When it comes to engine bearings, Mahle is one of the most well-known and well-respected brands in both the United States and the international market. To that end, the company has released a new line of sport compact racing engine bearings in the US market under the Mahle Performance banner.
“We’re very excited to introduce this product offering,” says Jon Douglas, President of Mahle Aftermarket North America.” With our longtime focus in the sport compact and import racing markets, and established Mahle brand recognition, it was perfect timing to introduce a complete sport compact and import racing engine bearing product offering.”
Designed specifically for the needs of the high-performance Asian and European performance engines, the Mahle Performance engine bearings are aimed at the race market and are designed as such.
“All Clevite and Mahle Performance engine bearings are application-engineered based on the performance need of the engine it is going in,” says Ted Hughes, of Mahle Aftermarket, Inc. “Subtle differences may exist based on the application, but there are multiple differences between standard sport compact engine bearings, and performance bearings for the same market.”
If that sounds like Hughes is being tight-lipped, he is, in order to protect trade secrets, as there is that much high-end goodness designed into the Mahle Performance race bearing lineup. In addition to the fitment requirements of the sport compact line, we have to assume that the sport compact bearings are aimed at a much higher operating RPM range than similar domestic V8 bearings. While Hughes didn’t confirm or deny that, he did reiterate that bearings designed for the street should be used on the street, and race bearings should only be used in race applications.
“Because of the specialized nature and complexity of performance engines and engine bearings, we only recommend using the engine bearings for applications in which they are intended,” Hughes says. “That is the reason that Mahle and Clevite have pioneered multiple different series of performance engine bearings.”
With such a solid name and reputation as Mahle, we’re excited to see what they bring to the table in the sport compact and import performance engine bearing arena. After all, high-performance small-displacement engines are demanding little machines that will amaze you when you build them correctly, and punish you when you don’t, so having quality components like Mahle Performance engine bearings readily available is a huge deal for the sport compact market.