# Anybody here ever tried this?



## Dave G. (May 26, 2009)

I saw this while checking things out on ebay. I just wondered if using these ball bearing bushings actually showed any appreciable increase in performance.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BALL-BEARIN...130766838043?pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item1e724f991b


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I wouldn't say you'll go any faster with them,but you'll notice better life from your gears and brushes.
Pretty well everything i own runs bearings,i'm a firm believer in them.:thumbsup:
If you're going to use them on most stock arms,you'll have to slightly sand the shaft of the armature.
I usually just chuck the arm in my Dremel and sand them with 220 grit or higher wet/dry sandpaper.
Most aftermarket arms already have the 1.5mm shaft in them,and don't require sanding .

Like i said,they probably won't make your cars much faster,they'll just live longer:thumbsup:

Definitely worth trying a set if you've never tried them.
Rick


----------



## Dave G. (May 26, 2009)

Thanks for your input Rick (Hornet). That's the kind of info I was looking for. I've noticed that a lot of the ebay sellers make all kinds of claims, and I've learned to take a lot of it with a grain of salt.


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

In my experiences with bearings,they don't much care for light oils.

Most oils listed as a break-in oil are not bad,Comp Cams or any of the better quality break-in oils are pretty decent,they're a little higher in Zinc content.

I use a homemade snake oil combo,that works for me, i won't nessarily say there isn't something better though

These are only my experiences,though,so take them with a grain of salt too,lol:thumbsup:
Rick


----------



## slotcardan (Jun 9, 2012)

one other thing with bearings is they can become damaged in crashes or mis-aligned.

when hacked into some chassis to replace the bushing or plastic bushing if not done correctly the chassis can stress crack.

I messed with bearing conversions for a little while i never thought it was worth the effort since i have chassis 40 years old that are still going. if something does wear out i do the Crazy glue fix. fill in the gap with CA use Kicker and then sand down the CA and it will take the play out of a worn axle holder.


----------



## slotking (May 27, 2008)

with the bsrt/slottech/wiz cars, they just pop right in.
may nee a little black max to hold them in.

as rick said, the stock arm is a stock arm, but for $26 bucks, not a bad deal

2 $10 bearings and $6 arm


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I prefer the flanged versions as they're less prone to mis-aligning.
Any wall hit that's gonna dislodge and mis-align a bearing is also gonna dislodge and mis-align a bushing:wave:
You drive a com into a bearing hard enough to hurt the bearing,you've usually got other problems too

Just for the record,i run pretty well nothing but Neo cars,,and i've been using bearings in everything for close to 10 yrs now,and i've never piled one up,or disintrigrated one from an impact,and trust me,i can hit the wall with the best of them,i've busted chassis completely in half,bent the arm,and still re-used the bearings

I think Wizzard and Slottech,both sell chassis's with a molded rear axle bearing pocket,that a flanged bearing pops into,if you're so inclined to go that route.
Not sure if BSRT has a bearing chassis or not

As far as armature bearings go,they're a worthwhile thing to try,at least once,especially if you run your cars lots,and are generally no harder to maintain or install then a bushing.:thumbsup:
Rick


----------



## Dave G. (May 26, 2009)

I was mainly interested in a possible increase in speed with the ball bearing bushings. Re the sellers claim of "higher reving".

I have a couple of BSRT chassis that are my favorites, they both run the blue "Beadle bushings". I have no complaints with either chassis, they both run like scared bunny rabbits. And with the exception of gear set up, they are both set up the same way.

I was hoping for another "tweak" to get a little more speed, but it doesn't sound like the ball bearing bushings are the way to go. So, I think I'll just stick with what I'm running.

Thanks again for your comments.


----------



## mking (Apr 25, 2000)

*just buy these....*

these will work on tomy/bsrt cars on the front or rear, as other posters have noted you need to sand down the arm shaft, not hard.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251146515718?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

these work well on the rear, the extra width makes them sit more securely in the chassis. i have tried both, and am slowly working on converting my fleet of 20 or so super g+ cars to bearings. in my one test chassis i noted a slight increase in speed, probably mostly due to running cooler enabled me to really lower the rear end and i was able to corner better (normally running smaller tires leads to temperature increases, the bearings run cooler and offest the temp problem). 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261093937083?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

i have tried other bearings from other china sellers and have been generally happy. 

mike


----------



## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Mike, after sanding arm shaft, do the bearings easily push into the G-3 bulkheads? 
Also, would you suggest running the wider 2mm bearing in rear and
front using 1.2mm as a per car set up?? Running cooler sounds good as
I have a Max-Trax road course and we run the Club stock cars.


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Hard to tell if they'd give you any more speed with-out trying them.

If they don't break the budget,they're worth at least a test,you'll never know,if you don't give them a try:thumbsup:

Rick


----------



## Dyno Dom (May 26, 2007)

Rick, what is your opinion of the 2 different size bearings, front & rear?
What kind of oil/lubricant would you suggest? Yes, certainly worth a try.


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I use a thick rear and thin front bearing Dom.
My theory being the front of the arm isn't loaded as hard as the rear of the arm,so you can get away with a thinner/lighter front bearing to help spool the arm up.
LOL,i'm just about gunshy to post what i use for bearing oil.

Here's a video link to what i use
After researching Z-Max a little,and asking a few questions on an oil board,i decided against adding it to my mix
I like the gear lube for it's shear or cling capabilities,and Moto Prep is a high zinc content break in additive,and the Slick 50 is my base oil.
I mix them all together.
I won't say it's maybe the best combo of oils to use,but i still have the very first set of bearings i ever bought in a car,and they have well over 10,000 laps on them.
I've never had a bearing go south on me after switching to this mix of oils.
The Amzoil gear lube is a low drag synthetic gear lube,and as you can see is way thinner then the old style mineral based 80-90Weight gear lube,Royal Purple has a similiar low drag synthetic gear lube too






Rick


----------



## oneredz (Jan 29, 2012)

Do you happen to know what the abec rating on these bearings is?


----------



## neorules (Oct 20, 2006)

Did I read that right? 10 bearings for $6.99. 69 cents per bearing? free shipping?


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Bob are you going to buy some?
If you do let me know what you think of them:thumbsup:.
Rick

For $0.69 a bearing,i don't think they'll be a super high quality bearing,but they might be a good bearing to use in a stock type car,as a cheap upgrade from bushings.:thumbsup:


----------



## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Rick, I've ordered some. We'll do some 'sperimentin' when they get here. 

Todd


----------



## tossedman (Mar 19, 2006)

Got those $6.99 bearings in the mail today. Rick, I'll get you a pair. You can check em out on your dyno.


----------



## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

Awright Todd,way to go,we'll have to give them a whirl,this sunday

Been gathering up a few things for the dyno.

It'll be a good week or better before they get here,Ken just shipped them the other day.

But i figured i'd start gathering some stuff up before hand

Grabbed a laptop today,Computer Trends had an obsolete Gateway on sale,and they flogged me the demo model for a smoking deal.
It has Windows 8,so it's way more computor then the old desktop house computor is,hey i got my priorities right,track room always should have better equipment then the house,lol:thumbsup:
Rick


----------

