for resized rods. Nothing wrong with that for most applications. Same as factory too. I'm not sure if aluminum bearings can be coated though. Anyone?








