WHAT KIND OF BEARINGS ??

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1

Hi
I’m preparing a 1,4 16v k-series engine with vvc head for turbo.It will have about 300hp and I have a serious question - what kind of bearings do you recommend for such projects?? Which manufacturer?? what do you think about bearings made by Rover?? If someone has any experience I would be grateful for any recommendations??
Thanks

2

Do not use the Rover bearings part no LFB10001BLU/RED/YEL these are the old soft AS15 type material and were know to delaminate on standard engines on the test rig, std engines give 100BHP or so and are rev limited to 6800.

A tougher bearing material would be called for such as VP2 or similar but you would have to be careful with bearing cleanrances. Cleevite mght be able to supply a better material and so might AE.

Rover produced a ‘high speed’ bearing spec. known generically as ‘AS16’ these were introduced with the Trophy 160 engine since the stock bearings would break up. Unfortunately version in the 1600/1400 bearing size were never productionised although a few sets were produced (some of which came my way).

Right now you may need to have custom bearings made or maybe you could see if another OEM bearing is the right size.

If you are using a VVC head you will need to notch the liners to clear the inlet valves or they will clip the corners (sic) of the liners.

Dave

3

thank you for your riposte!!!

There won’t be any collision because my engine is bored to 1550cm3 and the diameter of the piston is 79mm.I have forged pistons made by JE and forged rods by Pauter.What can you tell me about AE and King bearings in comparison??Iwould like to order one of those because I can do it immediately
Adam

4

It would need some research to uncover the material specs used on the AE bearings, but it would be worthwhile finding out, not familiar with ‘king’ bearings…

Coated bearings can improve wear resistance but dont generally make the bearing any more resistant to delamination.

Vandervell may be able to help with a lter VP spec. of bearing.

79mm bores should be fine with a VVC head provided everyhting is properly aligned.

Dave