[GunMetalGrey]

I am wondering who here has had to replace a wheel bearing in their Camaro?

If so, how many track days or sessions did it take before this happened?

Also what were the initial symptoms?

I am getting a friction noise that sounds like metal on metal coming from the front driver side of my car only when turning right, I can also feel it in the steering wheel. It definitely gets worse with more lateral G forces The harder I corner.

I track my car on a turn heavy 19 corner course and I’ve been there for 13 tracking days. My car only has 55,000 km on it which is about 30,000 miles

My car has been on the hoist a few times now and no one can see any rubbing or friction marks anywhere on the car. We did a brake job and made sure everything was lubed up with new pads just to make sure it wasn’t the brake system. I’m not sure what else would be causing this noise and feeling in the steering wheel.

[FNxR3DNECK]

I replaced both front hubs on my car back in the Spring of this year. I had a lingering vibration when under braking that had been around for longer than I care to admit lol (like nearly a year) It wasn't dangerous or anything just kind of annoying and took away some of my confidence in the brakes. Luckily the Nordshleife isn't a track with many hard braking zones so it wasn't a huge issue. At the time when I replaced them the car was just over 4yrs old with a few dozen track days on it and about 50 laps of the Ring so it was probably well overdue. My guess is years of hammering curbs finally caught up with me, and it was a fairly easy swap since you just replace the entire hub assembly so I wish I would have thought of it sooner.

The only downside is if you have extended studs like me you will need to get another set for the new hubs.

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by FNxR3DNECK

I replaced both front hubs on my car back in the Spring of this year. I had a lingering vibration when under braking that had been around for longer than I care to admit lol (like nearly a year) It wasn't dangerous or anything just kind of annoying and took away some of my confidence in the brakes. Luckily the Nordshleife isn't a track with many hard braking zones so it wasn't a huge issue. At the time when I replaced them the car was just over 4yrs old with a few dozen track days on it and about 50 laps of the Ring so it was probably well overdue. My guess is years of hammering curbs finally caught up with me, and it was a fairly easy swap since you just replace the entire hub assembly so I wish I would have thought of it sooner.

The only downside is if you have extended studs like me you will need to get another set for the new hubs.

Interesting, so you noticed the problem under braking...

I wonder how many different types of symptoms there are for a worn out wheel bearing such as noticing it in a corner, turning one way versus another way, braking, or obviously at its worst even driving in a straight line

[Msquared]

Usually you should be able to produce some play in the bearing with the car up on a jack and your hands on the outside of the tire. A bad bearing would have equal play in all directions. That said, if you have the tire off the ground and spin the wheel and hear metallic grinding sounds, that means a bearing is going out regardless of play. Don't confuse that with the pads on the disk, though. You can pull the caliper off and spin it again to be sure.

[driven2exceSS]

Just took mine off tonight to replace. Had new ones on hand with ARP wheels studs installed. No real symptoms regarding the hub assembly bearing. But, I had another two studs break, and now a sheared mag-shock up in the camber plate bearing. So doing them. What you describe does sound like a wheel bearing going. I have not actually experienced it on the Camaro, but what you describe sounds like it's going IMO

[Kmeleon]

Originally Posted by GunMetalGrey

I am wondering who here has had to replace a wheel bearing in their Camaro?

If so, how many track days or sessions did it take before this happened?

Also what were the initial symptoms?

I am getting a friction noise that sounds like metal on metal coming from the front driver side of my car only when turning right, I can also feel it in the steering wheel. It definitely gets worse with more lateral G forces The harder I corner.

I track my car on a turn heavy 19 corner course and I’ve been there for 13 tracking days. My car only has 55,000 km on it which is about 30,000 miles

My car has been on the hoist a few times now and no one can see any rubbing or friction marks anywhere on the car. We did a brake job and made sure everything was lubed up with new pads just to make sure it wasn’t the brake system. I’m not sure what else would be causing this noise and feeling in the steering wheel.

I get a similar feeling sometimes on track and the general consensus here is that its the tires. How old would you say your tires are?

[kropscamaro16]

i usually do alot of maintenance stuff in jan oil change brake fluid rear end fluid etc so im going to have my shop check mine next year being my car is going to be 6 years old and mostly gets driven on track over street nowadays

[cdrptrks]

Not yet. I wiggle each tire with one hand on the outside and one on the inside while each corner is jacked up as part of pre track day inspections and so far they all feel the same with very little movement which may be entirely from the sidewall flexing a bit.

