New Avid Improved Clutch Bell Bearings

By Tyler Hooks
LiveRC.com

The Avid Clutch Bearings are designed to withstand all of the torture you throw at them. We decided to stop trying to find a happy medium of a single bearing to cover both clutches and wheels. Clutch temperatures easily reach three (3) times more than that of a wheel bearing. In order to make this bearing more suitable for high temps and insane loads, we took several measures. First, we enlarged the balls 20% from our standard $1 bearing. Second, we increased the depth of our race grooves so that there is a massive increase in the surface area for the larger balls. Third, we polished those grooves for a smoother surface that ensures the balls have the least amount of friction when experiencing those high loads. Lastly, we removed the metal ribbon cage and put in a nylon cage just like our Aura and Engine Bearings which are 9-time IFMAR World Champions. This removes the metal to metal drag during high heat expansion.

Tips

No matter the brand of clutch bearing you are using, in 2003 we discovered that you need to blow out the grease with an air compressor before the initial use. This knowledge has not seemed to have transferred from racing generations, so we urge you to share this information with anyone experiencing clutch bearing issues. Simply use an air compressor to blow the sides of each bearing for five (5) seconds and wipe the grease with a towel that comes out of the other side. The reason why this is done is that the clutch gets VERY hot. The heat ends up melting the grease and flinging it onto your clutch bell causing the shoes to slip and exponentially raising the temperature within the clutch. Within minutes, your bearings will have melted off all of the lubricants. The temperature, being twice what it should be, causes the metal to expand, the bearing to bind, and ultimately, fail.

Features

• Specifically designed for use in clutches to withstand the high heat and loads.

• Balls are 20% larger than our standard bearing line and when combined with the deeper grooves in the races,

  you get a ton more surface area to distribute the load.

• Grooves are made from 52100 and polished to a higher level of smoothness to keep friction down when at higher loads.

• Cages are made from nylon instead of steel so that during high heat expansion situations there is no chance of metal to metal rubbing which results in less drag, and better strength.