I Broke Another... racing story

[mk1mark at gmail.com (Mark F.)]

On 9/4/06, Ben <vwtype53@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > Ben, this is EXACTLY what happened to Sean at Track Day North a couple
> > weeks ago.  Strangely enough, this is also the second time that he's
> > sheared a hub!
>
> That's what I thought!  Geeze... he was running race tires also?  I know you were... have you ever
> had this happen?  I'm thinking that before taking the cars onto the track we need to pass around
> the 30mm and breaker bar to make sure our axle nuts are tight.  hehe...


Yup, Sean was running my set of 14" Toyo R1's (probably stickier than
the 13" Yoko A048's I was running).  His problem may have been related
to a loose hub nut though.  We're not sure if the hub failed first,
and then he lost the nut, or the other way around...  He's VERY anal
about maintenance on his car though, so I have a hard time believing
that the nut was loose.

I've never had this happen to me, and my VW mechanic friend has also
never seen a sheared hub.  I'm guessing this is a track/race issue
only, since daily driving doesn't introduce stresses high enough to
compromise the integrity of the hub...  BUT, the first hub Sean
sheared wasn't related to track duty, so who knows...


> Have you heard about this "fix"?  Tightening the axle nuts to over 300ft-lbs supposedly helps
> reduce the chance of failure.  I read this from a few racers...
> Neal might have been one of them I just can't recall.


Can't hurt to try I guess...  My Craftsman torque wrench only goes up
to 150ft. lbs, so I usually torque it to that and then lean on the nut
with my breaker bar to what I'm guessing is quite a bit more than the
stock spec...   I'm not so sure Allyn's 600lb/1minute on the impact
would be a good idea though!  That's gotta stress the nut well beyond
it's limits, and possibly negatively affect the bearing's longevity.



> I know that A2 racers still have this hub-shear problem... so you're right, either replace every
> year or so or possibly heat treat.


The A2 hubs are fractionally bigger than the A1's.  Side by side you
can't really see a difference unless you get the vernier out...


> I can get hubs down here for about $30, so that isn't too bad I suppose.  It's just the
> installation labor and alignment issue.  I'm thinking of just purchasing a big hydraulic press so
> that I can start pressing in the hubs and bearings myself... then it would just be the alignment
> issue to deal with.  Unless you know a place to get that VW wheel bearing puller tool for cheap...
> that would eliminate the need to re-align.


I'd like to see one of those tools up close - I'm sure I could
fabricate them up for a hell of a lot cheaper than the $200-$300 I see
them going for (anyone have some pics of one?)...  Maybe I'll add that
to the rear swaybars I'll be offering up for sale soon (after a lower
profile redesign, and some more testing), as well as a few other VW
related items I've dreamed up (and in prototype status)...

You coming up in October for some more Toronto Motorsports Park action?

Later,

Mark.
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