Hey guys, I have a set of Rota Subzeros 18s w/ 225 pirellis on my car. The past year or so, my rear bearings have cracked twice, making a horrible spinning sound. I was told by the mechanic it's because of my wheels, but I've never heard of this happening to anyone TWICE in a year. Anyone have any ideas on what else it could be? I dont have too much weight in my trunk and I dont drive too roughly. Perhaps it could be in credit to LA roads, but i dont know. Is there a possiblity that i need new shocks? LMK what u guys think. thanks

 

Go to a different mechanic...

 

Having heavier wheels and tires may cause some accelerated wear on bearings but twice in a year...nope. I've had 18x7.5 with 225/40's on my car for about 60K miles or so and I'm still on the original bearings (100K on the car).

Did he replace them with OEM bearings?

 

yeah, they were OEM bearings from Honda. I had the second set replaced from a 6 mth warranty. But i just dont want it happening again..so if it's something other then the wheels, I'd rather fix it. btw, I have 18inch rota zubzeros with 225/18/40 Pirelli Pzero-nero tires.

 

honda (and japanese designers, in general) do not over-engineer their products. That is, they manufacture their parts strictly to design specs without any room for error. When I went to engineering school here in the US, we were told to make our calculations, then specify a component double the rating and it will hold up. When you remove factory equipment and install larger wheels, tires, etc, you are most likely over stressing wheel and axle components, not to mention throwing off the calibration of the wheel sensors. If you want to prove this, have the car repaired and reinstall the original equipment.

 

That isn't correct. And 'double engineering' is really only applicable in civil engineering, not mechanical/automotive.

Your wheels shouldn't be affecting it. The bearings might be being installed improperly, or you need your car aligned, or you have a bad ball joint somewhere.

 

im gonna have to go with him...it either works or something is wrong.

 

This may be a long shot, but did you use hub-rings when you installed your Rotas, as the Rotas have a larger hub size than the Honda wheels, and if you didn't mount the wheels super carefully and they are slightly non-concentric when torqued down, they may be causing some added stress on the wheel bearings. Also, did you torque the wheels (80ft-lbs I believe), or di you tighten them just short of a hernia?

Too much offset could also be loading the bearings unevenly, also, but there's 1000's of Rotas in use on Hondas, so I doubt that's the case. The Rotas are a lightweight wheel, but in the size you're using they prob weogh as much as your OEM wheels did, along with the heavier than OEM tires, the bearings are subject to some added stress, but again, I doubt that's the case.

I'd insist on using OEM bearings if you haven't in the past, and get another opinion. In the 45 yrs I've been driving, and w/ the almost 70 cars I've owned, I've only replaced wheel bearings on a '49 Olds rear end installed in a '40 Ford, and on a mid '80s Audi. Properly installed, they should last forever (almost).

 

probably over torquing the axle nut. later.

 

2x is a reasonable guess.