I learned here on the forums that 6th gen Camaros have SKF x-tracker hubs which are very high quality. That may be related to the warranty covering HPDE usage on the SS and ZL1.

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=576670

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by cdrptrks

I learned here on the forums that 6th gen Camaros have SKF x-tracker hubs which are very high quality. That may be related to the warranty covering HPDE usage on the SS and ZL1.

https://www.camaro6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=576670

I have a really hard time believing that. I can't find any other references to that besides the one person in the thread you cited. I can't even find an SKF hub/bearing set for a 6th-gen Camaro anywhere. There are plenty of outlets (including the common GM dealership parts counter places) selling OE bearings branded AC Delco with the part numbers cited in that thread (13512895 for front), and they are typically selling for $83-$99. If those were truly X-trackers, they would cost a lot more than that. So either our cars weren't actually built with X-tracker hubs or all the replacements you can get - even from the dealer - are garbage and will fail very quickly on track. Does anybody have a solid reference where it's documented that GM installed X-tracker hubs in our cars at the factory?

OTOH, if our cars don't come equipped with X-tracker hubs and the OE-branded ones we can all buy are truly the same as what's installed from the factory, then the good news is that they hold up pretty well to track use and they are really cheap (again, ~$83) to replace. Coming from a C4 Corvette (and which used the same hubs as a 4th-gen F-body), that would be a refreshing change of pace.

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by Kmeleon

I get a similar feeling sometimes on track and the general consensus here is that its the tires. How old would you say your tires are?

It’s not the tires, they are brand new 285/30/20 Michelin pilot 4S

Plus I get the same noise and vibration when I had oversized 305/30/20 tires on the front as well as ZL1 1LE sized 19 inch wheels and tires.

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by Msquared

Usually you should be able to produce some play in the bearing with the car up on a jack and your hands on the outside of the tire. A bad bearing would have equal play in all directions. That said, if you have the tire off the ground and spin the wheel and hear metallic grinding sounds, that means a bearing is going out regardless of play. Don't confuse that with the pads on the disk, though. You can pull the caliper off and spin it again to be sure.

It won’t make the noise doing those tests and there isn’t any play, at least that’s what the mechanics told me, but I have also never heard any mechanic anywhere say as much stupid things as my dealership has said…

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by driven2exceSS

Just took mine off tonight to replace. Had new ones on hand with ARP wheels studs installed. No real symptoms regarding the hub assembly bearing. But, I had another two studs break, and now a sheared mag-shock up in the camber plate bearing. So doing them. What you describe does sound like a wheel bearing going. I have not actually experienced it on the Camaro, but what you describe sounds like it's going IMO

Thanks for the info, I have ordered new wheel hubs (way cheaper than I thought it would be) but apparently they are on back order everywhere with no ETA.

[GunMetalGrey]

Originally Posted by Msquared

I have a really hard time believing that. I can't find any other references to that besides the one person in the thread you cited. I can't even find an SKF hub/bearing set for a 6th-gen Camaro anywhere. There are plenty of outlets (including the common GM dealership parts counter places) selling OE bearings branded AC Delco with the part numbers cited in that thread (13512895 for front), and they are typically selling for $83-$99. If those were truly X-trackers, they would cost a lot more than that. So either our cars weren't actually built with X-tracker hubs or all the replacements you can get - even from the dealer - are garbage and will fail very quickly on track. Does anybody have a solid reference where it's documented that GM installed X-tracker hubs in our cars at the factory?

OTOH, if our cars don't come equipped with X-tracker hubs and the OE-branded ones we can all buy are truly the same as what's installed from the factory, then the good news is that they hold up pretty well to track use and they are really cheap (again, ~$83) to replace. Coming from a C4 Corvette (and which used the same hubs as a 4th-gen F-body), that would be a refreshing change of pace.

Are there any aftermarket racing wheel hubs that are better quality and more durable?

[Msquared]

Originally Posted by GunMetalGrey

Are there any aftermarket racing wheel hubs that are better quality and more durable?

I'm not aware of any, including any actual X-tracker replacement hubs. The OE design may in fact be fine, and may incorporate some or all of the design features of the X-tracker already. Who knows?