Official S65 Rod Bearing Condition Example Thread

SteveEvans wrote

These things are damn hard to photograph well...

2012 LCI E92 M3 with 107K miles.

After all the scaremongering on here and having passed 100K miles I figured I should replace these. Evidently changing the oil every 7K miles is well worthwhile. £1600 I didn't need to spend, but at least I now have peace of mind.

The worst one is probably from Rod #7, so I've taken a close up of that one. Practically no wear at all.

To be fair I did have an engine seize on me at 33K miles. That car died whilst I was driving the salesman to pick up another car as it was on my way home. I'd only had it for 10 minutes, and had just got it warmed up, when I experienced what one might call "heavy engine braking" changing into 3rd gear at 8000rpm, coasting to a stop in a convenient lay-by about 100 yards short of where I was dropping him off. Fortunately my mechanic was nearby test driving a very nice, somewhat older, BMW he'd just serviced and popped by to advise me to call recovery! You can see the poor salesman in the photo below, slowly turning pale before giving me back my money. Picked up the current car, again with 33K miles on it, three days later, so it all turned out OK!

Steve

Yep, looks great. What shells did you replace with?

Ps. Nope, dont believe the spots are detonation, quite a few incl myself had them whether more visible on the 702/703 shells not sure.

SteveEvans wrote

These things are damn hard to photograph well...

2012 LCI E92 M3 with 107K miles.

After all the scaremongering on here and having passed 100K miles I figured I should replace these. Evidently changing the oil every 7K miles is well worthwhile. £1600 I didn't need to spend, but at least I now have peace of mind.

Not sure I agree with your assessment on the oil changes. Plenty of shells have been pulled showing significant wear from engines that are meticulously maintained. Your current S65 fell on the right side of the clearance curve.

I do agree that it would be nice to be able to check the clearances without having to take the damn thing apart. Since you cannot, you might as well change them or risk a very costly failure.

Cheers,

TX wrote

Is that detonation on the last 3? Would that play into the heavier wear there?

It's odd. Those spots are small polished patches. Can't imagine how they've formed.

Steve

Helmsman wrote

Yep, looks great. What shells did you replace with?

Ps. Nope, dont believe the spots are detonation, quite a few incl myself had them whether more visible on the 702/703 shells not sure.

ACL Race Series 8B1580H-STD

Steve

2008, 95k. Oil changed every 4k.

SteveEvans wrote

ACL Race Series 8B1580H-STD

Steve

Cheers. Standard seems like good shoice with that little wear, and from what I understand even them are a tad more open than the LCI OEM shells. Went with HX clearance myself which I kind of regret but ah well.

SteveEvans wrote

It's odd. Those spots are small polished patches. Can't imagine how they've formed.

Steve

they are debris, may be your air filter had a gap
The RB did it’s job by the particle getting embedded on the soft layer

2009 52,000kms

M3 hacker wrote

2009 52,000kms

Those look gnarly for 32k miles. Good job changing them!

Hondaman23
Have you got any photos of your race engine bearings? [edit] Nm, saw this.

Hondaman23 wrote

Heck no! I don’t document stuff very well, as I never had to. Honda’s come out looking barely touched after 200k, but I always replace the bearings for good measure, so all I do is inspect them to ensure the crank is OK and quickly toss.

That's a shame

Helmsman
Did you every emery down 1 of your old shells to see what it looks like through the layers?
I'm still waiting

irokwrx wrote

2011 44k miles. Oil change every 5k never tracked always warm before the magic peddle is smashed! Who said copper is not in 2011 cars?

That one shell showing copper, is that because you rubbed it down with emery?

GewoW wrote

Mine at 60k miles just changed with ACL mixed set cuz BE out of stock

I should specify - 2011 with new bearing material

Really good condition!

No not really, even with your distant photo you can see the microgrooves have been worn out as the white colour is largely missing on the shells.

Move Over wrote

Probably will get some crap for this but i bought a car recently that had 165,000 miles on it, the OEM bearings were changed at 162k miles, but they were changed with OEM new style bearings. I wasn't comfortable with that so i DIY'd again today with ACL bearings and ARP bolts. Easy and cheap as i have a lift in the garage and experience doing them 4 hours start to finish. Here's the bearings that came out with just over 3k miles. Figured I'd share

No crap deserved, amazing they're showing signs of wear for just 3k miles! Have you got a better quality (closer) photo of them though? It's a rather distant photo.

