I called up Coleman tech line yesterday in order to get some drawings of thier bearings and hubs. Knockoffs are so bad they don't allow the drawing to go outside , but they said they give me whatever measurements I asked for.

I was on the phone with Gary Hoffman[Hardbar, supporting vendor], who runs Coleman Hubs on his C6Z06 GT1 car. He said come on over and measure mine. I not only got my measurements, but he gave me and old hub, rotor, set of bearings and seals to boot!


PLEASE NOTE On a Corvette the hub stays still and the spindle rotates, I'll maintain this feature.

 

Interesing concept to say the least... if it can handle the shock loads of drag racing, I'm definitely interested as well.

 

The main issue is the fact that the bearings are a press fit. If one does not have the right tools and experience, setting up correct end play means you put it together under the car, checked end play with a dial indicator and then pressed it apart and adjusted the shims and reassembled and checked again. Also if its a car that has a lot of miles and the race has spun, it may have welded itself to the spindle. A real bitch to get apart and expensive. After doing it a time or 2 you buy a dummy spindle to set up clearance before pressing it together. Some guys go as far as turning the spindle down so the bearings are a snug but not a press fit. I have not owned a C3 since 1994 so I am not up to date on what they are doing now but I dont think much has changed.

 

Thanks Spankyellow ( The line to the house has been down, so I'm finally able to reply )

There's no shims on this design, you spin a nut tight, and then back it off to the nearest set screw location, nice and guaranteed not to move.

The inner race is slip fit as you described, the outer race is a press fit, but there are channels to allow you to get a tool in and remove the race.

One of the major issues, is that the bearing are too close together, so I'm proposing a new design that get's them further apart.

In the front, this is relatively easy, there's already a hole in the upright, and plenty of room between the shock and the speed sensor. So, if I split the hub in half and put a bearing on either side of the upright, the moment arm is going to be greatly reduced! The shaft would then run between the two. This would help in getting the outer race off. The clearance would be adjusted via the nut. I could either have you pull the speed sensor off on the inside, or adjust it on the outside.

The biggest diameter axles GM has put on a vehicle is little more that 1in! Even on their heavy duty trucks. The Grand National hubs are 2in in diameter! ( though they are hollow ) by putting the bearing on either side of the hub, I'm hoping to fit these huge bearings. In the rear that's going to take a new sub axle design, but it's something that will never fail.

The more I can make the less it will cost. But this new design will come with a new sub axle design, and you buy it once and then you just buy $8 bearings.

 

Here's some pics of Gary's Coleman Wide-5 which takes the same bearing as their Grand National hubs. You can see the slot for taking out the pressed in race. Also in the pics are the bearings races and seal, along with a stock C4 hub.





Here are the bearings next to the hub. Here you can see how much bigger the subaxle could be.


It might be possible to get these close enough to keep the assembly on one side same as stock, but I really want to separate them.

Or I could go to a smaller set, but if I'm going to go custom, I really want to do it right the 1st time.

 

BC, that is some heavy duty stuff. The C3 set up has the same notch for taking ot the race. It is the inner race that is a problem on them. It is a press fit on the rear spindle. I looked in my garage for sme parts so I could get pics, but I must have trashed that stuff on a recent clean up the garage rampage. I will look again today.

 

I'd appreciate any pics

These are a slip fit, I'll maintain that feature.

 

Those rollers look about as big as the Timkens out of my D44. I probably shouldn't have thrown them out, in fact I might still have a few. Those were press-fit as well.

 

After running some numbers, I can make the front utilizing stock Coleman spindle snouts. This can be done with either their bolt-on snouts or the weld-on ones. The bolt-ons can be changed at the track if you spin one, which you shouldn't if you maintain them correctly. The bolt-ons are $80 more.

So, which ones are you interested in?

 

Great news, Brian!

I'd pay the extra cash for the bolt-on snouts just to make them easier to work on. What type of overall cost are they looking to be? Ballpark range. Also did you figure out how to get the ABS sensor to work?

 

With the bolt in style spindles ~$400, plus another $60 for an ABS sensor.

BTW with this style you'll be able to adjust the preload on the bearings with the wheels mounted.

 

That's a heafty chunk of change, but IMO it will be worth it since they will last and are rebuildable.

Are you planning building a set to test?

 

Yes, I should have prototypes ready fairly soon.

I'm just waiting for the Xmas shipping rush to be over.

 

Sounds like a plan to me. I'm going to need new bearings before the start of the season next year, may as well start with decent ones!

 

question for those with aftermarket brakes.
How many have the Wilwood style adapter plates that bolt on to the back of the knuckle?

 

I do. If you need any pics, just let me know.

 

Yes, please. And if you could measure how thick they are that would help me out a lot.

 

I don't have wilwoods but I do have the C5 upgrade. Would your hubs work with these?

 

Have you taken into consideration the unholy amount of rotating mass with this setup?

 

Provided the adapters don't cover the backside, sure.

In the front, the forged spindles are hollow, combined with a better geometry the rotating mass is near the same.