Lightweight wheel hubs

[pastaroni34]

Just a little FYI of what I've been playing with down here. Lightweight aluminum wheel hubs:
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I'll also be doing a number of stud conversions soon, press-in type since I don't trust the screw in ones anymore.

More details in my blog post: Fiat Aluminum Wheel Hubs

I better get back to work..

[SLOSpider]

Looks nice. Can they be made with different bolt patterns?

[pastaroni34]

It can't be changed by much really.. The problem is that the brake rotors center themselves on the OD of the hub, so you can't make the hub larger in diameter. The head on the studs is very nearly flush with the OD. In order to move them out to a 4x100 I'd have to trim the studs. so they could clear the rotor, plus you'd have to modify your rotors.

Of course, if you're using a different rotor, all of this is thrown out the window.

Realistically these are custom made parts. I have some with bigger bearings and that get lightened further. Its all in how much trouble you want to go through..

[spiderrey]

Very nice Jason. How do they compare strength wise to the stock pieces. And are the bigger bearings cheap and easily available? Whats the ball park price?

[pastaroni34]

Strength wise they should actually be stronger than the OEM. When viewed as an assembly with the brake rotor and wheel, they are not a highly stressed part.

The large bearing version I have is made for the custom spindles I designed. These are larger in diameter to fix the relatively weak OE ones. I have not looked for larger bearings for the OE spindles. There isn't much you can do if you want to retain the hub nose diameter to use normal Fiat wheels. In my opinion all bearings are cheap and easily available! (Especially when I'm the one making the parts they fit on)

Price is $200 per hub with new seals/bearings/studs installed.

[Danno]

those are awesome, but I don't really see the point. that much weight being reduced that close to the center of rotation is going to produce negligible performance results. I'd rather spend my money by buying lighter weight rims and tires.

[pastaroni34]

The goal with these hubs is to reduce unsprung weight, not the rotating mass. I agree, money is better spent on light wheels and tires first. If you can shave 2lbs per corner it can be significant. Every little bit helps.

[baltobernie]

Speaking as a salesman, not an engineer, If you could find an OEM rotor (from any popular car) that would fit the Fiat caliper and your hub in 4 x 100mm spacing, you'd have a good product. The $200 hub price would be more than offset by the vast availability of modern wheels. Generic rotors are uniformly inexpensive; all you'd need to provide is a p/n.

Regarding the Fiat hub/bearing assembly, I've noticed that 100 miles after adjusting my front wheel bearings (by the book), the same slack returns. Maybe you could design that out of your product. Oh, and while we're wishin' and hopin', how about making your spindle with a common castle nut instead of those goofy Fiat crush nuts.

When you've accomplished all this, maybe you could then have Pope's mom return my calls

[zachmac]

If you start with getting Pope's mom to return calls then we'll have something to do while you perfect the hubs!

[pastaroni34]

Oh, and while we're wishin' and hopin', how about making your spindle with a common castle nut instead of those goofy Fiat crush nuts.

I've got some tricks up my sleeve for that, just wait.

If you can't wait, I've drilled a number of them in the past. I can do it again..

[mdrburchette]

Great job, Jason. I'm glad you still have us Fiat owners on your mind. I have seen nothing but exceptional products from you.

[Sparky]

Hi Jason,
Just wanted to see if you're still around and making parts? The image links at the top of the thread are broken and your website is just throwing some sql errors. I'd love to know a bit more about your parts as I'm going to have to make some changes to my front spindle assemblies.