Technical Opinions on aluminum hubs

I've been researching front disc brake conversion kits for 1939- 47 Mopar 1/2 ton Pickup trucks. Anyhow, A couple kits I've found use aluminum hubs. I'm thinking aluminum might not be the best choice for a wheel hub? Seems like steel would be more durable, but I would appreciate opinions on this topic.

Steve

 

I think you would hard pressed to find steel hubs for any application.


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

I suppose you mean iron. In any case, I don't see anything inherently wrong with aluminum hubs. The loads are carried by steel wheel bearings and races and steel lug bolts. The aluminum is literally just a 'carrier' for those parts.

This is sort of coincidental. Just in the past few days I have been sorting parts in my shop and have a few sets of spindles/hubs/rotors and was just thinking how heavy they are. LOTS of unsprung weight there. I was thinking how much weight could be saved with aluminum hubs with the lighter weight iron rotors that bolt on to them.

Ray

 

I put aluminum hubs on my coupe and put a lot of miles on them traveling around the Midwest with never an issue. As @Hnstray said, there are only benefits.

 

Rusty hope is the way to go for mopar disc swaps.

 

If you're worried about durability and strength, my semi truck has aluminum hubs on all three axles. Never had a problem with them.

 

Almost all of wilwood hubs are aluminum.
If you seize a bearing and tear up a race it’s usually the one that eats the spindle not the hub.

 

Yes, I meant cast iron or ferrous metal. I believe ferrous metals are inherently stronger than non ferrous. It just seemed to me that ferrous metals will take more abuse then aluminum being softer.. Anyhow, I posted this query to see if anyone running aluminum hubs has had any issues? I like the Rusty hope setup because it uses one piece rotors with the hub being machined into the rotor. The down side is Rusty hope uses a spacer to offset the disc outwards and it appears to limit the inner bearing engagement on the spindle and also limit the amount of thread engagement on the spindle nut. It may be fine, I'm just trying to do my homework before buying anyone's kit. Scarebird and ECI kits use aluminum hubs and also do not require modifying the original spindles like Rusty hope's. They may all be OK?

 

That's a good recommendation for aluminum!

 

I am aware that there are many grades (alloys) of aluminum. 6061,2024,7075, and others that have very different properties concerning strength and other factors. I think I'll try to find out which ones the kits use.

 

Did you install the Rusty hope setup? Any issue with spindle nuts?

 

Yes, installed with no issues. Also, I am not sure about the other kits but I was able to use my stock wheels as well.

 

@Steve Lowe .....I'll offer a suggestion for you to consider. I have two cars, both Mopars, a '49 Plymouth and a '55 Chrysler, that I have adapted disc brakes to the front. By drilling out the rivets that hold the hub and drum together, you end up with a hub that will accept a '2000 era Ford Ranger 4x4 11" rotor.

I installed lug studs in place of the common Mopar wheel bolts. The hub flange may need a slight 'clean up' cut on a lathe to properly seat in the rotor hat, but they are essentially the same diameter. The Mopar hbs use tapered roller bearings and since they are used in stock configuration, no bearing spacers are required.

Jeep TJ ('97/'06) rotors are similar and also have the 5 x 4.5" bolt pattern and are adaptable without too much effort.

For caliper mounts, I first made cardboard patterns, then plexiglas for dimensional stability, then steel mounts. There are some caliper mounts from places like Speedway that can be modified with less fabrication. It depends on what calipers you choose. I used GM intermediate from the '70s as I recall.

Ray

 

I've run Wilwood aluminum hubs on my RPU for 20 years. No problems at all.

 

I've been running Wilwoods on a couple cars for years and lots of miles, no issues.

 

If properly engineered for the loading stresses, and using a reasonable safety factor, an aluminum hub will have bulkier sections, still be much lighter, and have equivalent strength to "ferrous" hubs. Any ferrous parts come in a few flavors, mainly cast iron (strong but brittle, not good for impact loading), ductile iron (cast, but not so brittle), and steel (forged is best, but cast steel is almost its equal). And each of the above comes in a vast range of alloys that modify its basic strength, ductility, and other properties. Bottom line, unless you're a metallurgist, you're at the mercy of the guys that designed the part (and their financial managers!).

 

Don't spend the time becoming an expert in something that doesn't matter. There are plenty of other things in a build that will require you to learn a new profession......

 

Had no problem with Wilwood Aluminum hubs on all four wheels of my stock car and there is a lot of side force applied to them and dirt tracks are very rough .

 

Thanks Ray! Very helpful! I do have a spare oem hub and spindle I can use for mock up. I have thought of adapting to the original hub, but without easy access to junkyard parts or brake component dimensions, it's a bit difficult, however, I'm seriously considering your suggestion. I am going to research further.