12 replies to this topic

[Jeff Wasilko]

Mazda's been selling them for a while. Any feedback? How are they working?

[Keith Andrews]

I've been running one for 4 race weekends now.  I noticed grease on the inside of my wheels the first or second weekend and didn't know which corner of the car it was coming from.  It ended up being the Mazdaspeed HD front hub.  I've never had a front hub do that before this one.  My last two races the OAT was mid 90's, hot.  There was enough grease on the inside of my wheel and brake caliper at my last race that I took it off the car and took it apart.  The grease was very thin basically liquified (creamy color).  What was remaining on the bearings was minimal.  Imagine dipping a ball bearing in liquid and installing it in the bearing cage.  I don't feel it would have lasted much longer with that amount of grease remaining.  

 

It did not fail but I would monitor them closely. 

[Steve Scheifler]

As a lubricants expert has reminded me more than once, more grease in/on bearings is not necessarily better. A film of the right lube is everything. You want enough to be sure that is maintained, but packing in as much as you possibly can isn't necessary or even desirable. I still use quite a bit. Old habits and the illusion of "insurance".

Unfortunately, I think others have concluded that higher precision balls are not significantly extending the life of the race, which is what generally fails. I focus on a higher protection grease at possibly a very small increase in rolling resistance.

[Brandon]

Here's as much of an unbiased report as I can come up with.

 

2014:

Bought two new hubs, installed per my usual torque spec of 135# (123-159 is in the FSM), ran a double weekend (2x 30m qual, 2x 45m race) and about 30 minutes into the last race my LF hub started growling (lots of right turns for this track).  Would have finished on the podium but ended up 7th.

Called MSP the Monday after, informed them of the situation, they said to return it to them for review by the secondary builder (ProParts I believe); off it went.

2 weeks go by, radio silence, so I call them.  They note they haven't received an update but would buzz PP and get back with me.

2 days later, get a call back with PP's report - no internal damage to any hub components (balls & race looked good), they repacked & tested torque values, went in 10# increments from 120+ and there was still a bit of play at 150# so said "torque to 160#".

MSP sent me back a single hub (PP didn't get the returned one back to me in time for my next event).

I have 3 MSP enduro hubs.

 

2015:

Still running the same pair of hubs (RF with full 2014 season & first 2015 weekend; LF with full 2014 season minus the first double & first 2015 weekend).

Have not detected any noise or movement at this point but the car is still on the trailer from this weekend.

Bought two more before this last event just in case they went tango-uniform (TU).

I have 5 MSP enduro hubs now.

 

I plan on calling MSP to see if they (or PP) offer a repacking service as the grease used isn't available at retail.  It may be the same stuff that Saul Speedwell has commented on/about (Mobile-1?) that only comes in like 45# drums or something...

 

Anyway - I'm happy with them (went and bought 4x of them!) and hope to keep using them instead of repacking each season and hoping & praying.

[Keith Andrews]

I wonder what type of grease they use?  The only thing I could find that has that white creamy appearance was Krytox, but everything I read about that stuff said it was bullet proof for our application.  The stuff in my hub definitely couldn't take the heat.

[Jeff Wasilko]

Here's as much of an unbiased report as I can come up with.

2015:

Still running the same pair of hubs (RF with full 2014 season & first 2015 weekend; LF with full 2014 season minus the first double & first 2015 weekend).

Have not detected any noise or movement at this point but the car is still on the trailer from this weekend.

Bought two more before this last event just in case they went tango-uniform (TU).

I have 5 MSP enduro hubs now.

 

I plan on calling MSP to see if they (or PP) offer a repacking service as the grease used isn't available at retail.  It may be the same stuff that Saul Speedwell has commented on/about (Mobile-1?) that only comes in like 45# drums or something...

 

Anyway - I'm happy with them (went and bought 4x of them!) and hope to keep using them instead of repacking each season and hoping & praying.

 

Thanks for the update!

[Muda]

LF lasted two weekends.

Grease gone from outer race which turned to gravel.

Don't know what they are using but what was left was almost clear, not sticky and in little chunks.

Looked like the stock stuff.

Learn to pack your own.

[Keith Andrews]

FWIW - I just opened up a new Blueprinted front hub from Mazdaspeed.  It has different grease than the first one I bought a couple months ago.  The grease in them now is clear and the amount of grease seems much more appropriate.  The first one had a ton of (white/off white) grease in between the two bearing races just packed in there.  This is very different, rev 2 ????

 

[BustedKnuckle]

Any hub that makes it through a 12 hr and then goes a few more events after that is good in my book

[RazerX]

Sorry old good hubs properly 'cared' for lasted longer.  I have run many of the 25 hour races and we used to get the whole race on a hub.  But in the last two years that is not the case regardless of the source.  Some better than others.  There was a HUGE thread on the hubs failing that covered most of this.  Search the forum. 

[Bruce Wilson]

Engineers...

 

What do you want, fast or something to cry about

[Tom Hampton]

That's a false dichotomy.  Both.

[Ron Alan]

Dic ho to my?