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Random question-

Exotic materials and specialty bearings aside, are the metal-shielded bearings that Tamiya includes in their kits of any higher/better quality than what you can get from Avid/Acer/Boca/etc? (I realize that 'better' is highly subjective without data)

Internal monologue #1: "Tamiya is all about quality so even the standard bearings are quality Japanese made pieces."
-or-
Internal monologue #2: "Tamiya buys standard bearings in bulk from the lowest bidder from any one of their Asian neighbors. They are basically a commodity and only need to be so good."

I want to believe #1 but I can't imagine #2 isn't reality. Just wondering out loud because I'm bored.

I have some. They feel like standard ABEC 3 bearings. Better than the generic ones on Amazon and Ebay but not equal to Avid or Acer, and definitely not on par with Boca.

Since everything's from China now, I'd imagine Tamiya's modern bearing offerings are no different. I certainly hope I'm wrong though! I think we all already know this but for those who may not, none of the R/C bearing businesses manufacture any bearings. They're all just distributors importing from China, and likely from the same factory as well. That's not a bad thing per se, just something to be aware of. That also doesn't automatically mean they're junk as they're beyond adequate for our application.

Yeah, I kinda figured they were all 'good enough' Chinese-made units no matter where you got them. And that's fine.

I guess that makes me feel less bad about replacing the metal-shielded bearings in my not-yet-run Sand Viper and Subaru BRAT with some rubber-sealed Fast Eddy bits.

Bottom Feeder wrote: ↑Sun Jan 09, 2022 10:55 pm Random question-

Exotic materials and specialty bearings aside, are the metal-shielded bearings that Tamiya includes in their kits of any higher/better quality than what you can get from Avid/Acer/Boca/etc? (I realize that 'better' is highly subjective without data)

Internal monologue #1: "Tamiya is all about quality so even the standard bearings are quality Japanese made pieces."
-or-
Internal monologue #2: "Tamiya buys standard bearings in bulk from the lowest bidder from any one of their Asian neighbors. They are basically a commodity and only need to be so good."

I want to believe #1 but I can't imagine #2 isn't reality. Just wondering out loud because I'm bored.

The bearings aren't going to be better for rc applications. The biggest advantage that can be had is if the bearing is oiled vs greased. Oiled bearings are much more efficient than greased ones and you can change that yourself.

Beyond that unless you are doing speed runs the differences between bearing will not impact performance. Maintenance will have a greater effect on life than construction quality.

I’ve bought some cheap bulk bearings from China and can say 100% that is not what Tamiya is doing haha. The quality of the Tamiya bearings is inline with Avid, Acer, etc which are also cheap Chinese bearings but higher in quality for certain. As with anything, you get what you pay for. Tamiya isn’t shopping at the bottom of the barrel.