135 replies to this topic

[granracing]

I've been looking at the various options primarily for front hubs, and there's quite a bit of conflicting opinions of which actually hold up to the abuse, and which tend to quickly fail.  I'll be using long studs, so if they come with that it would be nice.

 

Mazda comp hubs - $190, I've heard multiple people state they've experienced issues with the bearings going quickly.

 

Advanced Autosports - $175, Dave knows his Miata's and rents cars, so maybe that's a good option?  Anyone use his hubs?

 

NTN from Amazon - $178

 

Moog - $153

 

I'm also aware of the $600 hub but that's just not in my budget.

 

For the rears, just go with the typical auto parts store version?

 

Lastly, what type of grease do you suggest?  I've heard not Red Line, so?

 

Thank you!

[OrangeCrush86]

I think Advanced's are rebuilt Raybestos? East Street sells rebuilt ones as well. Either are good.

 

You can also buy Raybestos or similar and rebuild/regrease yourself. I use the Redline grease.

 

One warning about Raybestos, some of the newer units have a different hub casting. Where the lugs insert is about 30% thinner than normal. I got one of these randomly when ordering online and I only kept it as a backup. If you get the thin casting units I would return it if it were me.

[OrangeCrush86]

For anyone interested, here is a comparison of Raybestos hubs.

 

 

[Steve Scheifler]

Excellent, thanks!!!

Typical of aftermarket, there are a lot of “brands” repackaging parts from a relative few actual manufacturers.

In this case, note the other differences as well, such as the heating and machining where the races are installed. Probably differences in the races, balls and cages as well.

[callumhay]

My vote is for the hubs from Mazda or oem from a used car. I have tried the cheaper hubs and had the bearings go quickly. No play in the Mazda bearings after about 12 hrs of use. I'm not using my car all the time so there may be something better. I can tell u that I'm not a fast driver and I was even having bearing failure with the parts store hubs.

[Tom Sager]

Recently after consuming my "stash" of original Mazda refurbed used hubs and after trying a few of the brands mentioned, I've bought the Mazda heavy duty hubs.  I don't have the part number handy or their exact name for the part but IIRC they cost about $160ish and are advertised to have better grade balls and high temp grease.  These for me have worked better than almost anything else I've tried over the past couple seasons.  The guys at Mazda who handle our orders are very familiar with the part. 

[lillyweld]

I have been extremely happy with the hubs from East Street even though I would buy from Advanced Autosports in a heartbeat. My parts from East Street arrive next day, and they stand by their stuff.

[FTodaro]

I repack my hubs after every third weekend. have about 8 of them i inter change and repack later. I have not had a hub failure in years. I am Knocking on wood right now. doink doink. Used Old OEM hubs.

[granracing]

How do the old OEM hubs compare to the ones that Mazda sells? I would think a new one would be better than one from a salvaged car.  Poor casting on the new ones?

 

I see that Treasure Coast also sells ones taken from a salvaged Miata, but not sure if they replace the balls in them.  Don't think so.

 

What type of greese are you guys using?  I was using red line but have been hearing some not so positive feedback on their product (at least the one I'm using.)  I appreciate your feedback!!

[Justin Casey]

I've had pretty good luck with SKF hubs that I've repacked with better grease.

(Be sure to double check your torque specs too!)

 

I can't comment on the HD mazda hubs, but they appear to be top notch. 

[Michael Novak]

Old hubs when you can get them are great. Repack after rain and every so many races. As long as they came off a stock car I would run almost any mileage units.

[FTodaro]

How do the old OEM hubs compare to the ones that Mazda sells? I would think a new one would be better than one from a salvaged car.  Poor casting on the new ones?

 

I see that Treasure Coast also sells ones taken from a salvaged Miata, but not sure if they replace the balls in them.  Don't think so.

 

What type of greese are you guys using?  I was using red line but have been hearing some not so positive feedback on their product (at least the one I'm using.)  I appreciate your feedback!!

In my experience from hubs to transmissions, to half shafts old is good. Its either better metal, better process or hardened over time.

[Steve Scheifler]

In my experience from hubs to transmissions, to half shafts old is good. Its either better metal, better process or hardened over time.

I’ve wondered about the latter but don’t know if it’s a metallurgically sound hypothesis.

[Ron Alan]

For what its worth...2018 25HR race...4 cars.

 

1999 Miata, 200HP ST4 car. Put in new SKF hubs. Car ran 14 hrs before the F upper control arm mount broke loose within the subframe...end of race. No hub issues.

1999 SM/E3 car...repacked 1992 hubs(NTN I believe)...E3 winner! Just put another 4 hrs of sprint time on this weekend...no issues.

1994 SM/E3 car...local autozone $65 version. Finished race P4...no hub issues.

1990 SM/E3 car...repacked OEM(NTN)...motor failure at 23hrs...no hub issues.

 

 

Not much help with no failures! But I will say the difference in casting/material between the new SKF and the less expensive autozone was similar to the pictures above. I've always liked the OEM bearings off street cars...they last as well as anything new generally. Our 1st SM was a 60k street car. I repacked the bearings on the car when we bought it. It wasnt until our 3rd season 1 of them finally failed! I use CV2 grease mostly...tried sweepco grease a few times...seemed to work fine.

