Hubs!!

[aZthing]

Can anyone please give me some help with designing and or buying hubs. Bear Motorsports, at Mercer University, is a first year team and we plan on racing in 2006. We have designed the geometry for the front suspension and have moved on to hubs. However, none of us have any idea about how to design a hub. I have spent atleast 30 hours surfing the net looking for anything but have come up short. If you can offer any assistance or information I would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks,
Mark Fleenor
President, Bear Motorsports
P.S. I am talking about the hub and spindle to connect to the upright.

[scotty young Taylor Race]

Maybe this will help.
http://www.taylor-race.com/techsprt.cfm
If this does not put you through then you can go to our web site http://www.TAYLOR-RACE.COM
and look in tech documents.There I have posted some drawings that might help with your design.

Scotty
Taylor Race Engineering

[Daves]

You can see our hub design at the following address:
Kingpin Exploded (http://www.letu.edu/_Academics/Engineering/engineering/student-projects/formula/images/ani_KINGPIN_EXPLODE.gif)

However, we are using uncommon "midboard brakes." Also, I sometimes wish we had gone 3-lug instead of 4.

[Tony K]

Here are some pictures of what we use, although I wouldn't suggest casting the uprights for a first time effort. The hubs are made from 2 pieces of heat treated 17-4 stainless steel and welded together and supported by a sealed bearing at the rear and a larger needle bearing at the front.

http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~akrezel/Uprights_15.jpg
http://www.engr.colostate.edu/~akrezel/Uprights_23.jpg

[Z]

First year? Here are some easy options.

1. Buy a complete hub/bearing/spindle unit from your local bearing shop. That's what the OEMs do (they buy bulk so they pay less). Pick a front wheel one from a small front-drive passenger car, and fit it to all your wheels. Maybe machine a bit of metal off the outside to make it lighter.

2. Buy same from a Ford/GM/Toyota... dealer. Check at a car wrecking yard for what looks good (quicker than surfing the net!).

3. Buy front hub from 4WD Quad bike and fit to all your wheels.

4. Buy sealed "back-to-back-angular-contact-ball-bearing" kit that is meant for a small car. Now you have to design and manufacture your own axle/spindle/wheel mounting flange, and decide on the right tolerance for the hole in the upright that accepts the bearing.

[jack]

Originally posted by Z:
First year? Here are some easy options.

1. Buy a complete hub/bearing/spindle unit from your local bearing shop. That's what the OEMs do (they buy bulk so they pay less). Pick a front wheel one from a small front-drive passenger car, and fit it to all your wheels. Maybe machine a bit of metal off the outside to make it lighter.

2. Buy same from a Ford/GM/Toyota... dealer. Check at a car wrecking yard for what looks good (quicker than surfing the net!).

3. Buy front hub from 4WD Quad bike and fit to all your wheels.

4. Buy sealed "back-to-back-angular-contact-ball-bearing" kit that is meant for a small car. Now you have to design and manufacture your own axle/spindle/wheel mounting flange, and decide on the right tolerance for the hole in the upright that accepts the bearing.

allthough buying a "corner" might be easy, you probably wont learn much. making that stuff isn't too uncommon...

[Z]

Jack,

Option 4 involves buying bearings that will work (well) and making everything else - axle/wheel-flange/upright...

See "wheel bearings" thread to see what happens if you go too small (or close together) on DG ball bearings.

Personnally, I'd buy 4x hub/bearing/axle kits, possibly lighten them, and spend the saved time building a trick engine/drivetrain, or aero, or just wearing out some old tyres.