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2.7911E
October 27th 2002, 17:16
Why do you build bearing inserts for the 944 hubs and use Beetle parts? Is there an advantage over building the spacers on the spindle to fit the Porsche bearings and seal? I am about to start this conversion and would like some opinions before I talk to the machinist. Are the spindle spacers possible? Thanks, Michael

Andy White
October 28th 2002, 02:35
If you have spacers made to interference fit onto the spindles, you eliminate the inaccuracies that can occur when a hub is sleeved by a poor machinist. The bearings and spindles from the 944 were stronger than the Beetle counterparts as they were designed for wide wheels, high performance and a heavier car. Either way, you shouldn't have any trouble as long as the hubs spin true.

Hope this helps.

Andy.

oval55
October 29th 2002, 01:49
Hey that sounds like my 55 beetle. Porsche brakes, 17's, 901, 2.0 911, also a build in progress. Did you guys see the 53 split that is for sale on STP, now that would be cool. Take Care , Darren

kdanie
October 29th 2002, 12:13
I think the original idea of using the adapter to use VW bearings was to save on $$ and keep as many VW parts in the process. I came up with the bearing/seal spacers to use the 944 bearings so I could have larger/stronger bearings and it's actually less work! If you get your hubs with good bearings and clean/repack them it is way cheaper.
ken

Sandeep
October 29th 2002, 12:39
In my 993T Front brake tech article on the main page, I used Ken's idea and applied them to an '87 944T front hub. Like he said...bigger/stronger 944T bearings are FAR better than stock Vw bearings.

I want better peice of mind when I'm flying down a back straight away @ 100 MPH and slam on the brakes...knowing the bearings can handle it !

Sandeep

2.7911E
October 29th 2002, 14:24
Thanks for the replies. It was Sandeep's tech article that made me wonder. I think I will go the Porsche bearing route, too. Michael

Alex
October 29th 2002, 15:21
There is nothing wrong in using the Beetle bearings.
All big Porsche kits from Germany are based on the Beetle bearings. They are inexpensive and I believe from the same manufacturer SKF.
The Kerscher vented front disk brake uses Beetle bearings.
So it really does not matter which way you go.
My 993 Twin Turbo kit uses Beetle bearings.

It all depends on if you want to machine the hub or not.

Alex

oval55
October 30th 2002, 01:50
Hey Sandeep, how is your engine doing, did you find a newer engine to get you by or did you put in the 2.o. Thanks for your replies to 2.7911e, he is my brother in law who is doing the machining for my brakes. Take care Darren

Philippe
November 4th 2002, 01:33
What is the difference in track widths for each method, or is there a significant difference?

Alex
November 6th 2002, 16:28
You can have a look at my article. If you look at the measurement of the hub machining you can see that you actually will have less track increase with this method than with the bearing spacer method. You are able to compensate the track increase with a smaller spacer if you use high offset rims.

The big advantage of bearing spacer method is that there is no hub machining involved. Just need to get some bearing spacers done if I am not mistaken.

So you save a few bucks.

Alex

Pillow
November 12th 2002, 16:20
I need to read Sandeeps article.

But I prefer to stick with Porsche bearings just because they are a common part (cheapish) and you can get good "made in Germany" quality.

FWIW I think the front early 944 hubs use the same front bearings as the split Bus. No kidding. When I did my '66 Westi the kit said I could go either way and it would be fine. A visual inspection showed at least the outer bearings looked identical.

Philippe
November 19th 2002, 23:19
Can the bearing spacer on the spindles method be used for an early 944 setup? Or is it only possible using late 944 hubs?

I have all the brake parts from an '83 944.