Race Bearings for LS
 

What available brands are there for race bearings (rod and main bearings) ?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.


COUGH PAT COUGH

I say ACL's

Any particular reason? Past experiences?

ACL bearings all the way, I'm using them on my setup and they've been good so far and a lot of my friends use them as well and have never had a problem with them..

Yeah, ACL
Im using them in my build but in no way can i really say that race bearings are justified for anything thats ever on the streets.
The race and standards are made of different materials (if i remember right)...better wear on the standards.

Alright, that's the only brand that's been thrown at me so that's what I'll have to look into. I guess it's a sense of security knowing that the person whose making the recommendation has had experiences with it. Thanks again!

the only thing that you need to watch with acl, is that they come standard size only. If after you clearnance your current ones and you have variance, you may need to hit up the dealership for say a "brown" bearing

Have you heard of "TOGA" bearings? If so, yay? nay?

why not use the stock ones ? mine held up pretty good and they have been to over 8k rpms on numerous ocasions

I tried going to Honda to get stock(factory) bearings and they were confusing me with all the different colors available for different clearences. They were saying I had to mic the crank to figure which size I needed.

what's so hard about it ? i think napa will measure it for you if you have any problems

its pretty to do yourself w/ the wax too, just squish it and measure

I don't get what you mean PAT. This stuff is just over my head. :no:

Its called plastigauge (comes green, red, maybe blue (?))
Its just a thin wax thread that you use as a gauge for measuring clearance.
You remove a cap, with bearing, place a piece of the wax on the journal, replace cap and tq it down. Then you re-remove the cap and measure how much the plastigauge has squished, using the measurements on the little sheet that encased the wax.
After that, you will know how much clearance you have (if it is within spec), and therefore, what bearings you need.

NAPA can mic the crankshaft wear but it will not give you the proper specs that you need since you have to take into considerations the "original stamp" on the block.

ACL bearings are all rated "green", if I'm not mistaken, in comparison to the OEM Honda bearings. Green is supposed to be the midsize.

If you stick with the plasti-gauge method that Pat described, you should be fine.

When I did mine, all the plasti-gauge reading came very close to each other so it worked out well with the ACL bearings and didnt have to get OEM.

A few people have recommended not to lubricate back side section of the bearing that sits on the block. They said that it will minimize the bearing movement under heavy loads or high RPMs. I didnt like the idea of that and at least coated mine wit standard motor oil. I just dont believe on metal to metal contact specially on a component that is prone to rotating...... oh and BTW, Helms does recommend to lubricate it.

Lyna, I know many people including myself ran ACL bearings. Even a few friends with over 500 and 600 whp B18's.... No complaints except the normal wear and tear........

Also, if you get the kit, it comes with the rod bearings and the thrust washer......

Use the green plasti-gauge..........