Here at Cad Company, we have torture tested a variety of different rings and bearings under a wide range of conditions. In some cases, a specific product is recommended over others - but not always what you'd expect. < < Read More > >

Our Policy – We only sell rings and bearings that we use in our turn-key engines, and are willing to stand behind with one of the best warranties in the crate engine business.

Brands – In our experience, there is not any real benefit of one brand over another in most cases (and many of them are the same parts in a different box, anyway) – we simply don’t offer the ones you don’t want. Some sizes are only available in 1 or 2 brands. If you want a specific brand, we would be happy to accommodate you (if they are available in the size you need), but be aware that specifying a brand may result in a higher price, as we don’t have the benefit of negotiating the best price for a volume order.

Cam Bearings – Cam bearings are not all created equal. Durabond bearings are the best choice for most builds, but there are situations where something different is called for. The Cad Company exclusive grooved cam bearings (pictured) are made to our specs by Durabond. They incorporate a groove around the outside to allow oil to flow around the the second hole, which allows oil to enter the bearing on the loaded side, decreasing the chance of bearing failure due to high spring pressure. They also have an oil clearance closer to the middle of the factory spec, instead of tighter like the other off-the-shelf bearings, eliminating the need to clearance the bearings during assembly. If you have a problem with the cam bearings ‘smearing’, these bearings are probably the solution.

Rod and Main Bearings – There are 2 ‘series’ of bearings available for rod bearings – ‘P’ and ‘H’. ‘H’ bearings are generally intended for race cars. They are a harder alloy, and will survive more abuse in the way of things like being hammered on by detonation, but they tend to result in increased crankshaft wear due to reduced embeddability. ‘Embeddability’ is the property of bearings where contaminants embed into the bearing material, and reduced embeddability means that those contaminants stay on the surface, where they can scratch the crankshaft. We do no not recommend ‘H’ series bearings for anything but the most extreme drag racing applications.

Coatings – There is a lot of contradictory information out there about the various bearing coatings available. We have not been able to verify any of these claims on dyno test engines. At this time, we do not offer coated bearings.

Rings – We prefer moly rings for most N/A applications. They seat quick, last quite well, and are (relatively) reasonably priced. Care should be taken when selecting rings – check the piston description for special ring requirements before ordering. Also, be sure to check the instructions for ring end gap that come with your pistons – those usually take precedence over recommendations found elsewhere. When in doubt, ask.