BE BackOrder...RIDICULOUS!! Next best Recommendations please?

If you're like me and have been waiting months for BE bearings, be advised that we're not any closer to getting them. After receiving the same response from all the reputable shops local to me regarding the backorder of BE bearings, I decided to call AutoTalent in LA to get some ground truth and it wasn't promising. BE bearings may not be available until July. Not sure if the COVID 19 epidemic increased the delay, but that's a long F-ing time for a highly sought after part to be unavailable. Makes me wonder if discrepancies were found in their product and they're working to correct it.

Anyhow, would WPC be the second best option? I would like to get mine done sooner than July.

I'm not surprised one bit as it seems to be the norm. I've put in an order late November and was told January of this year just be to updated again mid February. The shop in which I ordered had a waiting list of cars waiting as well and completely wiped out their stock once arrived.

As far as alternatives, the VAC/WPC's seem to be the next popular option. ACL is a slippery slope not because of quality, but simply the fact there is too much feedback and track record of BE's vs a small sample size of ACL. That said, all shops I've talked to have no issues with them, vendors also seem to feel quality is on par w/ BE or VAC and have had no issues reported from customers. On top of that, they are substantially cheaper. It's almost as one is reluctant to go w/ BE simply because this forum predominantly did so.

Supply and demand. Current state is just gonna make things worse.

I have a set but they are reserved already.

I would say VAC or ACL would be better than WPC.
I'd prefer getting a measured mixed ACL set from deansbimmer or someone similar who knows what they are doing.

I ordered them from ECS tuning mid December, they were on backorder when I purchased. They shipped about 6 weeks later when a new batch came in.

Buy ACL. I think I will try them for my next change. Did stock WPC the first change. There were no extra clearance bearings back then. Now you have 3 choices. Why pay triple and wait months?

You may want to sign up for in stock alerts. Ordered a set last October from vendor A after I was told the bearings were in stock and ready to ship. Late December I received an in stock alert from bimmerworld, I ordered and it shipped the same day. Vendor A ultimately returned my interest-free loan.

Just finished the swap and starting the buttoning up process.

vac

I am not sure Lang measures. Rather, it sells you half of a standard set and half of an extra clearance set, relying on ACL tolerances.

Yeah they were out of stock a few months ago when I had mine done, just get VACs

https://www.m3post.com/forums/showpost.php?p=25681122&postcount=1386

Here's some VAC bearings with 52k on them.

SAMM3Y wrote

Was that your take away from the link I posted? If that's the case and they're comparing themselves to BE, it's a bold statement. Atleast one gets the piece of mind they were measured by a third party I guess..

There were a couple of posts on this in the last few months that you could search for. My recollection is that someone asked Lang. Maybe Lang changed since then? With BE you are paying 3x as much because BE remeasures and sorts. Buy from ACL or VAC or BMW and you get the bearings within the manufacturer’s tolerance range, which is good enough for replacement rod bearings but not good enough for building a performance engine from the start. You could probably buy a quality used digital anvil micrometer for $150 and measure ACL yourself and still spend less than BE. Of course if you did not like the measurements and wanted to do more mixing and matching you would want to buy a set of bearings.

skip the shit get them from vac, everyone goes through this delay with BE bearings yet nobody wants to venture out because the heavy hitters on M3post praise them so much.

amrazM wrote

skip the shit get them from vac, everyone goes through this delay with BE bearings yet nobody wants to venture out because the heavy hitters on M3post praise them so much.

So far they have come out of engines looking good. Apparently you can get good increased clearance bearings from other companies but ideally you want to measure them to make sure.

BE was out of stock when my car was done, didn't want to wait, went with ACL instead. There's other options, just do your research.

Call Malek at MRF engineering and have him do the job with VAC bearings

I'm having Kings done right now. Don't see a need to wait on BE.

simpleM3 wrote

If you're like me and have been waiting months for BE bearings, be advised that we're not any closer to getting them. After receiving the same response from all the reputable shops local to me regarding the backorder of BE bearings, I decided to call AutoTalent in LA to get some ground truth and it wasn't promising. BE bearings may not be available until July. Not sure if the COVID 19 epidemic increased the delay, but that's a long F-ing time for a highly sought after part to be unavailable. Makes me wonder if discrepancies were found in their product and they're working to correct it.

Anyhow, would WPC be the second best option? I would like to get mine done sooner than July.

There's a reason BE is the most popular option. However, as you've noted, there's often supply issues. In spite of it, BE orders more than double the product each year, and they end up being sold out by the time shells arrive. How does this happen? Very long lead times are the cause. The lead times are supposed to be 4-months, but sometimes end up being 8-months.

Does COVID-19 affect BE deliveries? Yes. Currently the next batch of product is either stuck at the warehouse, or stuck during the coating process. Due to COVID-19, there is nobody there to finish this order and getting answers has been very difficult -- also because the people who give the answers are furloughed and not available to answer.

Is there a problem with BE product? Definitely not.

People wait a long time for BE bearings... because they're worth it

WPC doesn't give you the clearance

VAC has changed their explanation of what they're selling a few times. And has sent forum members bearings without their parting lines sanded twice IIRC. Aaaandd they cost THE SAME.


Unless you can get one of the other options that has been measured by a reputable source I would not bother. You do rod bearings once, you might as well do it right

amrazM wrote

skip the shit get them from vac, everyone goes through this delay with BE bearings yet nobody wants to venture out because the heavy hitters on M3post praise them so much.

