in 1993 honda used new connecting rod bearings in thier formula 1 race cars. They had developed a diamond shape pyramid coating that held more lubricant on the bearing surface. This worked well in high rev usage. The coating (or "mating") was soon transferred to the mass production line and the weight savings were applied to the crankshaft. This helped the developement of the high revving B18c1 engine.

Here is my question: I am matching Honda "green" rod bearings to my LS Eagle rods. They are being applied to my '91 B18a1 LS block. I noticed that the '91 and '94 LS green bearings come from the Taiho company. The '94 GSR green rod bearings originate at the Daido company. Do the '91 bearings have the "special" F1 treatment? Are all Honda bearings produced with the F1 treatment??
Thanks to any responses.

 

Bump for a good question cause Id like to know as well....

Blaze

 

That or a similar article was in Car and Driver in summer 1993 for the new dc gsr. I believe only the gsr bearings have this coating.

 

well, if Honda doesn't give the F1 treatment to the B18a1 <U>green </U> bearings why should I get Honda bearings? What other advantages are there over lets say ACL or King rod bearings?
My crank journals are polished and I am using Eagle LS rods. The green Honda bearing that matches my measurements seems to be the "regular" size. I think the Dana corp. is reputable with thier "tri-smelt" bearings. So.....
Opened to the floor.

 

I have only seen the coating on B18C1/C5 bearings. They are also narrower then the ls by 2mm. I guess K20 have the coating on the main bearings but I have no firsthand experience with that.


B18C/B18B

 

i have seen LS eagle rods modified to accept the GSR bearings. there is a sponsor in the sponsors section selling them.....im not sure if they come from eagle that way or they are modified after....

personally i doubt you will ever have problems with either LS or GSR bearings if properly assembled to the correct specs.....

 

I guess my trepidation is originating from making this LS B18a1 block rev to +8000 instead of its normal lower rev range. I have forged Endyne pistons/ eagle forged LS rods/ lightened and polished crankshaft. I just want bearings that can travel with the B18c1 VTEC head I am matching. I want to use Honda LS bearings, I'm just edgy with the high RPMs. Do I need to get special bearings ??

 

i would use ACL's rather than b18b's if tolerances allow.

 

thanks, I just feel there should be a bearing upgrade for an LS/Vtec setup. I'll go look at the ACL bearing. Thanks to all!!!!!!!

 

you wont have any problems using honda LS bearings and reving the engine to 8000rpm........i buzzed mine to over 8000rpm lots of times and over 9000rpm a few times and the bearings came out looking brand new.

like i said before.....as long as your clearances are within the proper spec, the rod bolts are properly torqued/stretched and you keep your engine oil clean you should not have any bearing problems.

 

That is good news. I have pulled the GSR cams and a set of ITR cams are being used. I am aiming at low-mid range torque and no "big boy" cams are any better using natural aspiration. I beleive the ITR cams top out around 8200 -8500 rpms. The rod journals have been polished and all are right at 1.769" which puts me right at "green" bearings to be close to .0015 clearance. This is at the wide end of the B18a1 bearing clearance scale. That will facilitate better oil delivery at the increased revs. Thanks bunches.

 

OK, my block builder said to obtain std size bearings. I have procured a set of King bearings. They are tri-metal. F1 tested and good on the street to 9500 rpm.
I plan on going to 8500 tops. I am getting the rods/mains/ and thrust bearings shipped to me for $80.
I like the King outfit. 2 engine builders recommended them - my head builder and my block builder. Yes I am using 2 different shops. Each to thier own strengths. haha... Thanks for all the help and info. fobile missile.

 

I have heard good things about King bearings. I personally use ACLs in my motor and you can't go wrong with them either

 

Specially costed bearings are used for B16B, B18C and B18CR from factory.

You must take special care not to touch the coated surface during installation, it will render the crystallised coatings useless.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by powersteer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Specially costed bearings are used for B16B, B18C and B18CR from factory.

You must take special care not to touch the coated surface during installation, it will render the crystallised coatings useless.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Really? If that's true, than that's not bad for your first post!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by HandCommand &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Really? If that's true, than that's not bad for your first post! </TD></TR></TABLE>


It is true!