QA1 Bearings

[cazman]

Of the COM style press/snap ring style bearings which is the best for prolonged street use?
I have emailed them without much help yet, just wondering if any one has a better idea on what would be better to use for the rear uprights etc.


Also has anyone had any experience with the Midwest Rod ends, the teflon lined ones in particular?

[Matt93SE]

I haven't heard great things about Midwest parts.... good prices, but the lifespan/quality just don't make it worth the price.

Personally I use stuff from Rod End Supply. they look just like the COM stuff, but have no idea what brand they actually are.

[shoes59]

The bearings that came with my rear suspension arms were junk so I replaced them with QA1 and Aurora units before I even installed the arms.

[cazman]

I heard back from QA1, they said all COM bearings are Race use only, they dont have any street style versions (like an endura etc)

Any ideas?

[Def]

You won't find a spherical bearing that's meant for "street usage." I don't know why they said their Endura line would be suited for street use either though, as they have essentially the same construction(teflon lined, chrome plate ball).

Rod ends and spherical bearings are a wear item no matter how you look at it. The practical point where they start to really wear out when properly spec'd out is probably in the tens of thousands of miles, if not further. So I'd say in the real world the issue of durability when using all rod ends/spherical bearings is a mostly moot point once a car gets to that level of "seriousness."

A few thousand miles here or there of street usage isn't going to wear out any off the shelf, well known bearings.

[cazman]

You won't find a spherical bearing that's meant for "street usage." I don't know why they said their Endura line would be suited for street use either though, as they have essentially the same construction(teflon lined, chrome plate ball).

Rod ends and spherical bearings are a wear item no matter how you look at it. The practical point where they start to really wear out when properly spec'd out is probably in the tens of thousands of miles, if not further. So I'd say in the real world the issue of durability when using all rod ends/spherical bearings is a mostly moot point once a car gets to that level of "seriousness."

A few thousand miles here or there of street usage isn't going to wear out any off the shelf, well known bearings.

Yeah, ill forward this onto my customer, Sorta what I was thinking anyway.

[Def]

If it makes him feel any better, I do work in the aerospace field with all sorts of expensive spherical bearings/rod ends. So my experience is not only with cars, but with bearings far more expensive than anything anybody here has likely dealt with(i.e. each bearing costing thousands of dollars each).

In fact the Aussies will be getting some of the stuff I work on now in a few years(the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter).