Hello everyone,

To make a long story short I have a 91 civic hatch (stock b16a swap) that I have been running in endurace races (14-24 hours) and I keep breaking front hubs/bearings, or snapping the axle nuts/threads off the cv shafts. I ahve run 10 races in this car and this has happened to me 4 times. I keep spares, but this wekend we broke the driver side nut/hub and ruined a rim and brakes.

So my question is A) what axles are you guys running on your track cars to keep them from breaking, and B) if i was to go to a EX or intgra front nuckle will the hub and bearings be bigger and stronger. I do not think brake heat is the cause because we are very well ventilated and brake cooling is not an issue (running fans and ducts from the blinker housings).

If any advice can be given that would be appreciated. I am really tired of being out of races because of the same problem. I have searched and cant really find any good info on how people are racing crx/civis without this problem.

thanks,
-josh

 

use hardened hubs.

dont reuse hubs with new bearings. the bearings will last longer if cooled properly.

and double check your engine mounts, bad or improperly installed mounts will cause axles to break.

 

I was trying to find race hardened hubs, but i cant seem to find a company that makes them anymore. all the old posts that talk about them have links to a company that is closed now. Thats why I was trying to find out if the teg or ex bearings were bigger and stronger. I will have to figure out a proper cooling effect. we always run fans on the brakes when we pit.

As for the axles. they are breaking at the end where the threads are located for the nut. It seems to snap right past the splines. I cant see the engine mounts having an effect on the axles after they have entered the hubs, but then agian I cant rule it out.

 

You can have them cryo-treated... switch to Integra "DA" knuckles as they have the bigger bearing... aren't you the same guy that was asking about this before? If not you should search for his thread. The only way to run bigger splines is to go to a Type R setup... but since you own an EF you are basically SOL.

 

No, I am pretty new to this forum. I will do some more searching looking for that thread. Does anyone know who cryotreats anything. I am in new orleans, and this sort of thing is far and few between unfortunatly.

 

I only know of a place around me they do all my stuff...

www.300below.com

 

here's a little more recent discussion on this topic.
https://honda-tech.com/forums/road-racing-autocross-time-attack-19/front-hub-failure-thoughts-2983011/

ive had the same failures with my ITA (stock motor) car. so i know what you mean. and it was caused by reusing old hubs for sure. because they failed in 2 consecutive events after switching.

i wasnt completely sure if your breakage was only at the hubs, but yeah bad mounts are common for breaking axle shafts, which doesnt seem to be your problem then.

my hardened hubs were from OPM, im really not sure if they are still around to make them anymore. and the heat treated ones were from someones garage shop, im sure he's not around anymore. but you can always do it yourself with new hubs.

 

expensive, but you won't break these:

http://www.markwilliams.com/Catalog/pg17.pdf

 

^^ Yea, my pockets aren't that deep for a 91 hatch.

Tyson, seems the guy in that thread and myslef are having the same issue. I cant seem to put my finger on it, and just as he said, it is scary as hell when it happens. I am tired of this happening, and i just dont know ow to fix it. Frustrating. I will post some pictures later so you can see exactly whaat happened this time.

 

Hey guys,

Sorry for the delay. Here are the pics of the hub and the axle. Sorry I didnt get a better pic of the axle. The car is still on the trailer since I just got home yesterday. I had an extra hub at the track since this has happened before, and thankfully I did because I have no idea how I would have gotten the car on the trailer without it.

-josh

 

No and yes.

Teg and SiR knuckles have larger bearings.
The Si, EX, DX, LX all have the same smaller bearing.

Teg knuckle is slightly different geometry and throws the alignment off just a bit.
Usually that can be corrected.

 

I am looking for some 90-91 EX knuckles first, but if I cant find them I guess I will have no choice but to go with the teg ones and get a camber kit. The 90-91 EX with the larger brake/rotor setup has the same hubs and bearings as the teg right?

 

No.
It uses the same disc and caliper as the Integra.
BUT the bearing is small and the same as the DX/LX/Si.

SiR shares the same bearing with the integra.
SiR also shares the same disc and caliper with the Integra/EX

 

Oh ok. So I should be looking for the SiR knuckles. Any particular year I should be hunting for, or anyone have a pair floating around they want ot sell? lol:

 

Do a little searching on the install.
The ear for the tie rod is in a different place and require a minor tie-rod modification - really easy, just have to cut off a few threads.

Integra knuckles may be a better option for you right now since it's only an assumption that your bearing heat is killing it. Probably need a camber kit - if you don't have one already - to dial the alignment in so your tires last.

 

i'm running DA integra knuckles on my DD crx, no camber kit and alignment is all within spec.

 

Are you lowered?
The DA knuckle is a bit taller than the Civic/CRX. This gives a little positive camber.
So assuming you are lowered- just the right amount of lowering fixes the camber issue with the DA knuckle.
Toe will be out when you just swap to DA knuckles.
That is fixed with an alignment.
For a DD the camber isn't much of an issue.
For a race car doing enduro races, I feel it's something important that should be looked at.

 

i am lowered a little, which may be why it works. i would assume a track car is lowered as well, if not more so than my street car.

 

There is another thread, can't find the link right now that one of my teammates started. We have had a hub fail. Luckily it was coming out of the corner going about 20mph rather than somewhere else...

Anyway, we run the "Jonathon mod" big brake upgrade. Stock LX/DX knuckles, bearings, hubs with legend calipers and EX rotors. Not sure if that contributed it the hub issue or not, but team consensus is to swap in a stock DA setup. We also kill bearings quickly and are hoping this will help.

 

Sorry guys for bringing this tread back up, but I took a break from the car over the holidays and am now ready to get back at it.

I am thinking the DA setup may be my best bet. A little bigger bearing, and bigger brakes to keep the heat down. I hope to see better results next race. It is a shame because I have tons of brake pads for the civic calipers now.

Any other advice from anyone on this topic? Racing is taxing on the front end of these little buggers, but I dont see a lot of other cars have this issue. I just dont understand why it is our car.

thanks,
-josh