Clevite Engine Connecting Rod Bearing Set

Clevite Connecting Rod Bearing Sets: Engineered for Every RPM

When engine builders talk about rod bearings, one name comes up repeatedly: Clevite. Few brands have shaped the engine bearing industry as profoundly, and nowhere is that influence more evident than in their Engine Connecting Rod Bearing Sets. From weekend warriors building a street-performance small block to professional racing teams assembling competition engines, Clevite's connecting rod bearings are a go-to solution backed by decades of engineering refinement.

The TriMetal™ Advantage

The backbone of Clevite's rod bearing lineup is its legendary TriMetal™ construction. Most Clevite performance bearings use a special TriMetal™ design, first developed 50 years ago and perfected over time — a copper-lead alloy is added to a steel back, which is then electroplated with a white metal surface layer that produces an ideal degree of conformability, embedability, slipperiness, and fatigue resistance. This three-layer architecture is what separates a Clevite rod bearing from a generic replacement part.

On the durability front, the numbers are telling. Clevite TriMetal™ engine bearings have as much as 40% better seizure resistance than competitors' engine bearings and can withstand over 60% higher loads for extended periods.

Choosing the Right Series for Your Build

Clevite's rod bearing catalog is organized into distinct series, each tuned to a specific application profile. Understanding the differences helps engine builders make the right call the first time:

• H-Series TriMetal™: H-Series TriMetal™ bearings are engineered with a medium level of eccentricity, high crush, and enlarged chamfers for greater crankshaft fillet clearance — making them an excellent starting point for high-performance street and competition builds.
• HC-Series TriMetal™: HC-Series TriMetal™ bearings offer the strength and durability of the legendary Clevite TriMetal™ bearing construction coupled with the latest in coating technology.
• F-Series TriMetal™: F-Series TriMetal™ bearings were developed for high performance and competition engine applications and feature an improved overlay that increases seizure resistance 126% over conventional H-Series TriMetal bearings.
• P-Series TriMetal™: P-Series parts are the oldest series of Clevite 77 high performance bearings, with rod bearings in this series typically having the greatest amount of eccentricity. Use P-Series rods where extremely high RPMs cause severe rod bore close-in.
• M-Series: These are special-purpose bearings featuring a nominal .006" thick babbitt lining on a hardened steel back, with rod bearings slightly narrowed at one end to provide extra fillet clearance without the need for a large chamfer.

BiMetal Options for Modern Engines

As OEM manufacturers have increasingly moved to aluminum-based bearings, Clevite answered with a modern BiMetal line. Clevite BiMetal engine bearings feature a 100% lead-free aluminum silicon bi-metal material with 60% more silicon than the leading competitor's bi-metal material for better conditioning of journal surfaces, offering greater wear resistance and greater seizure resistance. This makes them an ideal direct-replacement solution for engines originally spec'd with aluminum bearings.

Race-Proven, Street-Trusted

Look inside most winning Indy cars and NASCAR vehicles and you'll find Clevite engine bearings. Since the development of the first precision insert-type bearing in 1929, Clevite bearings set the pace for engineering quality and today exceed industry standards for strength and durability. That race-track validation isn't just marketing — it directly informs the metallurgy and tolerance standards built into every rod bearing set sold for street applications.

With 45 connecting rod bearing sets available spanning a wide range of domestic and import engine families, finding the correct Clevite rod bearing for your build — whether standard size or an undersize for a freshly ground crankshaft — is straightforward. Explore the full Clevite brand catalog or browse all Engine Connecting Rod Bearing Sets to find the right fit for your engine.