Decent bearings/suppliers

[Agroshield]

Very reluctant to use any loctite...

The furniture bolt stuff is sort-of loctite but different. The closest I have found to buy is Vibra-Tite VC3.

Vibra-Tite VC-3 Threadmate

www.vibra-tite.com

 

[atomant48]

Unbrako is a good brand.

SOC SET KNURLED CUP UNB M6X10 UNBRAKO ISO4029 3.00MM KEY HARDNESS Rc 45 MIN - Fasteners Fixings and Tools

FFT Plain Cup Point Socket Set Screws | Metric - Unbrako - Self Colour - RC45 - ISO 4029 - Grub Screw - Thousands of products available online. Free next day delivery available on orders over £50!

www.fastenersfixingsandtools.co.uk

You might be able to find some NOS GKN ones and they will be good as well.

There are lots of grub screw options (look on Misumi) and some come with blue gunge applied (like Ikea bed bolts) or a nylon insert in the side so you do not need to rely on your right arm to stop them unscrewing.

Another option is to replace a single grub screw with two shorter ones and lock the two together - this is a second method to obtain secure fastening that does not rely on (over) torquing a single item.

Got the unbrako ones and installed some last night. Seem great on first use so fingers crossed. Thanks for the steer !

 

[dyno-tron]

Re the 6003 bearings, we used these :- 6003-2Z/C3 SKF Energy Efficient Shielded

Super low drag and they lasted a whole season, only wish they did them in the size needed for the rear as well.

 

[atomant48]

Re the 6003 bearings, we used these :- 6003-2Z/C3 SKF Energy Efficient Shielded

Super low drag and they lasted a whole season, only wish they did them in the size needed for the rear as well.

I wasn’t sure on the C3 as I understood they had bigger clearance (which I assumed meant some sort of play) but I’ll take any recommendations and try a set !!

 

[timgunn1962]

As I understand it, C3 does have slightly greater clearance and tends to be used for continuous operation under load. The difference is a fraction of a gnats though.

We use them on blowers that run for weeks or months at a time and I think they are usually used in standard industrial electric motors too. We get several years of operation before needing to change the blower bearings and have motors that have done over 120,000 hours (13.7 years) on the original bearings. For a racing Kart, it's hard to imagine them being in use for long enough for the extra clearance to cause any sort of issue.

 

[dyno-tron]

The main thing with the high efficiency bearings is the lower drag compared to the cheapos, added to low drag toe setting, correct chain alignment etc. etc. all adds up to a bit more speed on the straights. It’s only a bit but a nose in front wins the corner :-)