Changing bearings for your High performance engine
Engine builders have reported back to HM Elliott that they have ran coated bearings three times longer than uncoated bearings in their high performance engines. This really depends on the conditions the engine is operating in, for example, dirt racing engines will not be able to go as long as a hot rod engine. The dirt and dust from dirt racing creates a harsh environment that is extremely taxing on a racing engine. Too high of oil temperature may cause the bearings to lose some crush and not fit properly in the housing bore anymore. If this happens the bearings should be changed. Bearings are not that expensive to replace compared to the cost of other engine components that may fail due to bad engine bearings. NASCAR engine get rebuilt after every race and NHRA engines get Rebuilt after every pass but grassroots racers may have their engine rebuilt every 1,000 laps or just once a year. Those are the engines that need to be taken a closer look at, at all times. Depending on the division the bearings are normally replaced every time the engine is rebuilt. At the short track level of racing, even though you don’t make as much horsepower or turn as many RPM’s as an NHRA engine.