Assimilator1 wrote

Move Over wrote

Probably will get some crap for this but i bought a car recently that had 165,000 miles on it, the OEM bearings were changed at 162k miles, but they were changed with OEM new style bearings. I wasn't comfortable with that so i DIY'd again today with ACL bearings and ARP bolts. Easy and cheap as i have a lift in the garage and experience doing them 4 hours start to finish. Here's the bearings that came out with just over 3k miles. Figured I'd share

No crap deserved, amazing they're showing signs of wear for just 3k miles! Have you got a better quality (closer) photo of them though? It's a rather distant photo.

I thought I had one, but I think I've already tossed the bearings

Assimilator1 wrote

Helmsman
Did you every emery down 1 of your old shells to see what it looks like through the layers?
I'm still waiting

Wow, completely forget this one. What did I promise again?

Cheers

You'd post me 100 euro's?

No wait , you said you would rub down part of 1 of your old shells to expose the layer, with the intention to see what the copper layer looks like. I'd be super interested to see that, because in looking through all the photos in this thread, I have been unable to see with any certainty if any LCI shells have worn to copper.

Oh btw, I'll be buying mixed and measured ACL shells from deansbimmer

BlueM3Wagon wrote

78k miles 2008 M3 single owner donor for my e91 build. Service history oil changes at 5-7500 miles. Through the Babbitt but not much copper showing. Last analysis shows low copper and lead.

Installed BE Bearings and bolts. Going to leave the shop sideways as I've not had the car over 5k rpm since I picked it up post swap!

Lmao! And did you? (hopefully warmed up!).

E92_Emma3 wrote

Bought the car with 123K changed at 126K with ACL bearings from Lang Racing

Are all those shells wiped to copper or is that just the dodgy colour in the picture (which btw might well be down to that blue tape if so).

Move Over
Damn, that's a shame, a golden opportunity lost to clearly show that putting OEM shells back in can possibly be pointless . You sure you've chucked them?

SteveEvans wrote

These things are damn hard to photograph well...

2012 LCI E92 M3 with 107K miles.

After all the scaremongering on here and having passed 100K miles I figured I should replace these. Evidently changing the oil every 7K miles is well worthwhile. £1600 I didn't need to spend, but at least I now have peace of mind.

The worst one is probably from Rod #7, so I've taken a close up of that one. Practically no wear at all.

To be fair I did have an engine seize on me at 33K miles. That car died whilst I was driving the salesman to pick up another car as it was on my way home. I'd only had it for 10 minutes, and had just got it warmed up, when I experienced what one might call "heavy engine braking" changing into 3rd gear at 8000rpm, coasting to a stop in a convenient lay-by about 100 yards short of where I was dropping him off. Fortunately my mechanic was nearby test driving a very nice, somewhat older, BMW he'd just serviced and popped by to advise me to call recovery! You can see the poor salesman in the photo below, slowly turning pale before giving me back my money. Picked up the current car, again with 33K miles on it, three days later, so it all turned out OK!

Steve

You got very lucky with the seized engine one that it happened when it did!

Btw, I disagree with the 'practically no wear at all' - your close up picture clearly shows the micro grooves have been worn out in the middle, these are their to help retain oil. So their clearly is wear, but as LCI S65 bearings go with that mileage, they ain't terrible! .

deansbimmer wrote

The wear at the ends of the shells are from excessive bearing crush.

The abnormal wear in some of those shells favoring the edge may also be from a slight defect in the rod (bend) or crank journal.

Is it also possible that normal slight flexing of crank and/or rods etc, combined with an overly tight bearing clearance could result in this type of wear?

Rausky
I don't suppose you have a pic showing all the bearings in focus do you?

BlueM3Wagon wrote

78k miles 2008 M3 single owner donor for my e91 build. Service history oil changes at 5-7500 miles. Through the Babbitt but not much copper showing. Last analysis shows low copper and lead.

Installed BE Bearings and bolts. Going to leave the shop sideways as I've not had the car over 5k rpm since I picked it up post swap!

Forgot to say, cool on the e91 conversion!
Got a thread about it?

