Tapered Roller Bearing Hubs--IT'S HAPPENING
#222
The alternate hubs were tested last year, and held up well. “The hubs have undergone testing at multiple events, on different cars, with different drivers and multiple locations and tracks throughout the U.S. over the last year,” says Sean Hedrick, who is not only the owner of MiataCage.com, but is also a member of SCCA’s Spec Miata Advisory Committee and was involved in the testing process of these alternate hubs. “The final test was the 25 Hours [of Thunderhill] in December. Each set of hubs on the 25 hour cars had over 30 hours each on them prior to taking them off of the cars and sending them back to the manufacturer for visual and microscopic inspection.”
That's not good, well atleast you can rebuild it with a new bearing, and seal which should be easy enough to get from an auto parts store. I was hoping the teething problems would be minor after testing on them as per the above statement. I sealed my caps with rtv. I haven't benn on track with mine yet but well be the 13th, so well keep a close eye on them and report back.It's usually the outer that gives up also.
That's not good, well atleast you can rebuild it with a new bearing, and seal which should be easy enough to get from an auto parts store. I was hoping the teething problems would be minor after testing on them as per the above statement. I sealed my caps with rtv. I haven't benn on track with mine yet but well be the 13th, so well keep a close eye on them and report back.It's usually the outer that gives up also.
#223
Update on the new hubs, Mazdaspeed has no replacement bearings available. The bearings do not appear to be a popular size and therefore not readily available. I called NSK, the manufacturer of the bearings supplied with the hubs, and they said they might be able to get some out of South America. I finally found some in Europe made by Koyo of the same size. They have a 28mm bore, 68mm cup diameter and a total stack height of 19.75mm.
I also called Mark and asked him what grease he has been using during testing. He said they have been using Mobil 1 Monolith 460. Anyone here ever use it?
I also called Mark and asked him what grease he has been using during testing. He said they have been using Mobil 1 Monolith 460. Anyone here ever use it?
#229
Read above post, these were tested last yr extensively. As for reliability, these are going to have to be adjusted right, they are not preadjusted. So far [knock on wood] mine are doing fine. I would like to be able to get some spare bearings though and after talking to the NSK engineer it does have me wondering a little. STM says right now all are being used to build new hubs which they are selling all they can make. I don't quite understand as they surely knew that there would be replacement issues. Other then the brg supply issue I am happy so far and mine get used hard. Mark is on vacation at STM so well try to find out more when he gets back.
#231
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For Autocross in the prepared classes I'm pretty sure the tires for 16X11/16X12 will be faster even at lower HP figures. Also fit nicely on the ND I think with just flares maybe. NA/NB needs serious massaging of inner fenders to maintain a decent ride height and not rub the **** out of hard surfaces everywhere even though the 23.5" OD isn't that much too tall. I think a Catfish can fit taller tires without the inner finder problems.
#234
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Man. Overall, I think Mazda is really good to us in keeping our 10-15-20 year old cars running in race conditions. But this tapered roller bearing hub release is just a cluster ****. All the way around. Not what I would have expected from Mazda Motorsports.
#236
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I understand supply chain management is a thing, and it costs. Having a warehouse full of inventory is a cost. But .... there's just a big bucket of fail in the preparation for actual supply and delivery of this item.
#239
These rings are really thin. As posted above he had to press on thicker rings and then mill them down as they only need to be .020" thick. Just go down to your local hardware store and buy 2 of the brass strips 12" x 1/4" x .016" . Bend them around the cap until they meet and cut to length. Mark said they ran them as is with OEM rotors in all the race cars, but I have the big brake kit and the Mini rotors have much bigger stud holes so I did this and it has worked fine. Once the wheel is tight the rotors aren't moving .
#240
Just got off the phone with STM powersports and for anyone that has ruined a brg they can supply some. They plan to have them available in stock to Mazda in a few weeks along with seals. They also have made new caps with the step machined in for the rotor. just waiting for a PO from Mazda.