I Broke Another... racing story

[vwtype53 at yahoo.com (Ben)]

--- "Mark F." <mk1mark@gmail.com> wrote:

> 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.

Well, a loose axle nut would definitely be the cause.  Then again, even
if it wasn't loose and was just not torqued quite enough the stresses would be high enough to
cause a premature failure (especially with race tires!) on the track.


> 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...

I think I heard of someone breaking a hub after hitting a massive pothole or something?


> 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.


Not sure how much torque is too much torque... 300ft-lbs is probably good.

 
> 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...


Yeah, the bearing is bigger, but the hub really isn't *that* much better.


> 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)...


Excellent!  Keep up the prototyping and let us know what you come up with!
Jason Arms has that wheel bearing tool... if he's listening out there...


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


Honestly, I doubt it.  I have so many irons in the fire right now... 
Would love to, but we'll see.

Later,

Ben

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