The OEM bearings literally looked brand new on the 190k motor when I tore it down, so they are undoubtedly great bearings. They are aluminum, similar to the Clevite AL series, which is generally MUCH more forgiving to oil starvation and incredibly long lasting. That's why OEM use them. However, AL bearings are only "recommended" for power levels up to 50% above stock. That may be marketing language to steer more people into the H Series bearings, but it's not really worth the risk for me to find out.
I'll be more than double stock power (500+ WHP), high revving for prolonged periods of time, so I think that may be asking a bit much of AL bearings. They don't have the load bearing or fatigue resistance properties and if ANYTHING gets between the bearing and the crankshaft it can be instantly catastrophic because they don't have the same embeddability. That's why the gold standard has been H series on our platform and nearly everyone putting down serious power has them.
With that said, TONS of people swear by King bearings because they're similar to H Series. However, King bearings for some cars have single piece thrust bearings while ours appear to be welded from the pictures I've seen. Welded thrust bearings come with a whole other set of possible defects including weak welds, possible weld spatter, additional clearance issues, etc. It all comes down to quality control. That's why I was trying to see if anyone has any experience with them and could chime in.
Thanks for the info.
