View Full Version : Wheel bearings: stock or aftermarket?
Pearldrummer7
08-18-2014, 09:04 AM
Hey all,
I have my hubs pressed apart from the knuckle, and while shopping for bearings I realized that might be options other than the stock ones.
Is everyone going with stock wheel bearings? Anyone look into a longer lasting or maybe lower-resistance bearing? Are there even other viable options out there?
svanlare
08-18-2014, 09:32 AM
I just went with the stock ones.
STiPWRD
08-18-2014, 09:46 AM
I went stock
D Clary
08-18-2014, 09:54 AM
I went stock but repacked them with redline high temp grease.
Mechie3
08-18-2014, 09:55 AM
Stock. My 06 WRX never wore out the stockers at 70k miles and many autocrosses with R comps. Can't see a lighter car causing issues.
Lower resistance bearings sound interesting. Do you have a link? Or are you just looking at the catalogs of bearing companies for items with the same sizes as OEM?
FFRSpec72
08-18-2014, 01:01 PM
Stock. My 06 WRX never wore out the stockers at 70k miles and many autocrosses with R comps. Can't see a lighter car causing issues.
Agree, I see no reason not to go with OEM if you are on a budget
Slatt
08-18-2014, 10:53 PM
It seems most complaints about bearing wear are in the front, where the 818 is so much lighter that I doubt it will be an issue for us. The other question might be "what year front spindles do you have?" The bearings are much easier to replace in newer models. Sorry, I don't know what year they transitioned from 'hard to replace' to 'reasonable to replace'.
Pearldrummer7
08-19-2014, 09:20 AM
Hm. Alright; thanks all. I have checked out a few bearing catalogs for some lower resistance ones. Seems I'll be thriftier than that for now. Perhaps when/if they ever fail I'll upgrade them
Goldwing
08-19-2014, 10:07 AM
Seems I'll be thriftier than that for now. Perhaps when/if they ever fail I'll upgrade them
So may upgrades are like that! It seems unreasonable to spend the money for the upgrade until a broken part forces you to spend nearly as much for the original piece. I was fortunate to find a low mileage car, but because of that, I haven't been able to justify many upgrades. I have very mixed emotions about this, lol.
Pearldrummer7
08-20-2014, 06:27 AM
So may upgrades are like that! It seems unreasonable to spend the money for the upgrade until a broken part forces you to spend nearly as much for the original piece. I was fortunate to find a low mileage car, but because of that, I haven't been able to justify many upgrades. I have very mixed emotions about this, lol.
Ha, I had a very high mileage 02 from NY (so rust galore). My wallet isn't terribly excited about all the "opportunities" to upgrade, but it's got some benefits.
I don't have front wheel bearings in place at this point, which is why the question is being asked.