Quote:
Originally Posted by Ralbar61
Just a brief question, why would choose the WPC bearing over the VAC bearings ?
Your cost for bearing replacement is pretty much exactly the same, so we can take that part of the equation, but why one bearing over the other? Btw, I’m assuming that both shops do similar quality service.
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Probably one of the more complex questions surrounding the E9x community right now. The biggest difference between the WPCs, and all other bearing on the market is that either the tolerance levels have been heavily manipulated, and/or the coating process is sprayed on in regards to the Calico bearings that VAC uses, and the BE Bearing made by Clevite to Robert Collins's specifications. WPC is a treatment process, very similar to micro shot peening that increases overall clearance minutely, decreases friction and increases strength.
Our first 3 rod bearing services, dating back to 2011, used the Calico bearings, but during the third service I found some inconsistencies with the bearings themselves, and did not feel comfortable installing them. I will not get into specifics, but at the time, as our lead senior master and the only one doing the services in the shop, I err'ed on the side of caution to protect the customer at all costs. Most of the bearing jobs we were doing back then were part of much larger builds, and almost always supercharged, so having as close to a perfect rotating assembly as possible was paramount for the direction of the shop and what we recommend for customers.
Moving forward from 2011, we pulled WPC bearings that we had installed on both aggressively supercharged customer cars and our own shop cars at the time to investigate to longevity of the bearing during serious abuse. All instances came back flawlessly, leading them to be our recommended choice for all S65 installations. Our sample size and data of more then 150 services over the past 6 years has given us a tremendous amount of evidence to support this decision and direction as well.
If anyone has specific questions or concerns about their rod bearings, their car, the parts we use, and the differences offered here in the shop, I invite you all to reach out to me personally here, @ the shop - 201.666.3500, or via email
tom@autocouturemotoring.com