Thrust Bearing Ramping

There are a number of different ways to produce the initial thrust bearing blank, including cast bar, stamped strip, powder metal and hot forging. All thrust bearings then undergo various operations, including:

Double disc grinding;
Oil feed hole drilling, and most importantly;
The ramp sizing on the oil pads.

Oil ramping is designed to allow the thrust bearing to resist the thrust forces put on it. It is essential to understand the importance of oil ramping and the part this plays in reducing wear and prolonging the turbos life. The ramp sizing is barely visible but is an extremely important feature on the thrust bearing. It creates a wedge of oil as the thrust component rotates and helps to force the parts away from the surface, reducing wear and therefore increasing the turbos life.