ceramic bearings

[Damn Yankee]

Not trying to split hairs, but is there any measurable performance advantage between a ceramic angular contact bearing for the front spindle's vs a full roller ceramic bearing ?

Also is there any data showing where the angular contact bearing is less safe than a full roller bearing when upgrading to ceramics ?

I ask because the brake manufacture we are working with is giving us fits and telling us the angular ceramic bearing is unsafe with our particular spindles (1991 Mustang). I have a hard time believing this when I know there are stockers and super stockers out there in excess of 3500lbs using this very bearing. Our race weight will be 3150lbs.

[Adger Smith]

I have wondered the same thing about the front bearings. Is there a load difference even on steel angular bearings when coming down off a wheelie. I look at tooling everday that is held in place by the locking friction of angles. When an angled bearing has load applied I would think it has to create a little more friction than any ball type bearing, just by design. Then there is the question about wheelies and the loading on ceramic bearings. Are they fragile?

Ed, why not put a Strange 12 bolt drop out in a 9" housing instead of replacing 9" housing with a 12 bolt housing. Class legal?

[Damn Yankee]

Originally Posted by Adger Smith

Ed, why not put a Strange 12 bolt drop out in a 9" housing instead of replacing 9" housing with a 12 bolt housing. Class legal?

I ended up with a brand new Dewco piece from a friend who was getting out and selling everything. It had every bell and option including ceramics with a Lamb support, and the price was right for me and it helped him. Only down side is the 5:22 gears will be too much as we are RPM limited at 7700, even with the 28.5 tall tires so I will need to do a gear swap.

Thanks, Andy

[SSDiv6]

Originally Posted by Adger Smith

I have wondered the same thing about the front bearings. Is there a load difference even on steel angular bearings when coming down off a wheelie. I look at tooling everday that is held in place by the locking friction of angles. When an angled bearing has load applied I would think it has to create a little more friction than any ball type bearing, just by design. Then there is the question about wheelies and the loading on ceramic bearings. Are they fragile?

Adger, you are correct, the static loads are way higher on an tapered bearing when compared to a roller bearing. The current offerings require the front hub to be machined to fit the roller bearing. The friction is way less in a roller bearing when compared to a tapered bearing. If the ceramic bearing is not an offshore piece, but a bearing manufactured to the right specifications and materials, it should not fracture after a wheel stand. The loads after the car lands as a result of a wheel stand are way higher in a tapered bearing when compared to a roller bearing.

[Adger Smith]

oops!