Right, I've looked through all the photos on this thread, and there are 308 submissions which are still available and of good enough quality.
I also looked through photos from the past 6mths on the Face Book group BMW E9X M3 V8 UK Owners Club, adding another 61 submissions.
Additionally I looked through ACM's rod bearing specials thread adding another 156 RB jobs.
Yes I've looked through all of those 525 submissions! (and more which had bad quality photos and weren't included!).

Of the 308 from this thread, just 2 are in good condition which barely show wear (as they should be), and just 7 are moderately worn!
If you include the 7 moderately worn shells, 9 out of 525 is a mere 1.7% of them!

120 are knackered (e.g for the lead/copper bearings, showing copper), that's the lead/copper type bearing.
I didn't see any tin/alu/copper bearings that were breaking up or clearing showing copper, but I did see quite a few that have worn through the upper babbitt layers (I put these in the excessively worn list).

[update] Following a little experiment by me later on, where I rubbed down some of the babbitt layer of an LCI bearing, copper can clearly be seen (lists and text have now been updated to reflect that. I also added a 'contaminated damaged' list to separate those damaged by external factors).

From the FB group, 24 are knackered.
From Matt's ACM thread 93 are knackered!

And from my 'Excessively worn' list their are 180 submissions here, 36 from the FB group and 58 from Matt's thread.
I've listed the 2 good cases and 7 moderately worn ones below, I won't post the whole list as it's massive! Lol, but if anyone wants me too I will, I've attached my notepad file which contains the list to this post. Each list has a link to the owners original post, so you can judge for yourself if you like!

Note that these lists don't include engines where the bearings have spun or the engine has blown, they're mostly in addition to those! (and in another thread).

Regarding my classification of the bearings placed in the excessively worn section, these are contentious & subjective, some people will argue that some of them should go up to the knackered group, & others will argue that some of the less worn ones should go into the moderately worn section. We are in part (at least) limited by the fact that we can't feel what they are like, sometimes they might look ok but would feel rough, which means they are knackered! If multiple people say that I've clearly missed something in a certain photo then I will re-categorise it.
(Possibly I should just merge the moderately worn section with the excessively worn, with that just covering a wide variety of wear. But I've left it for now).

With the tin/alu/copper bearings, although they do have a thin coppery layer https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25286461&postcount=1222 https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27039052&postcount=1937, it seems LCI bearings don't normally wear through the babbit, although in most photos the oil micro grooves (see 3rd photo here https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1486113 ) are clearly worn smooth, & so would compromise the bearings oil retention to some degree, as well as being worn unevenly, hence placing most into the 'excessively worn' group. But the main point is that they are not showing normal 'slight' wear for a mostly non contact surface.

The ones that are clear cut are the lead/copper bearings which are showing copper, this clearly shows that the soft babbitt layer has worn through. This layer allows particles to embed into the shell & thus prevent crank damage, as well protecting the crank when starting and stopping the engine, if it's worn ultra thin (e.g copper showing at the edges) or it's just plain gone then this protective layer is gone & the crank is imminently vulnerable to debris damage or pick up, & thus scoring &/or seizure under those conditions. If you don't believe that, then read the following literature by the bearing manufacturers:-

King bearings - engine bearing materials http://www.kingbearings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Engine-Bearing-materials.pdf
Engine bearings & how they work pdf http://www.kingbearings.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Engine-Bearings-and-how-they-work.pdf
More info here at their tech page http://www.kingbearings.com/technical-info/
Mahle (Clevite) - https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/media/local-media-north-america/pdfs-&-thumbnails/catalogs-and-literature/engine-bearings/ceb-1-818-trimetal_bimetal-brochure.pdf
Engine bearing failure analysis guide https://www.mahle-aftermarket.com/media/local-media-north-america/pdfs-&-thumbnails/catalogs-and-literature/engine-bearings/ceb-2-1114-engine-bearing-failures-brochure.pdf
ACL - https://aclperformance.eu/products [limited info]
Glycol - http://www.wilmink.nl/Glyco/Glyco_lagers_technische_informatie.pdf (Glyco aka Federal Mogul were bought out by Tenneco 10/18, pdf not available from their site currently).

