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View Poll Results: What Rod bearing did you use or going to use?
Original Genuine BMW Rod Bearings 8 29.63%
WPC Treated Genuine BMW Rod Bearings 13 48.15%
VAC Performance Coated Rod Bearing 4 14.81%
Other 2 7.41%
Voters: 27. You may not vote on this poll

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      02-03-2020, 08:39 PM   #1
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Which Rod Bearing did you use?

So going to be doing the rod bearing in the coupe next month and wondered which bearing you guys used. I was planning to do the WPC treated bearings but my mechanic recommended the VAC Coated. Looks like the VAC kit is $480 with the ARP bolts and the WPC kit with ARP bolts is $600. I started to read about the difference between the 2 and honestly I'm more confused now than before. I know it comes down to opinion so what yours?
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      02-04-2020, 06:20 AM   #2
///Mcoupe
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I need to know as well. I read alot too and it looks like the VAC bearings are pretty tough as some supercharged cars showing no wear at all after 20-30k km. They are also the best value but whats an extra 100-200$ for peace of mind if other bearings are better...

I hope others share their experiences
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      02-04-2020, 08:40 AM   #3
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Not to complicate the matter further.....

I have not done mine yet FWIW, but I know a lot of the local car club guys with e46 and e92 M3s have replaced theirs with BE bearings. However, a not insignificant number of them also swear by the OEM ones since a) aftermarket ones provide a false sense of security and b) you keep tabs on your oil reports with OEM bearings, and are more likely to catch an issue.

An opinion on which bearing to use is like an asshole. Everyone has one! haha
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      02-04-2020, 09:51 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ///Mcoupe View Post
I need to know as well. I read alot too and it looks like the VAC bearings are pretty tough as some supercharged cars showing no wear at all after 20-30k km. They are also the best value but whats an extra 100-200$ for peace of mind if other bearings are better...

I hope others share their experiences
"Tough" is the last thing I want on my bearings. Bearings need to be softer than the crank journals in order to function properly as the sacrificial component. Else, you'll just be wearing away your expensive crankshaft!

My vote is OE or WPC treated OE bearings. I'm against any added coatings as those will reduce the clearance on the already tight tolerance that is on our engine. The other issue I have with VAC or other coated bearings is the material used - what is it? You'll probably lose the use of oil analysis to look for wear because you don't know what to look for - it will probably no longer be lead!

OP, if cost is an issue, ACL is a good alternative to OE => https://store.langracing.com/acl-rod...mw-e46-m3-s54/

Last edited by XMetal; 02-06-2020 at 12:35 PM..
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      02-04-2020, 07:06 PM   #5
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WPC treated OEM bearings and OEM bolts. Do the vac oil pump sprocket, 034 Motorsport motor mounts and updated motor mount arm bolts while your in there.
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      02-06-2020, 09:21 AM   #6
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I can’t remember off the top of my head what I bought, but I’m not convinced it matters so much. I’ve accepted that these are basically a wear item, and will need to come out before too long anyway just out of prudence. The state of my OE’s was terrifying lol
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      02-06-2020, 09:25 AM   #7
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When did folks do this? I am approaching 84K miles and the car is tracked 3-4 days a year, budgeting for a VANOS and rod bearing overhaul soon...
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      02-06-2020, 11:46 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by yousefnjr View Post
I can’t remember off the top of my head what I bought, but I’m not convinced it matters so much. I’ve accepted that these are basically a wear item, and will need to come out before too long anyway just out of prudence. The state of my OE’s was terrifying lol
I have come to the same conclusion and just accept the nature of this motor.


Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Zed View Post
When did folks do this? I am approaching 84K miles and the car is tracked 3-4 days a year, budgeting for a VANOS and rod bearing overhaul soon...
Here's what my non-tracked car looked like at ~55k => https://www.zpost.com/forums/showthr...ht=rod+bearing
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      02-06-2020, 05:03 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Zed View Post
When did folks do this? I am approaching 84K miles and the car is tracked 3-4 days a year, budgeting for a VANOS and rod bearing overhaul soon...
Here are mine with 58k grandpa miles


https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=24477227
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      02-06-2020, 09:59 PM   #10
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And mine at 120+k. Lots of easy highway miles by the previous owner.

