I posted this on another site, but will post here too for opinions.....
I am not a certified engineer, but have done engineering work in the past & was a product designer for years before I became a software product consultant For Siemens PLM Software. But I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night (LOL).
But Here is my thoughts/concerns.
I worked as a designer for about 5 years for a company that makes turbo chargers. One of the parts in the turbos I worked on was a thrust plate. It looks like this:
The three pads near the center are the areas where the mating part rides on. The recessed area around them is the area where oil travels. The 3 pads actually have a slight ramp on the leading edge that allows the oil to be “pulled” into the area where the pressure is applied to lubricate it. Obviously the turbo spins in one direction so the oil is constantly pulled onto the pads where it is needed.
These bushings for the rockers also have an oil groove to get the oil between the shaft & the bronze bushing. BUT, this bushing doesn’t make a full rotation around the shaft, so the oil never gets to the bottom side of the shaft where all the pressure is being applied. With only rotating (guessing) 15 degrees, the oil is not drawn down to where it is required, and with the force being applied at the bottom will push together tight & not allow the oil to penetrate.
If you look at standard small block chevy rocker arm pivot balls, they have oil grooves on them that allow the oil to get to the area where there is the most pressure.
So even though I like this design compared to the ones with all the little needle bearings, I’m not convinced these are going to work much better.
That’s just my opinion.