LCA bearing? Which is better

[Vasbinder]

BMR has 2 LCA bearings and Steeda has one. What is the main difference, only thing I see is Teflon lined race. Which would seem to be the best for wear. They are my next piece to order.

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[tj@steeda]

Some great reviews on the Steeda unit - https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-...spherical-bearing-2015-2016-all-555-4117.html

The Steeda LCA arm bearing features Nickel plating for lifelong durability.

The bearings are high-quality stainless steel Teflon lined pre-loaded pieces & the housing only uses 1 retaining ring and a machined stop at the backside minimizing the chances of a retaining ring failures and ultimate strength, period.

The reason our kit includes more and is less is that it's made in house. So we pass the savings on to the customer

Let me know if I can help assist with a discount code for immediate ordering!

TJ

 

[BmacIL]

The BK055 is the largest bearing available for the application, with the highest load rating. The BK081 and Steeda bearings are pretty comparable.

The handling & ride performance of all three will be quite similar/the same, and all are very high quality products.

 

[Niz55]

I got the bmr kit bk055 and they are beefy as hell.

 

[salty_stang]

Some great reviews on the Steeda unit - https://www.steeda.com/steeda-s550-...spherical-bearing-2015-2016-all-555-4117.html

The Steeda LCA arm bearing features Nickel plating for lifelong durability.

The bearings are high-quality stainless steel Teflon lined pre-loaded pieces & the housing only uses 1 retaining ring and a machined stop at the backside minimizing the chances of a retaining ring failures and ultimate strength, period.

The reason our kit includes more and is less is that it's made in house. So we pass the savings on to the customer

Let me know if I can help assist with a discount code for immediate ordering!

TJ

Yes do you still have a discount code available for the LCA spherical bearings?

 

[NGOT8R]

I have Steeda RLCA bearings in my 2019 Bullitt. They are beefy and of very high quality.

 

[Bluemustang]

Honestly I would advise anyone to skip the bearings and do the superpro bushing instead.

 

[NGOT8R]

Honestly I would advise anyone to skip the bearings and do the superpro bushing instead.

That would certainly be an easier install. When I did my bearings, I used my own shop press and arbor press insert to press out the inner sleeve and bushing from the shell (had to enlist the help of a buddy to finish the job of pressing out the outer shell and pressing in the Steeda bearing with a stronger press). There was still some residual rubber stuck to the wall of the shell, which could have been burned out very easily with a propane torch and then cleaned even further with a small wire wheel before lubing and inserting the new SuperPro bushings. This would of course only work if the SuperPro bushings are the same outer diameter as the factory shell. Definitely something to think about for those going down this road.

 

[Radiation Joe]

Honestly I would advise anyone to skip the bearings and do the superpro bushing instead.

If you are not putting in the bearing, don't bother with the poly. It's better than stock, but still binds. I put in the BK055s because if you are putting in the effort to install the bearing, you might as well put in the best one.

Now, one negative I had with both the BK055 and my Steeda front tension arm bearings, was that both were incredibly stiff for the first few hundred miles. I didn't think a spherical bearing could do that, but I noticed it with both installs. They move freely now that I have miles on them.

 

[TeeLew]

If you are not putting in the bearing, don't bother with the poly. It's better than stock, but still binds. I put in the BK055s because if you are putting in the effort to install the bearing, you might as well put in the best...

I completely disagree. The spherical will be the better on-track option, but the SuperPro Bush gives probably a 90% improvement in camber/toe control with zero headaches on the road. The bushing does not 'bind', it deflects. It's made to do that and those who discuss it the most are the ones who haven't actually used it.

 

[Radiation Joe]

I completely disagree. The spherical will be the better on-track option, but the SuperPro Bush gives probably a 90% improvement in camber/toe control with zero headaches on the road. The bushing does not 'bind', it deflects. It's made to do that and those who discuss it the most are the ones who haven't actually used it.

No surprise that you disagreed.
You are playing semantics when you say the poly bushings don't bind. It takes energy to deform the poly bushings and that is felt as a resistance to suspension articulation. The bearings allow the suspension to articulate without resistance. Of course it still moves in the wrong direction, but it isn't being resisted.
Now that I've replace virtually all the rubber that affects toe with the exception of the vertical links, I've come to the realization that there is no way to "fix" this geometry. Toe changes with suspension travel and that cannot be changed without altering the suspension pivot points and linkage distances.

 

[shogun32]

Toe changes with suspension travel and that cannot be changed without altering the suspension pivot points and linkage distances.

do you happen to have some CAD where you worked out where those different pickups need to be? What is it about Factory designers that they can't/won't determine there is a problem and fix it before it goes to metal? Or is there a very good reason to want toe changes - eg. for dumb-ass drag racing?

 

[Radiation Joe]

Finger touching nose ...
You got it.

 

[TeeLew]

It takes energy to compress a suspension spring or anti-roll bar. Are they 'binding'? No, they're just deflecting within the acceptable design range to accommodate necessary suspension motion. That's exactly what the bushings are doing. It's not magic. The actual radial travel of the arm is usually in the range of +/- 5 degrees. Maximums are at maybe 10%. You make this sound like we're seeing these massive deflection numbers. In reality, it's a few mm on the edge of the bush. I could easily move my suspension arm up and down before attaching the rest of the suspension.

I hate to break your heart on this one, but toe changes on every suspension, even live axles. If you can reduce the changes due to deflections and find something acceptable with respect to the kinematics, you're better off than 95% of the competition.

 

[Radiation Joe]

Ok, I agree with your assessment that all suspensions have some degree of toe change with travel. Of all the performance cars you have worked on in your life, where would you place the S550 chassis? I don't rate it very highly.

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