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Jake, I agree totally - the criticisms you received upon introduction of the retrofit bearing come with the introduction of any new technology that has not yet been proven on many vehicles over many miles in real world usage. It is the same criticism that is now being levelled at the DOF (and at the new IMS Solution).
I still maintain that for owners of double-row bearing engines, the retrofit is probably the most cost effective answer. For owners of single-row bearing cars, I suspect that the retrofit with your recommended replacement schedule is likely the most cost effective answer - although with better evidence on aeration, I would be inclined to see DOF as an important augmentation to a bearing upgrade/replacement. I also believe that for those for whom money is no object, the new IMS Solution is likely the best available technology, in spite of the fact that it has not been tested on the road by a large number of cars over a large number of years: the technology just makes sense to me. By the same token, I also believe that for owners of the larger single-row bearing engines, which cannot be replaced without engine tear-down, DOF seems like a low-risk upgrade. Lets face it, even if it leads to some premature replacements of the A/OS (and that is a big if, bearing in mind that the A/OS failures tend to be based upon failure, over time, of the internal rubber flap), it is much cheaper than complete engine replacement if the IMS bearing fails. As to minor oil pressure variances, again I believe that the engines were designed to accomodate significant variations in oil pressure as occurs naturally depending upon various factors such as oil viscosity, oil temperature, RPM's etc.
Customers who purchased your retrofit bearings at the time of their introduction did so not because it had been proven on many cars over many years, but because the technology made sense. Today, after many years and many units, that logic has been supported in real world usage. I believe that we are in exactly the same position today with respect to the introduction of the DOF and IMS Solution as those who originally purchased the retrofit: prospective customers must look to logic, risk, costs associated with those risks and the particular engine that they have. It may be, as I ssupect, that one size (or one solution) does not fit all.
Brad
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