Engine Bearing Design
Within any given engine a large number of bearings incorporating several design, material, and operational variations are seen. While needle, ball, or roller bearings are sometimes seen in automotive and heavy duty engines the majority of engines for these applications use primarily plain bearings. Roller bearings are receiving increasing attention due to their lower oil supply requirements and potential for reduced friction and parasitic losses in automotive engines. Increased space requirements, and in the case of connecting rod bearings increased rotating mass, must be weighed against potential attractions. Automotive engine examples of ball and roller bearing are seen in valvetrain and balancer shaft bearings. The discussion presented in the following sections will be limited only to plain bearings.