[Ron Sutton]

Originally Posted by Vince@MSperfab

I guess you will have to see if it needs an upgrade or not. I'm not sure how many options you have for larger capacity hubs but the nice thing is it will warn you, you just have to know what to watch for.

Thanks Ron,
I will continue to monitor Gaetanos bearing packs. If I see any signs of abnormal wearing or grease failure we will look at a different hub and or spindle.

Hey Vince & G ... and anyone running fast at track days on a budget ... the best advice I have for you is "clean, inspect, grease & replace often." Vince is already on this, but I don't want anyone following along to not understand how key that is.

Replace the outer bearings often ... they're cheap ... and when you replace them, make damn sure you're buying Timken & not some import bearing made with inferior steel. There is a difference in the quality of Timken steel. If Timken's bearing is rated at 917# ... what is a $7.99 china bearing made out of pot metal rated at?

For reference, I raced in an oval track series (West Coast NASCAR Modifieds) that required stock spindles & hubs (rules to control costs - LOL). These cars were light ... 2550# & ran 8" slicks of moderate hard compound ... on short tracks where cornering speeds were 50-55 mph. So less car weight, less grip & less load forces than we see with big tired PT cars at road course track days.

When we ran Granada hubs (2nd bearing from the left) we replaced the outer bearings after every 2-day event. When we stepped up to the Impala hubs (3rd bearing from the left) we replaced them after every 2nd event. The reason is, these bearings are not rated for the loads they are seeing.

On the stock cars ... with softer, bigger 10" slicks ... more weight 3100-3400# ... ran on bigger tracks with higher corner speeds & g-forces ... we run the bearings on the far right. We run the car all season & only replace the bearings after a full season of 25-30 events. They last, because we're within the load window the bearings were designed for.

Guys, my recommendation is, to those of us building these cars to be fast like race cars, driving them fast on race tracks ... we also build in safety like race cars ... AND ... service & maintain them often like race teams do ... to prevent bearing & other part failures that cause crashes.