I'm getting a sleeved 2.0 and my shop recommends Mitsubishi OEM bearings. I know OEM are excellent but I'm interested in opinions.

Any thoughts which are best for a 2.0 with an MHI on E85 that may get upgraded to an AMS 750XP or another quick spooling high HP turbo in 1-2 years? This car will see ~12-16 track days per year (road racing)

3 options are the following:

1. Mitsubishi OEM
2. Cosworth
3. ACL Race

Please rate these and let me know pros and cons. My understanding is the ACL and Cosworth (made by ACL) are softer tri-metal which can provide protection if there are issues, but require more maintenance/have shorter life

 

So, I recently went through these options and had to make the same determination about what was best for my car. I am having a fully sleeved 2.0 built to withstand 600+ HP with the intention of doing a few track days a year, as well. From what I gather, the absolute best option is to get the ACL HX rod, main, and thrust bearings. I am going to send all of them to Calico Coatings to have their CT-1 dry-film lubricant applied (it costs $100 to have everything coated and sent back) once everything has been measured out and the correct bearing size can be determined. After speaking with a few engineers and a number of different racing teams, it would seem that this specific coating appears to effectively double the life expectancy of these bearings.

A note about coatings: The CT-1 is an MoS2-based hybrid coating (I am sure that there is some other stuff in there, as well). It is purely a sacrificial coating, and most teams (not drag racing) tell me that the coating itself lasts about one full racing season under normal operating conditions. WCC and DLC coatings have also been presented to me as more durable alternatives, but these hard coatings MAY have the potential to score or damage the crank. With graphene and other alternative hard materials becoming more and more affordable, it is possible that in a few years the coating landscape will be drastically different.

I am always looking for more input on coatings, if anyone has experience and would like to share. There are literally thousands of different permutations even within the same family of coatings (dry-film lubricants, heat dispersants, heat deflectors, etc.). Hell, the Mahle pistons that I bought for this build claim to have at least three different coatings already applied to them.

 

Clevite is not a option?

 

Thanks, I'll look into those ACLs and the CT-1 option.

 

Clevite is an option but don't see it used as much with Evos in the last few years.

When I bought my Evo 8 in 2005 Clevite was the leading brand of bearing for Evos. I'm sure they're good but I wanted to narrow it down to 3.

Thanks

 

So, Clevite is made by Mahle. My understanding is that they are very similar to the ACL bearings. I looked into this, but I recall not being able to find a part number listed on MahleMotorsports for the Clevite bearings (where those for the 4g63 can be found). Also, keep in mind, Mahle makes at least 4 or 5 different piston options for the 4g63/4. There is only one for the 4b11t. Their support for this platform seems to be extremely limited.

 

I'd go with ACLs

 

Thanks, I know ACL Race are great but I'm still leaning towards Cosworths (which are ACLs) if only to match my Cosworth Rods and Pistons.