For the experienced. If you were rebuilding a V8 model 308/328/348 etc. would you use the main and rod bearings available from Superformance? Or hold out to find original Vandervell bearings?
I have used bearings from Superformance before without issue. The key is to measure everything and if the numbers are right, run it.
I'm in the process of rebuilding my 308 after head and piston damage. As the engine was completely stripped down, I have replaced as a matter of course all the rod and main bearings. The originals which I took out had almost imperceptible wear, with 50K miles up. I have always found Superperformance products to be top quality.
back in the day I ran gobs of nitrous through my 2 valve 308. My plan was to bore and stroke it and p6 cam it. So I ran lots of nitrous for a year before the rebuild. The mains had basically no wear. I always vote for oem unless a known issue like on 355 valve guides suck.
I agree on the OEM parts, but I found a complete set and they are three times as much as the Superformance bearings. I have had great luck with their parts but have not used their bearings yet.
I see a lot of builders using these: http://kingracebearings.com/ Not sure if they have bearings for Ferrari, but you might call and see what they have to say. I was talking to my engine parts supplier the other day about Toyota motors and he mentioned part of the reason Toyotas engines last so long is because they offer bearings in sizes down to the nearest .0001" - so when building your motor you might want to look into sizing the rods and bearings to run smaller clearances perhaps or at least research the possible benefits. With that said, I'm a big fan of Mahle and have always found their parts to be top notch quality. Ray
Apparently so. Next time I call the company (LC Engineering) and speak with their engine builder, I'll ask for more specifics. How the topic came up was this: I was repairing the motor in my Toyota pickup (blown head gasket) and trying to decide if I wanted to just replace the cylinder head or pull the entire motor and do a full rebuild and more extensive work. While talking about the pros and cons of each approach (since the current motor only needs to run for about 3 years until I replace it with a different motor) I was asking about maybe just pulling the pistons out to clean the ring lands and install gapless rings or something. During that conversation, their engine builder mentioned that if the motor is stock, it might be better not to mess with the lower end. He said one of the reasons Toyota motors last so long is because they have bearings in .0001 increments and match them when assembling their motors. I believe he said Toyota is the only company which does that, that he is aware of. I personally have never rebuilt a Toyota short block, but I do vaguely remember seeing something in the work shop manual regarding different size main bearings. I'll check and see if I can find any more specifics and/or if I speak with Tony over at LC Engineering again, I'll ask him again and double check to make sure I didn't misunderstand something he was saying. Ray
In the engine rebuild specs, they do seem to indicate various bearing sizes which are just 2 tenths difference in sizes. Perhaps the 1/10th is something only done at the actual Toyota factory. I'll ask next time I call LCE: Image Unavailable, Please Login
It started with NASCAR in the 1990s using Honda bearings. Instead of 3 sizes you listed Honda uses 5 sizes that are color coded. You can also mix and match. How to Select and Install High-Performance Engine Bearings (hotrod.com)