[Steve Scheifler]

I suspect that curbs & rumble strips or lack of them are a big factor. We run a high molly grease with more emphasis on anti-wear rather than how freely the tire spins and it seems to be working better than the CV2 we had used.

Has anyone tried Dayton “nanoceramic“ DayLube? I know some oval track guys who swear by it.

[Brandon]

1. Regardless of the brand, always repack after a wet event. The hot hub will cool and absorb moisture from the air (not to mention the water on the metal itself) and infiltrate the grease and kill it's lubricity.
2. If buying from local parts vendor, always repack with a high quality grease. The choice here is yours but after I got faster, I found the initial recommendation of CV2 (Redline) to be less than ideal: it would be liquid/lumpy after a single weekend for example. This is a personal preference for what you can get and the price but I've used a SKU from Lubrication Engineers that I can't remember offhand for years now.
3. The catch with the Mazdacomp hubs is to torque to the spec they note (150# if I recall but check the paper in the box) and follow rule #1 above. These can be cleaned (but you lose the special grease), inspected, and repacked multiple times which I've done that plenty.
4. The Advanced Autosports hub is a quality product but I'm unfamiliar with their longevity.
5. Lifecycle of the hub is track and driver-type dependent. LRP or NJMP-T would beat the LF hub to death over a weekend but never get it to the point of failing if you didn't have any contact or bash the curbs to hell. Just know you will be going through LF hubs after a weekend at those tracks.
6. Rear bearings - I always swap in new ones at the beginning of the year and then monitor for play, especially after contact. I bring a spare pair so if I have contact, I swap the upright regardless (and sometimes the lower bolt too) and replace it at home before the next event.

Dave, ping me via e-mail or on Facebook so I can get you the SKU of the grease I'm using.

 

I've been looking at the various options primarily for front hubs, and there's quite a bit of conflicting opinions of which actually hold up to the abuse, and which tend to quickly fail.  I'll be using long studs, so if they come with that it would be nice.

 

Mazda comp hubs - $190, I've heard multiple people state they've experienced issues with the bearings going quickly.

 

Advanced Autosports - $175, Dave knows his Miata's and rents cars, so maybe that's a good option?  Anyone use his hubs?

 

NTN from Amazon - $178

 

Moog - $153

 

I'm also aware of the $600 hub but that's just not in my budget.

 

For the rears, just go with the typical auto parts store version?

 

Lastly, what type of grease do you suggest?  I've heard not Red Line, so?

 

Thank you!

 

[av8tor]

+1 

1. Regardless of the brand, always repack after a wet event. The hot hub will cool and absorb moisture from the air (not to mention the water on the metal itself) and infiltrate the grease and kill it's lubricity.

I have run my ESR hubs for 3 seasons and they are good as new, but I clean and repack ALOT! 

[Brandon]

Fortuitously, I was prepping a pair of Advanced Autosports (Wheeler) hubs last night and found these hubs to be a significant departure from any others I've used.

 

Some items of note:

1. 12 balls per side instead of 11 (or 9 from the earliest model of hubs)
2. Retainer cages have tabs to ensure alignment with inner races
   1. Inner races have grooves for said retainer cage tabs
3. Inner retainer cage is removed with all balls inserted
   1. Must remove inner seal to get cage & balls out of hub
   2. Balls can be removed outward for cleaning of cage
4. The grease they use (Schaeffer 221) was like molasses - went stringy and stuck to everything after being used at the 2018 Devil!
   1. Not that that's a bad thing for hub lubrication
   2. Might have been temperature dependent as it was 57* in the garage last night

All of that said, I believe I will be buying these hubs (Raybestos?) if I need to get over the counter hubs in the future (if I'm not buying Mazdacomp ones). These seem to be very beefy and the additional balls on each side plus the integral cage, to my non-engineer brain, is a better option than 11 (and more so 9) and the Mazda cages.

[granracing]

Repacking after wet sessions...never heard / realized that.  Good to know. 

 

Also interesting to hear about the Advanced hubs.  Between salvage yard, Mazdacomp or Advanced, which do you think you'd go with after learning what you have with the Advanced ones?

[Steve Scheifler]

9 balls, have you really seen that? I have not and I’ve tried numerous hubs, but if they can... You mention the early ones having 12. Actually, that’s when things seemed to start going to shit. The early NA hubs had 13 balls and were pretty tough. I’ve yet to find an aftermarket one with more than 12 or less than 11. It isn’t necessarily an indication of quality but there does seem to be a correlation.

I believe the difference between the Advanced hubs and what you can buy online is grease and labor, but as already mentioned it is common with aftermarket in general to order multiple of the same brand and receive parts that are clearly different than each other, so a few closeup pics of established “good” ones would be helpful.