Bearing brand advice.
 

Hey all. I'm needing to order some bearings that had a couple questions. First off, is paying $5+ for ceramic bearings worth it? Finally, are AvidRC bearings any better than Boca Bearings? And if going with the Boca Bearings, does it matter which one you get? I think Bro once told me he gets the green ones, but I can't remember. If it's good enough for him, than who am I to argue?

Case in point... AvidRC bearings are $1 each. The Ceramics are $5 each. Boca Greens are $5 each, and the super sweet Orange Ceramics are $19! But really, in my diff's... those aren't really a clean or dirty environment. $19 would be overkill. In fact, I'm not sure if a specific type of bearing is best suited in a diff compared to say a hub?

But considering that the bearings I'm specifically looking to replace are in my RCM Hybrid Revo Diff's... I want to make darn sure that I don't have bearing failure because that means blown case, and Mike isn't making the Hybrid diff cases right now. I've already been thru one case, and I'm not going to go thru another. Now that winter is coming, I'm going to spit shine the trucks I don't drive and get them all oiled up and dialed in for storage. Now is the time to replace the bearings in those diffs.

That being said, I don't want to spend a fortune either. I just want to make sure that bearing failure doesn't happen specifically in those diff's (which I think use 8x14x4 bearings). A bearing can fail due to install error I know... but I don't want them to fail because they are junk either. My ERBE is extremely fast and powerful, with high grip Badlands. That truck is just off the hook awesome, and is about as beefy as it gets. I love it!

But I was also going to pickup some extra bearings for my XXL/LST2's and maybe my Slayer.

Thanks!
J

I usualy go for the $1 rubber seal Avid bearings. But $5 for their ceramic ones is not very expensive. I had good long life out of the dollar ones with black rubber seals so I keep on using those exclusively.

I want to try some of the Avid "Revolutions" with the 1 rubber seal and 1 metal shield.

At this point I'm not convinced ceramics are worth the money, or even offer much benefit at all.

Honestly go with what works. Unless you are killing bearing on a daily basis than maybe something with a higher price tag might help the longevity.

I don't see the point in spending outrageous amounts of money on bearings. Full boca Kits running in the 2-3 hundreds is crazy. Funny part is those who I know that spend the money on these still don't win at the track. Makes me laugh.

I did go with a Green boca 5x15x5 for the two 4x4's I own and it works like a charm over the stock slipper bearing. As for other parts of my rcs, if I notice that the bearing is running badly I try to clean it and grease it before replacing them. Then I just buy what the LHS has and they aren't anything special usually avids for a dollar.

If using them for a diff, I would go with something better than the $1 avid bearings. I use the revolution ones for wheel bearings and change them when they get cruddy. My muggy eats diff bearings if they are weak, so I use NMB bearings in the diffs, they last much longer. You can get away with cheap bearings at the wheels... they are easy to change. Diff bearings take a bit more work to change, so go with better quality there.

+1 for that. I also run better quality bearings just in my diffs for the reason of harder to get to. Although, if you do normal diff maintenance, accessability is not much of an issue

Bearing brand advice
 

for the record we have:

$0.99 cent bearing sold individually
http://www.bocabearings.com/webstore...aspx?StoreID=1

and $0.99 cent bearings in Ten Packs
http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...-cent-bearings

we would consider those comparable to stock bearings.

you can also get:

Ceramic Yellow Seal Bearings for on average $4 - $6 each if you buy them in 10 packs or 4 packs
http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...ng-yellow-seal

http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...ng-yellow-seal

Ceramic Orange Seal Bearings for on average of $4-$8 each in 4 packs and 10 packs
http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...ng-orange-seal

http://www.bocabearings.com/appsubgr...SubGroupID=574

But we would probably suggest to you the Green Seal bearings for your diff. Th Green Seal bearings are a solid bearing that can stand up to abuse and is a workhorse. They may not be the fastest bearing on the market but they are strong and long lasting:

http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...cks/green-seal

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

jason@bocabearings.com

i get alot of mine from wala wala brearings on ebay, their ceramic bearings are cheap and i have only had afew fail in the last 3 years

Thanks for posting Jason!

FWIW I've had great experience with the Acer ceramics. They have the non-contact rubber seals- the best of both worlds. Compared to "standard" steel bearings they have about 5x less friction per a "spin test" with my tires. I have my Rustler outfitted all the way through with them and it might as well be MagLev it rolls so smoothly... :smile: I can't speak on longevity since I haven't had one fail on me yet. :mdr:

Green bearings !

Bearings
 

$1.00 per bearing is actually a pretty good deal if you ask me no matter who you buy them from. I like using the stainless steel sealed bearings, because they hold up pretty well under most conditions. I would have to say the best way is to find out for yourself and try out a couple differnet types of bearings from different manufacturers, see how they hold up for you, and make your own decisions. I get most of my R/C bearings from VXB. They have a pretty good selection and their prices are reasonable. Plus they supply alot of the R/C hobby suppliers with their bearings. Honestly I do not see the point in spending a ton of money on bearings, when most of them wear pretty much the same. Unless you are racing and winning money to help pay for your equipment ceramic bearings are just a novilty. They wear out and breakdown just like all of the other bearings do. This hobby can drain your bank account well enough without paying $5 to $10 for one bearing, when our vehicles have 15 to 20 bearings installed, which can add up to about $100 to $200 just for bearings in one vehicle. Thats just rediculous. Spend your money the way you want. We have 8 R/C vehicles in our family and $1 to $2 a bearing sounds pretty good to me. Just my 2 cents.

Unless you're a competitive racer, ceramics is just a waste of money. I had been using Avid revolutions on alll my trucks and they haven't failed me yet. Cheap and they even ship to a military address.

boca bearings

I'm with Lito(george 16) Avid Revolutions are great.

the only place a ceranmic bearing should ever be in and a carpet car or dragster. Other than that they are worthless.