3rd party
John Coxon (see https://www.highpowermedia.com/Editorial-Team , A mechanical engineer by training John has spent a large part of his working life in Research and Development in the automotive industry.... This explains the technology underlying the different bearings ..... www.highpowermedia.com/uploads/docs/713_RET046_Sample.pdf, from https://www.highpowermedia.com/Product/race-engine-technology-issue-046 May 2010).
Tribology - Friction and Wear of Engineering Materials Book • 2nd Edition • 2017
Applications and case studies Ian Hutchings & Philip Shipway - section regarding bearings - https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/crankshaft-bearing

Showing copper = shagged bearings, no ifs or buts, it's clear cut.

So out of all 525 cases from my list, 516 are either knackered or excessively worn, and just 2 showing barely any wear!
For the suspicious people out their who might claim that Matt only posts the bad ones (because it's his business thread), his cases account for 156 of them, but even if you dismissed those you're still looking at 2 good ones out of 360 cases! And even if you include the 7 moderately worn ones, 9 out 360 is just 2.5%! (Not to mention they are valid cases anyway).
And yes other business's have posted jobs in this thread, but they only account for a very small number of submissions, and in addition to that, 1 of them (deansbimmer), posted 1 of the good removed bearings!

Knackered bearings
(For either type of bearings, that's showing copper, to varying degrees).

1. to 231. See attached text file for the full and updated list, index numbers here are out of date, and so no longer match the text file. (I've posted the FB folk as their is no other record of them here AFAIK, the rest are from this thread or Matt's ACM RB thread linked at the top).
71.(FB) Ben Chidzoy - https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=3634403579915172&set=p.36344035799151723 (59k miles, multiple shells showing copper).
72.(FB) Alan Darrah - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4140666622616172&set=gm.658919751485961 (94.5k miles, multiple shells to copper!).
73.(FB) Alex Jones - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10220153528082504&set=gm.644865516224718 (unknown mileage, multiple shells to copper!).
74.(FB) Ross Nayler - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1437834796422370&set=gm.643224353055501 (91k miles, at least 3 shells showing copper).
75.(FB) Tom Uttley - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3500497073302638&set=p.3500497073302638&type=3 (79k miles, 1 shell showing copper across the middle, some others on parting lines).
76.(FB) James Read - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10164361883980624&set=gm.598835907494346 (52k miles, multiple shells to copper).
77.(FB) Guy 'Guido' Mather - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3437092252967980&set=gm.591918708186066 (61k miles, 1 shell showing copper across the middle, some others along edges and parting line).
78.(FB) Matt Dixon - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10223054052881201&set=gm.585196438858293 and https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10223054052001179&set=gm.585196438858293 (unknown mileage, multiple shells showing copper).
83.(FB) Aron Holder - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158694840629083&set=gm.581622662549004 (83k miles, multiple top shells showing copper).
84.(FB) Rob Reeves - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10163865318575162&set=gm.581153145929289 (62k miles, nearly all top shells showing copper).
85.(FB) Anthony Burgess - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3444875012204036&set=p.3444875012204036&type=3 (99.3k miles, most top shells nearly completely wiped of lead!).
86.(FB) Reece Beany - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3144184282334920&set=gm.581085895936014 (61k miles, some top shells showing copper).
87.(FB) Stephen Harry Wilson - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10160080021614829&set=gm.581070385937565 (66.5k miles, at least 1 showing copper).
88.(FB) Stuart Morgan - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157889817227775&set=gm.609611093083494 (94k miles, at least 3 shells showing a lot of copper).
89.(FB) Carl A Stokes - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=836979000403600&set=p.836979000403600&type=3 (74k miles, multiple shells showing a lot of copper!).
90.(FB) Andy Cook - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10221028891946118&set=pcb.566602674051003 (86k miles, multiple shells showing copper on the edges/parting lines, and 1 across the middle).
91.(FB) Rory O'Brien - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157564684867677&set=gm.562692971108640 (72k miles, at least 3 shells showing copper across the middle).
92. (moved to group below)
93.(FB) Dan Hoffman - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158451075607628&set=p.10158451075607628&type=3 (63k miles, at least 3 shells showing significant copper).
94.(FB) Arlen Davis - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10163966570585556&set=gm.561661601211777 (88k miles, all top shells showing copper!).
95.(FB) Andrew Karoullas - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10156994454772120&set=pcb.553224795388791 (72k miles, multiple shells showing copper).
96.(FB) Marcin Staworzynski - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2983979415055909&set=p.2983979415055909&type=3 (72k miles, at least 1 shell showing a lot of copper).
97.(FB) Kev Wood - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157791294773248&set=p.10157791294773248&type=3 (65k miles, multiple shells showing copper).
98.(FB) Rob Halstead - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10102671246090455&set=p.10102671246090455&type=3 (51k miles, multiple shells showing copper, 1 breaking up!).
99.(FB) Benjamin Murray - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10164356977965008&set=gm.639224423455494 and https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10164356977990008&set=pcb.639224423455494 (90k miles, some showing copper on parting lines and edges).