I’m in the WPC camp based on my Indy tech’s reco.

https://www.zpost.com/forums/showpos...6&postcount=11
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      02-07-2020, 10:50 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Zed View Post
When did folks do this? I am approaching 84K miles and the car is tracked 3-4 days a year, budgeting for a VANOS and rod bearing overhaul soon...
Heh I happen to have this handy right now as I keep it at my work desk as an ornament. I believe I was a bit over 80k at the time. Sleep well

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      02-07-2020, 11:30 AM   #12
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Looks like it is time to start sending Blackstone Labs samples at oil changes...
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      02-07-2020, 11:53 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 86Zed View Post
Looks like it is time to start sending Blackstone Labs samples at oil changes...
If you have no prior history or oil analysis data, doing one right now won't be much of help. If you read my thread, you will understand why. At your mileage and usage, I would just bite the bullet and change the bearings. Otherwise, you're just pressing your luck at this point - IMHO.
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      02-07-2020, 12:07 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal View Post
If you have no prior history or oil analysis data, doing one right now won't be much of help. If you read my thread, you will understand why. At your mileage and usage, I would just bite the bullet and change the bearings. Otherwise, you're just pressing your luck at this point - IMHO.
Certainly digging through that thread (and this one) and amassing all information I can.

Truth be told the pictured painted online and what I hear from race/performance shops surveying 100's of S54 engine cars could not be more different. Outfits and people I trust are less inclined to jump way out front of this issue with preventative maintenance at low miles. As my mileage increases my comfort is certainly wearing thinner and thinner.
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      02-20-2020, 03:35 PM   #15
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I am going to go with BE or WPC because these have copper core so Blackstone can pick up the issue more accurately. I believe BE bearing was designed for s65 and s85 to fix the bearing clearance issue. Some people pointed out the bearing issue on the S54 isn't its tight clearance but its small size. So regardless of what bearings we use, the only surefire way is either mod the crank and use big bearings, or keep and eye out and replace them every now and then. I am going with the latter.

I am planning to use the ecs be rod bearing kit or the ecs wpc rod bearing kit. The oil filter looks shitty. I need to look into it.

Last edited by Intentional Brown Stain; 02-20-2020 at 03:49 PM..
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      12-12-2020, 10:49 PM   #16
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Had mine replaced by Malek at MRF.
Mileage was just under 50K.

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      12-13-2020, 10:01 AM   #17
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I got mine done using BE bearings with ARP bolts
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      12-13-2020, 10:55 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rsuhandy View Post
Had mine replaced by Malek at MRF.
Mileage was just under 50K.

Those look pretty bad for 50K miles. What year is your car? I'm starting to conclude that the latter years are worst with bearings, which is the opposite of my original assumption - perhaps laxing on the assembly specs in the latter years of productions?
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      12-13-2020, 10:57 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XMetal View Post
Those look pretty bad for 50K miles. What year is your car? I'm starting to conclude that the latter years are worst with bearings, which is the opposite of my original assumption - perhaps laxing on the assembly specs in the latter years of productions?
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      12-14-2020, 10:53 AM   #20
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I went with WPC treated bearings. These are my original bearings after being replaced with 140k miles on them, I've seen worse with less miles on them.

I also don't think there's enough data out there to conclude which option is better than the other. Is anyone on their 3rd set of bearings to see what the 2nd set looked like after x amount of miles?
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      12-14-2020, 12:11 PM   #21
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Went with OEM everything. Saw a few threads were guys have tried aftermarket, and it still showed "some" wear second time around.

I've just accepted that this is going to be an item I keep replacing throughout the lifetime of the car. Luckily, I don't drive the car that often it's OK.
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      12-14-2020, 07:47 PM   #22
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Oem. Z4m coupe - 55000 km. Replaced with oem. Lots of city stop and go.
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