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S550 GT wheel hub upgrades?

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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
I’m now replacing the driver-side rear wheel hub for the second time this year. Seems like 2-3 events is the limit. Any recommendations on an upgraded hub? I see the OP Performance hubs with upgraded studs but the hubs themselves appear to be standard Ford OEM hubs based on the description. Are y’all using something different? Or should I just keep a savings jar going for hubs and live with the nuisance? Thanks in advance!
 
1,246
1,243
In the V6L
I’m now replacing the driver-side rear wheel hub for the second time this year. Seems like 2-3 events is the limit. Any recommendations on an upgraded hub? I see the OP Performance hubs with upgraded studs but the hubs themselves appear to be standard Ford OEM hubs based on the description. Are y’all using something different? Or should I just keep a savings jar going for hubs and live with the nuisance? Thanks in advance!
Two or three events per hub is way too quick for them to fail. Are you sure you're getting genuine Ford parts? You might have a problem like this with cheap copies, but the genuine article should last for a lot longer. The other possibility is that something else is wrong back there, something that's bent or loose that damages the bearing.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
OK. To clarify...I guess I’m talking about the bearing, not the hub. I read in some other boards that the S550 bearings go out all the time.
 
141
153
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Arizona
Are you driving with AdvanceTrac on "normal" mode? I wiped out two driver side hubs in about 2 events each when I first started tracking my car. I've recently been running it in "sport" mode which is the only other mode my base GT has and I haven't had issues after several track days. I think the stability control can put alot of heat into the rear brakes.

I upgraded the rear rotors to the Steeda two-piece units to try and keep the hubs cooler. Don't have enough time on them to know if they are helping.

FYI, the Moog front and Timken rear hub replacements are made in China. I've gotten burned twice from Rock Auto thinking Moog/Timken hubs for this car would be an improvement. They look cheap, don't even want tot put them on the car.

Stick with Ford/Motorcraft.
 
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301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Are you driving with AdvanceTrac on "normal" mode? I wiped out two driver side hubs in about 2 events each when I first started tracking my car. I've recently been running it in "sport" mode which is the only other mode my base GT has and I haven't had issues after several track days. I think the stability control can put alot of heat into the rear brakes.

I upgraded the rear rotors to the Steeda two-piece units to try and keep the hubs cooler. Don't have enough time on them to know if they are helping.

FYI, the Timken front/rear hub replacements are made in China. I've gotten burned twice from Rock Auto thinking Timken hubs for this car would be an improvement. They look cheap, don't even want tot put them on the car.

Stick with Ford/Motorcraft.
I always run in “sport” or “track” mode. Usually “track” mode for the duration of this last bearing / hub replacement.
 
296
349
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
NC
Make sure the axle nuts aren't slightly backing off. Supposed to be an issue with S550. My 2015 GT nuts were somewhat loose when I got it with 20k miles on it. Admittedly, I haven't checked the ones on my Bullitt yet.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
Make sure the axle nuts aren't slightly backing off. Supposed to be an issue with S550. My 2015 GT nuts were somewhat loose when I got it with 20k miles on it. Admittedly, I haven't checked the ones on my Bullitt yet.
O-Man, you are correct sir. Coincidentally, about 5 minutes after I read your post my mechanic called with the same answer. He checked with a friend that races Mustangs who said that he re-torques after every session and that I should do the same. So this is probably what happened last time as well. Sounds like a pain but it is better than eating bearings up. I'm just surprised that Ford hasn't fixed the issue. Why not put a castle nut with a retaining pin or something? In any event...go check your Bullitt.

Thanks for the info!
 
1,246
1,243
In the V6L
I think it comes down to torqueing them properly. It's 98 ft-lb plus a 45 degree turn. On my car, getting that last 45 degrees takes 200 pounds of me nearly lifting myself off the floor with a two-foot pipe slid over a two-foot breaker bar. It's probably 400 to 500 ft-lbs. Mine are witness marked and they haven't moved.

Keep in mind also that you're supposed to use new axle nuts every time - fresh thread locker is the reason.
 
