# Abec 7 Ceramic Bearings



## Orest (Jul 28, 2003)

Are all ABEC 7 the same, or are some manufacture better than others?

Are they worth the $$$ in a 525mag?


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## surffshr (Dec 8, 2003)

*abec*

It dosen't seem they are worth the money, and I have seen alot of discussion on the subject.


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Abec stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Committee. This committee assigns numbers to bearings according to the tollerances at which they are produced. In the Abec system the higher the number the tighter the tolerances. So any manufacturer labeling a bearing an abec 7 should be the same tolerance as any other abec 7. With tighter tollerance it should be smoother stay clean longer, but in turn would be a little harder to clean. However I am sure there is a point where the difference would be imperceptable to a caster. You could put an Abec 9 in your reel and it might feel the same as a 5. Below a 5 you would probably start to see some difference. So in the end I think it is just personal preference. If you got the money then sure drop some abec 9's in there, but if getting them is going to cut into your fishing funds then stick with 5's. Hope that helps a bit.

John


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## Lipyourown (May 11, 2005)

On average, they gave me about 10 more yards. I think they are worth it for $40.


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## Railroader (Apr 13, 2005)

narfpoit said:


> Abec stands for Annular Bearing Engineering Committee. This committee assigns numbers to bearings according to the tollerances at which they are produced. In the Abec system the higher the number the tighter the tolerances.....


I'd been wondering about that....Thanks John.

The knowledge found on this site never ceases to amaze.....


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

Orest said:


> Are all ABEC 7 the same, or are some manufacture better than others?
> 
> Are they worth the $$$ in a 525mag?



Rumor has it the Germans put out a much better version than the Chinese, but not wanting to start anything, no experience on my part, but was told by a supplier that he could order the chinese version, but it was suggested I wait until he could get his hands on the german version, which I elected to do.


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## dsurf (Aug 5, 2003)

*ABEC 7 Ceramic*

Having owned both ABEC 7 and ABEC 5, my experience has been the ABEC 5s will spin longer (free spinning) than the 7s....not seen any difference in actual distance.....


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

question about spinning abec 5's longer. Was this spinning a loaded spool or just the bearing itself? I think it would be like for an abec 5 by itself to spin longer because it would be looser, not as tight fitting. I think the added benefit from the 7 would be the smoothness that it can provide. It would seem tight by itself but with the weight of the spool with its slight variations in balance would be controlled better by the 7. As far as comparing german to chinese An abec 7 is still an abec 7. they may use different matterials that may wear differently but that could be the only difference. Also German bearings are produced on a different scale called "DIN" This is the German National Standards Organization There is also "ISO" International Standards Organization.
they compare like this:
ABEC ISO DIN 
ABEC 1 Normal P0 
ABEC 3 Class 6 P6 
ABEC 5 Class 5 P5 
ABEC 7 Class 4 P4 
ABEC 9 Class 2 P2 
Key:
ABEC = ABMA system for rating ball bearing tolerances
ISO = International Standards Organization
DIN = German National Standards Organization.

Like I said earlier these ratings only indicate the tolerances at which they were produced. So out of the box equal ratings mean equal bearings. But material used can make a difference in how it will continue to run. Like comparing ceramics with Stainless. Ceramics should stay smoother longer because of less friction less heat build up as well as better heat dissapation. You can actually run these bearings with no oil at all if you really want to see a fast bearing. Obviously that would be useless for fishing but fun to see anyway. Well I hope that answered a few questions without being to long and boring. Anyway enough about bearings some tell me about some fish they caught.

John


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## Mark G (Nov 15, 2004)

*narfpoit*

thanks for the input, you are obviously well schooled on the subject. 

And agree, what about those fishing reports?


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## narfpoit (Jun 16, 2004)

Not "Schooled" on it Just lots of free time at work to read on the Internet. 

John


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## Led (Feb 1, 2001)

I've tried the higher ABEC rated bearings and found that over grass they gave no increase in distance, infact they actually took distance off.

I use nothing higher than ABEC3 as the tolerance isn't too great and allows the reel to spin freely with reduced friction.

What grade bearings do Ford use in the GT40 ?


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