I resonate with this post. I don't do hype and I feel like BE, although great I'm sure, has too much hype behind them. I'm wouldn't argue BE quality, but the question that really needs to be asked is it necessary to get BE and if so why? Similar to the coilover debate. Yes Ohlins is at the top, but do I need Ohlins if i'm mostly daily driving w/ a few spirited runs here and there, no i don't. Do I need BE on a stock motor with original OE bearings sitting at 117k miles? Doubtful!

Not familiar with ACL or VAC so ill do a little research

simpleM3 wrote

I resonate with this post. I don't do hype and I feel like BE, although great I'm sure, has too much hype behind them. I'm wouldn't argue BE quality, but the question that really needs to be asked is it necessary to get BE and if so why? Similar to the coilover debate. Yes Ohlins is at the top, but do I need Ohlins if i'm mostly daily driving w/ a few spirited runs here and there, no i don't. Do I need BE on a stock motor with original OE bearings sitting at 117k miles? Doubtful!

Not familiar with ACL or VAC so ill do a little research

because BE:

-came up with the rod bearing clearance for the S65 in the first place
-has published massive amounts of data regarding their bearings
-only people who have measured the oil flow of the engine before/after
-only people that do 100% inspection of the bearings that go out to people
-the only people who have measured and published out of round caps when using regular ARP bolts in the S65. This already came up in the S54 so I'm not surprised to hear it, but it's still a point

Meanwhile you have VAC that has changed their mind of what they sell like four times. Someone with more time than me actually screenshotted all the times they've changed what they say they sell and posted it. I'm not digging it up, I don't care enough.

Now ACL and King bearing also exist, again with very little information out there of what they are.


So, if I were having my engines rod bearings replaced somewhere that knows what they're doing -I assure you there are much less of these shops than one would think- and that outfit is going to measure the clearance on every bearing with something better than plastigauge, then ok, you're probably going to be fine.

Personally? I've done 9 or 10 S65s and as I don't have the right measuring tools I will not install something that is not BE.


In the end, opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. Most are completely worthless. Hell, it's 2020 and people are still sleeving S65s! So best of luck

Malek in CA has done well over 200, all with VAC. Deansbimmer has probably done that many and uses ACL when BE are unavailable. There are options.

Fair. Unlike most you have some quantitative data to back it up. Part of the frustration for guys like me just looking to save our motors is that not everyone's opinions or comments are supported by no-shit evidence, facts or experience for that matter. Hence why we're led to challenge it.

What's really baffling is how BMW hasn't addressed the clearance issue. Given the severity of having the bearing fail on you, I can't wrap my head around the idea that the bearings issue is this prevalent in the S65 motor, yet their fix only addressed the coating or whatever it was they did from 2011 on. Their the geniuses right? Why not address it? or did they and has that been overshadowed by the aftermarket? Anyhow, my questions are rhetorical. Its a f-ing conspiracy

SYT_Shadow wrote

because BE:

-came up with the rod bearing clearance for the S65 in the first place
-has published massive amounts of data regarding their bearings
-only people who have measured the oil flow of the engine before/after
-only people that do 100% inspection of the bearings that go out to people
-the only people who have measured and published out of round caps when using regular ARP bolts in the S65. This already came up in the S54 so I'm not surprised to hear it, but it's still a point

Meanwhile you have VAC that has changed their mind of what they sell like four times. Someone with more time than me actually screenshotted all the times they've changed what they say they sell and posted it. I'm not digging it up, I don't care enough.

Now ACL and King bearing also exist, again with very little information out there of what they are.


So, if I were having my engines rod bearings replaced somewhere that knows what they're doing -I assure you there are much less of these shops than one would think- and that outfit is going to measure the clearance on every bearing with something better than plastigauge, then ok, you're probably going to be fine.

Personally? I've done 9 or 10 S65s and as I don't have the right measuring tools I will not install something that is not BE.


In the end, opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one. Most are completely worthless. Hell, it's 2020 and people are still sleeving S65s! So best of luck

simpleM3 wrote

amrazM wrote

skip the shit get them from vac, everyone goes through this delay with BE bearings yet nobody wants to venture out because the heavy hitters on M3post praise them so much.

I resonate with this post. I don't do hype and I feel like BE, although great I'm sure, has too much hype behind them. I'm wouldn't argue BE quality, but the question that really needs to be asked is it necessary to get BE and if so why? Similar to the coilover debate. Yes Ohlins is at the top, but do I need Ohlins if i'm mostly daily driving w/ a few spirited runs here and there, no i don't. Do I need BE on a stock motor with original OE bearings sitting at 117k miles? Doubtful!

Not familiar with ACL or VAC so ill do a little research

It is unfortunate there is so much misinformation and BS out there like this.

Bearings are precision components. Springs and shocks are not. The comparison is not apt at all.

BE is more expensive for sure. Why? Because they have added value that people are willing to pay for.

There are other options now. VAC (we hope), ACL, King (not really suitable for factory rods). It is your money. Make your own choice. Just remember that every part that is manufactured has a tolerance range. BE at least removes this variable by hand matching every set. VAC, ACL and King do not. If you do not see value in guaranteeing that your bearings are properly sized, then buy the cheaper option. Hell, buy OE if proper clearance is not a priority.

And at the end of the day, is $400 more really the end of the world when opening up an engine that will cost, at a minimum, $10k to replace? Seems an odd place to save a few bucks.