You might have more AdvancTrac options then you know. Here’s something I learned last year for base S550s:

Default at every start-up:
- Traction Control On
- Stability Control On

Single tap: "Traction Control Off"
- Traction Control Off
- Stability Control On

Double Tap: "AdvancTrac Sport Mode"
- Traction Control Reduced
- Stability Control Reduced

Press & Hold (a few seconds): "AdvancTrac Off" (e.g. Track Mode)
- Traction Control Off
- Stability Control Off

AdvancTrac helps to maintain control of your vehicle on slippery surfaces using Traction Control and Stability Control by applying brakes to individual wheels and reducing engine power.

Traction control helps to avoid drive wheel spin and loss of traction.

Stability control helps avoid skids and lateral slides.

Are you driving with AdvanceTrac on "normal" mode? I wiped out two driver side hubs in about 2 events each when I first started tracking my car. I've recently been running it in "sport" mode which is the only other mode my base GT has and I haven't had issues after several track days. I think the stability control can put alot of heat into the rear brakes.
 
It‘s there. Or is there is a 4th one if you continue to hold the button down? Apparently, even in Track Mode there is still some stability control engaged.
 
296
349
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
NC
That's the idea behind turning the advance trac off too. Although I think you can't completely turn off the nannies. I feel some type of hesitation at NASCAR bend/turn 3 at VIR
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
I read somewhere there's a difference between base cars and premium cars in this area, anyone know if that's true?
Personally, I just leave the thing alone, I find that the only time it activates is when I just did something stupid and broke grip. When you break grip you're not getting the maximum out of the tires, you're over driving the car, so it's kind of a wake up call to the driver to smarten up.
 
296
349
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
20+ Years
NC
I read somewhere there's a difference between base cars and premium cars in this area, anyone know if that's true?
Personally, I just leave the thing alone, I find that the only time it activates is when I just did something stupid and broke grip. When you break grip you're not getting the maximum out of the tires, you're over driving the car, so it's kind of a wake up call to the driver to smarten up.
I don't think the base cars have all the toggles. My 2015 Premium GT had them just like my 2019 Bullitt. Some slip angle is fastest if I remember correctly. Theres no way I would be as fast as I am If I left all the nannies on. Admittedly, I'm still learning the High HP RWD thing after 20 years in med HP FWD cars
 

JDee

Ancient Racer
1,797
2,001
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
20+ Years
5 miles from Mosport
Haha, funny, we have the same background wrt FWD/RWD cars. Had a turbo engine and it was peaky, made the FWD understeer even worse to manage. Had a 1.5" roll cage tube on the rear beam axle bent in a U shape between trailing arms and a 1.5" solid rod inside the beam, typical cornering attitude had the inside rear barely in contact and often in the air. Even that wasn't enough to loosen the damn thing up! I ran another guy's RWD pony car one year, that was all my RWD experience on track. That car had nasty snap oversteer, something that I've yet to experience with the 'stang.

You're right about slip angle, but I don't think that's enough to set off the nannies if it's consistent and not too extreme in how it comes in. It's more about something like getting onto a slippery curb at corner exit where the maxed out tire grip goes for an instant dump, that sets off the nannies but it takes something like that to do it. I'm getting 1.5-1.6g in the highest grip corners so the car is working well even with the nannies on.
 
I read somewhere there's a difference between base cars and premium cars in this area, anyone know if that's true?
Personally, I just leave the thing alone, I find that the only time it activates is when I just did something stupid and broke grip. When you break grip you're not getting the maximum out of the tires, you're over driving the car, so it's kind of a wake up call to the driver to smarten up.
Right, the toggle switches aren’t there for driving modes and traction control. Just the single TC button. Have to use the “hacks” I listed above to access Sport and Track modes for traction control.

My road course experience is limited, but I push the car hard in turns where I have room for error. Running in Sport Mode the TC rarely interferes (at least to where I feel it). But in autocross, all the crazy, brief inputs and G changes seem to confuse the system. The worse thing is nailing a turn and rolling the gas on exiting and the throttle is taken away from me for a second or two. VERY noticeable. I thought it was fuel starvation, but running with a full tank changed nothing.
 
206
171
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Columbia, TN
Just had a frustrating driving experience where I pressed the button to turn it off, but it wasn't... So, I search TMO first, of course, and find this helpful thread, and then I think, hmmm, maybe the owners manual will explain it. Sure enough, for my 2013 GT Premium it's like you described G-Horce:
1637953574098.png
 

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