Rod Bearings: BE Bearings + ARP Bolts

[symphony-step]

What's the current consensus on these rod bearing options for a stock 2004 car?

Older threads mostly recommend OE for everything, but I will not be DIYing. Local shops prefer BE for less tight tolerances with more clearance for oil to protect, and ARP bolts because they are stronger and reusable.

Similar to Beisan for VANOS and reinforcement plates for the subframe, I'm interested in aftermarket if they meaningfully improve reliability.

[bmwfnatic]

There have been some noises on and outside of this forum of BE bearings causing some knocking motors recently for the S54.

There’s not really a clearance issue on these engines, the clearances are in line with the industry standard.

If you have M11 bolts (pre 12/2002 production) then the stock bolts must be reused and cannot be purchased from BMW. Some are not comfortable reusing the bolts and opt for ARP instead, which if torqued using a stretch gauge to the ARP spec, is documented to be OK in terms of big end bore roundness.

If you have the M10 bolts (post 12/2002 production) then you have to purchase new bolts from BMW (relatively inexpensive), these bolts require a 3-step torque-then-angle procedure, which is a bit tedious, but achieves good results in terms of big end bore roundness.
ARP does not offer bolts for the late S54 engines, they do for the Euro S50 (which some vendors unfortunately market as compatible with the S54), using these bolts in the S54 gives you an oval bore and will accelerate your rod bearing wear.

As for bearings I prefer the BMW ones, they are a known good and always measure up nicely.
ACL is an acceptable option too, especially at their price point, but measurements should always be performed, especially when installing aftermarket bearings.

[M9Seth]

I have a set of OEM bolts NIB (new in bag) pm me if interested

[Andratch]

According to bimmerworld, BE Bearings had a "bad batch" that is causing spun bearings. I'm dealing with the after effects of that now. I would say probably avoid them until the investigation is complete.

[bigjae46]

There was a lot of testing on the S65 to develop the bearings and bolts. I don't think there was much testing on the S54. So I'd rather stay OE for the S54.

[mtpktz]

According to bimmerworld, BE Bearings had a "bad batch" that is causing spun bearings. I'm dealing with the after effects of that now. I would say probably avoid them until the investigation is complete.

Do you have the correspondence from Bimmerworld? Wondering if there's a batch number for the faulty bearings. Thanks.

[Andratch]

Do you have the correspondence from Bimmerworld? Wondering if there's a batch number for the faulty bearings. Thanks.

The correspondence with Bimmerworld was via the shop that's addressing the problem. They are putting in WPC bearings instead. I will ask them if Bimmerworld shared the batch numbers when i pick up the car this week. FWIW, the bearings that 'failed' were purchased in December 2023.

[PSUEng]

There was a lot of testing on the S65 to develop the bearings and bolts. I don't think there was much testing on the S54. So I'd rather stay OE for the S54.

To this point, as I'm researching this for future work, what is the "upgrade" here by not going with OE? Not posing the question directly to you bigjae, but just generally speaking. This is the next topic I'm having to learn about, as it will coming up soon for my car.

[Slideways]

To this point, as I'm researching this for future work, what is the "upgrade" here by not going with OE? Not posing the question directly to you bigjae, but just generally speaking. This is the next topic I'm having to learn about, as it will coming up soon for my car.

No upgrade, just sizable cost difference going with ACL versus OE BMW bearings. Redish Motorsport in the UK use ACL bearings regularly.

[symphony-step]

According to bimmerworld, BE Bearings had a "bad batch" that is causing spun bearings. I'm dealing with the after effects of that now. I would say probably avoid them until the investigation is complete.

Bummer to hear, and hope everything gets sorted out with your car.

How did you know something was wrong with this bad batch of BE bearings while driving the car? Please continue to share any updates from Bimmerworld. A lot of the recent materials I've read (eg. Grassroots Motorsports) also recommend the BE-ARP combo so good to discover other opinions.

[bigjae46]

To this point, as I'm researching this for future work, what is the "upgrade" here by not going with OE? Not posing the question directly to you bigjae, but just generally speaking. This is the next topic I'm having to learn about, as it will coming up soon for my car.

Someone broke down an S65 did a lot of measuring. Some say the clearances are too tight which then gave birth to the BE bearings.

I talked to a couple of high level engineers who deal with high precision stuff in oil and gas as well as some engine builders. No one really batted an eye at those clearances, they all said why would you want to increase them?

So I have yet to find any conclusive reason to stray from OEM bearings. I’m ok with considering rod bearings as a maintenance item.

Some are not. Those who are willing to take the risk of using non-OE for a permanent fix then those people should buy BE Bearings.

[bmwfnatic]

Someone broke down an S65 did a lot of measuring. Some say the clearances are too tight which then gave birth to the BE bearings.

I talked to a couple of high level engineers who deal with high precision stuff in oil and gas as well as some engine builders. No one really batted an eye at those clearances, they all said why would you want to increase them?

I think for the S65/85 platform at some point the BE bearings conclusion became that while the clearance range provided by BMW is generally OK, and doesn’t really deviate from the industry standard.
It seemed that BMW was targeting the lower end of the range, that then paired with sometimes a bearing being marginally too large, getting paired with a marginally too large crankshaft journal, made for a combination that was actually outside of the factory tolerances. By upsizing their bearings and measuring each individual pair, they aim to avoid that. In theory at least it makes sense. In practice, who knows
Always measure, even plastigage is better than no measurement at all.


I have never used BE bearings, not available for months on end sometimes makes it not really suitable for a go-to option for customers.

[sometorque]

According to bimmerworld, BE Bearings had a "bad batch" that is causing spun bearings. I'm dealing with the after effects of that now. I would say probably avoid them until the investigation is complete.

That really sucks. I just recently replaced the rod bearings on my 03 with BE Bearings. Only managed to put 50 miles on the car since but no issues to report.

One thing I did notice that seemed somewhat interesting is that BE lists the part number for their s54 rod bearings as SP1534HK-STD-S54 on their website, but Turner/ECS has them listed as 1534F. The box mine came in referenced part number 1534F and no mention of part number SP1534HK-STD-S54. Wondering if perhaps one part number supersedes the other, or if there is in fact two variants of rod bearings from BE. I emailed them to ask about this.

[Chas3n]

According to bimmerworld, BE Bearings had a "bad batch" that is causing spun bearings. I'm dealing with the after effects of that now. I would say probably avoid them until the investigation is complete.

How long ago did your order? Sorry to hear


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[Andratch]

How long ago did your order? Sorry to hear


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My bearings were ordered December 2023.