Which VAC Rod Bearings?

[frankc]

I have my E90 M3 up on the lift and ready to do the rod bearings. My original plan was to use the BE Bearings & ARP rod bolts, but with the BE shells on back order until Sept, I started looking at VAC bearings (still planning to use the BE ARP rod bolts).

The VAC sites states that their rod bearings have "extra clearance". I called last week and was told that the bearings provide an additional .001" and .0015" clearance over standard. Other information I have read stated that the VAC bearings do not provide extra clearance, but that information may be old and VAC may have changed their specs - or perhaps they now offer both standard (.0015") and extra clearance bearings.

Their site lists two part numbers for the S65 rod bearings:

• VAC-HPRBS-S65: Standard Size
• VAC-HPRBS-U25: 0.25mm Undersize

Can folks here who have ordered these bearings confirm that the VAC-HPRBS-S65 part number provides the "extra clearance" for a standard crank? I ask because I received a confusing response during the call with VAC when I asked this question (I won't go into all the details here), and the bearings cannot be returned - so I want to make sure I order the correct part.

I sent an email to VAC a few days ago regarding this, but have not received a response yet.

Thanks

[SYT_Shadow]

Good luck finding out. They've changed what they say their bearings are at least 4 times in the past.

And even if you decide on buying their watermelon, they will send whichever fruit they want to send. Maybe you'll receive a tomato, or an orange, or a melon, or maybe you're lucky and receive the watermelon you ordered

[pbonsalb]

Look at Lang Racing as well. I think they sell Carillo and arp bolts and be and acl bearings. Also, someone wrote recently that Bimmerworld has be in stock.

[frankc]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Look at Lang Racing as well. I think they sell Carillo and arp bolts and be and acl bearings. Also, someone wrote recently that Bimmerworld has be in stock.

Thanks for the suggestion, but at this point, even if they had the bearings in stock, I doubt they would be willing to sell them to me if I don't have them installed there. I contacted several shops listed on the BE site, and of the few shops that had the rod bearings in stock, they are reserved for customer cars - which is perfectly reasonable given the demand vs. supply.

Bimmerworld went out-of-stock almost immediately (I checked ).

[SYT_Shadow]

I have two sets for the S65 that will (should) ship 5/29. If they actually ship I'm fine to send one to you

[MisterClutch888]

i checked with bimmerworld and sv bimmer yesterday too. Even if they have stock, they are not going to sell to us end users. They will reserve for their own customers only, and perform the job there.

[VictorH]

I know some folks don't care for VAC, I didn't know any better when I ordered from them. I have their under-size, coated rod bearings and have a bit over 60,000 miles on them now. My car sees plenty of track use (well except for this spring) and so far no problems. This is only one example but it worked for me.

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by pbonsalb

Look at Lang Racing as well. I think they sell Carillo and arp bolts and be and acl bearings. Also, someone wrote recently that Bimmerworld has be in stock.

Mate . BE-Clevite from Bimmerworld is out of stock => https://www.bimmerworld.com/BE-Conne...rings-S65.html

[frankc]

Originally Posted by VictorH

I have their under-size, coated rod bearings..

Did you need to go with undersized bearings because your crank was machined? I just want to confirm that VAC's use of the term "undersized" here is the conventional use (this goes back to the conversation I had with them last week).

[VictorH]

It was the only S65 rod bearing they offered at the time (this was about 4 years ago), there was no regular rod bearing. So, no crank was not machined and motor was not removed from the car.

If you are not getting your question(s) answered by the vendor and your are not comfortable, I would suggest you NOT buy your bearings from them.

[m3_tristan]

Says it right on the product page.

[jg2020]

Any person looking for BE rod bearings here - if you have any leads please let me know. Thanks!

[tdott]

Originally Posted by frankc

I ask because I received a confusing response during the call with VAC when I asked this question (I won't go into all the details here), and the bearings cannot be returned - so I want to make sure I order the correct part.

That should tell you something about a company that makes a custom part, and changed their tune on what it is several times, send wrong parts in the past and still can't tell you exactly what you need to know.

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by tdott

That should tell you something about a company that makes a custom part, and changed their tune on what it is several times, send wrong parts in the past and still can't tell you exactly what you need to know.

It's pretty incredible they contradict their own website... the incompetence at VAC runs deep

[velociti]

As a South Philly guy who has been to VAC for going on 10 years for my E46, E82, and now E90, I've actually had good experiences with them. That's on the service side, sales I can't speak to. But I'm taking my car to them on Monday for rod bearing service, so I'll mention these (serious) concerns and see what they say.

[frankc]

Originally Posted by m3_tristan

Says it right on the product page.

If you go the the page for the S65 bearing shells only, the red text regarding the undersized bearing is not there.

The page in your image is for the S65 bearings and bolts "kit". I was planning to purchase the rod bolts from BE and not VAC, so I did not go to that page at first. However, I did happen to go to the "kit" page after my phone call with them, and then saw the text regarding the undersized bearings - this is what prompted me to post here to get confirmation that undersized is not what I want, since one page had the notice and the other did not.

[Scharbag]

This should not be that hard...

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by Scharbag

This should not be that hard...

websites can be outdated and quirky, but when you CALL a shop they should be able to give you an answer

[crowtrobot]

I moved back to the Philly area 3yr ago now, and have used VAC several times, as their support of track events and their own racing program interested me, but I have to say, I have not been thrilled by their service, and I am not surprised by the OP getting conflicting info.

Not rod bearing specific, but my last experience was going to them to have one of their own VAC studs drilled out when one broke after barely a season of track use. They acted incredulous, like a broken stud had never happened, which is absurd. Studs can certainly break, but not usually on such a short life cycle. The studs were always torqued by hand, never hot. I realize that they're a maintenance item, but I would have expected at least a full season of 5-6 events.

By the time they were done, I could have bought brand new wheel bearings and installed them myself. Was pretty disappointed by their unwillingness to stand behind their product.