Tests were conducted to measure the dynamic characteristics for two types of five-shoe tilt pad journal bearings having a load between pads configuration. Dynamic measurements of the two bearings are presented for 5000, 7000 and 12,000 rpm, and unit loads ranging from 126 kPa to 1724 kPa. Comparisons are made between the measured data and the theoretical prediction. Test data includes fluid film stiffness and damping, with calculated uncertainties and the measured radial stiffness of the pivots. The measured dynamic characteristics show the bearings differ with respect to stiffness and damping, while the measured radial pivot stiffnesses were nearly identicalPresented as a Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers paper at the ASME/STLE Tribology Conference in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 26–28, 1998