Contamination damaged shells (but otherwise 'only' excessively worn).

1.kevin @ eas - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25163916&postcount=1149 (31k miles, LCI bearings, bearings scored).
2.deansbimmer - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25282185&postcount=1203 and https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25939313&postcount=1570 (3rd photo - 40.9k miles, LCI bearings, 1 bearing scored).
3.(FB) Jon Pearson - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157663890997606&set=p.10157663890997606&type=3 (65k miles, LCI bearings, 2 shells scored!).
4.Will_L - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25541111&postcount=1343 (70k, LCI bearings, 2 shells suffered heavy debris damage, the rest are 'just' heavily worn).
5.atopa2002 - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26783653&postcount=1858 (57k miles, LCI bearings, 2 are badly scored).
6.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=21702237&postcount=125 (51k miles, LCI bearings, 1 scored).
7.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22667567&postcount=189 (21k miles!, LCI bearings, 1 bearing scored, other uppers just quite worn).
8.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22988946&postcount=242 (51k miles, LCI bearings, 2 shells scored, otherwise just heavy wear).
9.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23009150&postcount=243 (75k miles, LCI bearings, 1 bearing scored, otherwise just heavy wear).
10.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25945379&postcount=392 (60k miles, LCI bearings, 1 scored).
11.Matt@AUTOcouture - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26179939&postcount=412 (114k miles, LCI bearings, at least 2 bearings scored from debris, and many others heavily worn).

Excessively worn bearings
(But not showing copper for either type bearings. For LCI bearings, at least some shells completely worn through the micro grooves. Note, I'm not claiming that these are imminently about to fail! Their could be considerable life left in some of them. These, as above, vary in the amount of wear they have).

1. to 275. See attached text file for the full and updated list, index numbers here are out of date, and so no longer match the text file. (I've posted the FB folk as their is no other record of them here AFAIK, the rest are from this thread or Matt's ACM RB thread linked at the top).
116.(FB)Matt Cooper - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=364544378294418&set=gm.648087845902485 and https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=364544584961064&set=pcb.648087845902485 (52k miles, LCI bearings).
118.(FB) Leon A Beckford - https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10157731979241139&set=g.206918150019459 (70k miles).
119.(FB) Sherry Sherry - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=160344132362817&set=gm.609260943118509 (59k miles, LCI bearings).
120.(FB) Dave Norris - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10159060273824586&set=gm.598862270825043 (57.8k miles, LCI bearings).
121.(FB) Rj Williams - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3320242997996570&set=gm.585304238847513 (81k miles).
128.(FB) Aron Billen - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158895389969560&set=gm.585866018791335 (73.9k miles).
129.(FB) Dean Harrison - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3334351960123640&set=gm.571082193603051 (84k miles, LCI bearings).
130.(FB) Ben Mcdonald - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3100767176635501&set=gm.562172937827310 (80k miles, LCI bearings).
131.(FB) Adam Taylor - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1393218217551862&set=p.1393218217551862&type=3 (40k miles, LCI bearings).
132.(FB) Nick Spray - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=259023445309545&set=p.259023445309545&type=3 (55k miles).
133.(FB) Ry Bullooch - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10157780411684017&set=gm.545706116140659 (58.5k miles, LCI bearings. States photos make them look worse than they are, their is a strange colour on the right hand side of the shells).
134.(FB) Daniel Stocker - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10158199250766250&set=gm.545681749476429 (55k miles, LCI bearings).

