Upgrading to ceramic bearings for distance?

[phamf]

Ok, I thought I'd put some input since this part of the thread is getting pretty quiet.

I'm in the process of getting my ball bearings upgraded on my Ambassadeur reels. Seeing as oem bearings are ABEC3 stainless steel BB, I'd thought I'd upgrade to ceramic ABEC7 bearings pretty soon. The main reasons for my consideration to upgrade are saltwater durability and distance. I will be using TC's Yellow Rocket fuel.

Any thoughts?

[abufreak]

remember than on an ambassadeur, it's not just the spool turning but the spool, idler gear in the side plate, and the whole worm screw and levelwind. you may want to consider upgrading the screw with a dual-bearing model as well as installing a ball bearing idler gear.

my farthest-casting ambassadeurs always used bushings, but they require a lot more maintenance(oil them before every trip).

i just bought a spool kit for one of my '70s 4500C reels that disengages the levelwind while casting, it'll be interesting to see how well it works.

[phamf]

Thanks for the input. I just bought a CT frame on another forum and I'm thinking of building a frankensteiner ambassadeur.

Any thoughts on a typical abu reel vs a cs reel to convert to the ct frame?