It’s an interesting but nevertheless slightly surprising fact that the vast majority of premature bearing failures in engines are as a direct consequence of the presence of dirt. Such were the conclusions of a report I read recently, and while lack of lubrication, misalignment, overloading and corrosion all figured in the findings, well over 50% of all bearing-related engine failures recorded were put down to foreign bodies in the lubrication system. Read more…

In the search for ever lower engine friction, it is surely a wonder that the rolling element bearing hasn’t featured very highly in recent years. So while ball or roller bearing technology is commonly seen in many engine ancillaries - for example, pumps, starter motors/generators, timing belt tensioners, rocker arms and now even turbochargers - the largest source of rotation friction, that of the crank and camshaft, have largely been avoided. I know two-stroke engines have, and continue to use, needle Read more…

There has been much discussion of late about the FIA’s proposal to ban the use of the engine in the Formula One pit lane and using only electric motors during pit stops. On the face of it this may appear to be dangerous, since the noise from a traditional reciprocating unit serves to warn of its approach. On reflection, however, by the time the 2014 regulations come into place, electric vehicles, we are led to believe, will be not such a rarity on the roads, and the problem we will all have to live with in future - that of near-silent road transport - will Read more…

While the concept of the turbocharger has been around since 1926, the basic compressor/bearing housing/turbine hasn’t changed that much in the past 50 years. Certainly compressor wheel aerodynamics have improved considerably and turbine technology has also changed quite a lot. But apart for the introduction of some variably geometry designs, outwardly most turbo units are still very similar to the ones I played with when I first started, many years ago. But if you look closer, particularly deep within the bearing housing assembly, Read more…

Still considered by many to be some of the best materials around, white bearings are still commonly used in many vintage racers. This is not, as you might suppose, as a result of just the friction qualities of the material alone, but more as a consequence of its ‘embeddability’ (the ability to absorb dirt into its surface) and its nature to yield under excessive local pressures - as a result of, say, shaft misalignment - which prevents seizing. Read more…

Making a comeback from earlier times, the ball-race bearing system may be a preferred solution in some turbocharger applications, but for reasons of cost the more usual approach for the vast majority of units is still the fully floating design. Consisting essentially of two bushes, one at either end of the bearing housing through which the shaft passes, unusually these bushes themselves are allowed to rotate in their housing, creating in effect a ‘bearing within a bearing’. Read more…

In 1949, British industrialist Tony Vandervell bought a contemporary Ferrari Grand Prix car - not a straightforward exercise in the aftermath of World War II, as it required an import licence, while the export of currency to Italy required special permission. Vandervell argued to the British powers that be that he needed the car as a test bed for his innovative Thinwall bearings. For its part, Ferrari appreciated the significance of those bearings, even if getting hold of them meant putting a Grand Prix car into the hands of a private entrant - and a British one at that.

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In earlier RET-Monitor articles I have written about the application and challenges of lead-free bearings. Until now the focus has been on the main bearing shells, mainly linked to the crankcase main bearing bore shape and split line quality. In this article I will put focus on the application of lead-free bearings in the small end of the con rod, as well as the design features for creating a reliable small end.

A number articles, in both Race Engine Technology

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In earlier RET-Monitor articles I have written about the application and challenges of lead-free bearings. Until now the focus has been on the main bearing shells, mainly linked to the crankcase main bearing bore shape and split line quality. In this article I will put focus on the application of lead-free bearings in the small end of the con rod, as well as the design features for creating a reliable small end.

A number articles, in both Race Engine Technology Read more…

In my previous articles on the difference between leaded and lead-free bearing shells materials, the heat transport from oil through the bearing shell to the crankcase was discussed. In this article the current status of the leaded bearing is described.

First though I would like to pass on a remark made to me when talking to a well-known bearing shell supplier. When discussing the possible reasons why leaded bearing materials are still favoured over lead-free materials, Read more…