Moderately worn

1.Scharbag - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22415586&postcount=191 (088/089 bearings, 2011, 19.5k miles).
2.kevin @ eas - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24697695&postcount=1017 (58.7k miles).
3.SSR Performance - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24843393&postcount=1071 (68k miles).
4.Bemo - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24957326&postcount=1113 (27.6k miles).
5.deansbimmer - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25282185&postcount=1203 (2nd photo, 60.9k miles).
6.krx927 - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23721827&postcount=807 (65.9k miles. LCI bearings, a rather dark photo).
7.Move Over - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=19837499&postcount=7 (49k miles).

Good condition

1.deansbimmer - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24489814&postcount=926 (LAST photo only, 26.3k miles).
2.----Flyin-High---- - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25280091&postcount=1190 (85k miles, 2011 car, good photo and they do look good, with only very slight visible wear).

Here's a list a of pulled good condition aftermarket bearings I collated :-

1.Deansbimmer - (122k miles total) 52k miles supercharged with VAC/Clevite bearings (increased clearance), 14/1/20 - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25681122&postcount=1386
2.toolshed - 31k miles, BE bearings, 26/7/18 (only 1 shell shown) - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23505818&postcount=1114
3.Malek - 33.5k miles, old design VAC/Clevite (slightly reduced clearance! Also a close up of an LCI bearing), 30/12/14 - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1073979
4.maicol76 - 6-12k miles, lots of track use, VAC bearings, https://www.m3post.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=1796920&stc=1&d=1522589580
5.SYT_Shadow - 25k miles on BE bearings, mostly track use. (No1 mains spun which took out adjacent RBs). Photos taken from 'blown engine thread pt2' - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25986925&postcount=93
6.scrippy - 98k miles on WPC bearings, replaced due to cracked sumps and oil loss! Photo is poor quality. https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22895612&postcount=612

Good condition non S65 bearings

Scharbag - N54 bearings, 85k miles - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25198501&postcount=1164 and https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25366340&postcount=1253
Fezza - N55 bearings, 60k miles - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=26463602&postcount=1755
(FB)Jacques Morley - https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=3141750159208812&set=gm.551064692271468 (e36 318is, 154k miles, only 1 shell shown).

More related info.

Close up photos of ok S65 LCI bearings, along with explanation by deansbimmer - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1486113
Close up of LCI's copper layer - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25286461&postcount=1222
Good quality close up photos by Ximian of LCI's worn micro grooves - https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=24829416&postcount=1046
My photo of an LCI shell where I've rubbed down the babbitt layer exposing the copper, and also showing for that shell (at least), that the babbitt layer had not worn through.

And no I'm not affiliated with deansbimmer , he just knows his stuff and makes good posts . Also he's in the US at Mporium, and I live in the UK and work in a small Suzuki dealer as a master tech. (I am going to buy some parts from him soon, but that's it).

Phew, that was a long time in the making! And I'm not done yet, as I want to find more photos of rod bearings in good condition (from any engine) from high (ish at least) mileage engines, to give more examples of how they wear. Early days on that! (just what's listed above atm)......

@Assimilator1 The hero we don't deserve!

Maybe there can be a link to this post on the first page of the thread?

Great work Assimilator1! Good info - thanks.

Car: 2011 e90 M3 58K miles. Comments?
RB Replacement Yr: 2020

anpk05 wrote

Car: 2011 e90 M3 58K miles. Comments?

Judging from pictures they look like most other LCI shells in this thread incl mine. Touched but no red alert.

Yea, quite worn but not terrible, worn through the micro grooves.
As Helmsman said, typical LCI bearing wear.

Helmsman, what do you reckon about my earlier request?

[edit]
Forgot to add the FB cases links to my post earlier, I'll do that now.
And it turns out a load of those links are going dead already (less than a week since I got them), turns out theirs different links for the same photos, getting the ones from the original post works, or is much faster! Correcting them now.

Assimilator1 wrote

Yea, quite worn but not terrible, worn through the micro grooves.
As Helmsman said, typical LCI bearing wear.

Helmsman, what do you reckon about my earlier request?

[edit]
Forgot to add the FB cases links to my post earlier, I'll do that now.
And it turns out a load of those links are going dead already (less than a week since I got them), turns out theirs different links for the same photos, getting the ones from the original post works, or is much faster! Correcting them now.

I'll do better than so. PM me your detals and I'll ship you a shell for your own investigation. (cause in the UK right?)

Cheers
Nik