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Collin

Ball Bearings quality, where to get the best ones?

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Hi guys.

Long time nothing posted but I am still here : )

My question, I need 15 sets of ball bearings, various sizes but all knowen from our Tamiya. Purpose is offroad.  So beside the question of the price, what would be high.end spec bearings and where to get them?

Greetings. C.

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20 minutes ago, Collin said:

Hi guys.

Long time nothing posted but I am still here : )

My question, I need 15 sets of ball bearings, various sizes but all knowen from our Tamiya. Purpose is offroad.  So beside the question of the price, what would be high.end spec bearings and where to get them?

Greetings. C.

Hey Collin 👋 

I get all mine (metal and rubber sealed) from a couple of uk based eBay sellers. Not sure how postage to Austria would work, but do you have an Austrian equivalent?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/xtremesportandleisureukonline?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wN1PTwT6Twy&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=bH4G_tbSRKi&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/rcbearings?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=CdAShlhUSgO&sssrc=3418065&ssuid=bH4G_tbSRKi&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

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I use ebay for the odd ones here and there and RCbearings for sets. They have complete packages for most cars, Tamiya or otherwise. 

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I’ve always used RC bearings in the UK. As said they do full sets for almost any Tamiya as well as individual bearings in a multitude of sizes. The guy that runs it, whose name escapes me for the moment, is really helpful. In my experience the quality has been excellent both metal shield and rubber shield versions.

 

EDIT: Colin

Edited by Busdriver

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Since I am on the continent of europe shipping from UK is really no fun. : (

What I am afraid is, that most re-sellers buy 1000pcs units from ali and do packages out of it.

But still one question, what bearings are stat of the art? Steel ones, hybrid, full ceramics? Is there maybe a good reason to use some certain bearings on some certain spots? Steering does have different needs then idle gear bearing inside gearbox.

 

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28 minutes ago, Collin said:

Since I am on the continent of europe shipping from UK is really no fun. : (

What I am afraid is, that most re-sellers buy 1000pcs units from ali and do packages out of it.

But still one question, what bearings are stat of the art? Steel ones, hybrid, full ceramics? Is there maybe a good reason to use some certain bearings on some certain spots? Steering does have different needs then idle gear bearing inside gearbox.

 

Different bearings for different purposes - I buy ABEC 5 rated rubber sealed bearings for front and rear hubs, I'll use metal shielded bearings in all the gearboxes as they run more freely than rubber shielded bearings.

I've tried ceramics in some on road race grade touring cars and didn't really rate them, they were harder to maintain than regular bearings for me at least, but it might just be a familiarity thing.

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I'm in the USA and usually buy from Amazon or FastEddy bearings.. unless you're a diehard racer, decent bearings are pretty similar.  They still require maintenance and are wear items.. depending on where you drive your car bearings might get gritty and grindy (sp?)  after one run and require cleaning or replacement.. so I don't focus too much on super high quality bearings, rather just decent quality and maintain them.

I use to buy dry metal bearings from a buddy who owned a local RC shop back in the day when I was racing sedans.  Those had super low resistance with my choice of oil.  I forget where he got them from, but they were very high quality.  That didn't matter though, I still replaced them from time to time as needed. 

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In the US so I buy Fast Eddys for bearing that go internally, ie in the transmission, etc.  For wheels that get exposed to dust dirt and grime,  like on my ORVs, I buy cheap ones from eBay and swap them out when they get too gritty.

Terry

 

ETA, I have no idea if Fast Eddy is better than generic Chinese eBay bearings.  For all I know Eddy bought 1000s of those generic Chinese bearings and repackaged them.  I buy the FE kits bc they’re already packaged for each kit.  One stop shopping convenience more than anything.

 

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If you're thinking of buying top quality bearings, that'll last a lifetime, then I'm not sure there are any ,in the Off-Road world anyway tbh, as once dirt / sand gets in, it eats them.

I know a few guys that have tried the ceramic bearings, and I don't think they lasted much longer than regular bearings. They may have had slightly lower drag, but unless you're chasing 1/10ths on a lap, I wouldn't think they're worth it.

Tamiya have their own way of identifying bearings, but you can search the 'normal' equivalent and sometimes find them alot cheaper. 

2021-05-25_02-30-17

 

If you want bearings to last longer, you can strip and clean them, one of the guys did this handy vid, (he's Schumacher, but bearings are bearings)

 

 

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I buy Yeah Racing bearings from RCMart. They come in packs of 10 for a good price, have both metal and steel shielded options, all the sizes and I haven't had a bad one yet.

I don't buy the bearing sets as they cost more per bearing which can really add up. A bearing set for my HB D817 cost roughly double what I could buy them individually for. I had to buy them in multiples of 10, but that meant I ended up with a lot of spares which is useful as some wear out quickly so i can replace them as required.

If you are building one car then the sets make sense though as you're only talking a few dollars more per set, especially since they don't tend to wear out in a 10th buggy with a silvercan

If a time machine is invented I have so many bearings I would be able to go back to 80s and swap them for a house or 2. Maybe thats why i have them, because they were so expensive BiTD, a box of bearings is a bit like having an Avante on the shelf.

The exception for me are the clutch bearings for my nitro engine. I buy the protek ones which are marketed as clutch bearings. I'm sure they're just aliexpress 1050s with branding, but that is the one that would really hurt if they gave way.

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Guys thank you. After all I can say, going offroad will anyway mean more maintainence, so very expensive super dooper bearings will break as well.

Now its all about around 300 bearings in various sizes, just to give you an idear about.

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Used to buy them in bulk of 100+ as they were about 30c each, but now that I've slowed down I just buy them from my LHS (which are normally fast eddy) unless I am buying the old blue Tamiya sets.

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I'm going to just echo.

As @Jonathon Gillham said, I would just order a bunch of 1150 bearings and 850 Yeah Racing bearings from RCMart.  Their rubber sealed bearings are quite decent.  (They used to be cheaper like $3, but they are still cheaper than packaged stuff like FastEddy). 

https://www.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-rc-ptfe-bearing-5x11x4mm-10pcs-yb6014b-s10-00001611?search=5x11x4 bearings

The engineering convention seems "Inner diameter x Outer x Thickness."  So 850 bearings would be 5x8x2.5mm.  @Wooders28's chart is very handy for that.  

You can use them as is, on wheels and drive cups.  If you want less resistance for internal gears, just peel off the shields on one or both sides.  Rubber shields come off easily with a hobby knife (wear a goggle, you don't want the tip of a knife break and fly into your eyes). 

ExbWQVf.jpg

If you use plumber's grease on the seams of the gearbox, water and dirt don't get in easily. "Naked" bearings won't go bad.  If you want, you can clean out the grease and replace it with light machine oil for reduced rolling resistance.  If you have no oil at all, most bearings roll just as easily as ceramic bearings (that are 100 times more expensive). Obviously, without any lube, it would wear out quickly.  Some lube is always necessary. 

If you re-lube, the naked bearings run much faster and smoother than metal shields, for a fraction of a cost of ceramic bearings (only for internal gears).  Also, I'll have some shields near spur gear if you are going to have aluminum pinion that sprays aluminum dust all over the place).

 

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"Fast Eddy" bearings. one stop shop, have all kinds with good prices. Or Ebay for odd balls. Ceramics are huge $$ though.

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