I think that would be a unfair statement. I was the first guy to call Fran and ask if he could work with me to build a SLC track only car. It was being sold as a street car at the time and before he built his race car. This was something like 2006-07. I took delivery about 6 months later. Nobody had any data on these car then and as far as the C4 corvettes go not much on them either.
Lets face it.... you can't expect Rolex series prototypes for used corvette prices. As far as who the vendor was for those bearings....well it just doesn't matter now does it, they were made more than a decade ago. I'll pull my big boy panties up and take complete responsibility for the construction of my car. Period.
I pushed the car much harder at COTA because of the huge runoffs and the safety they afford testing a new car. I picked my spot and the car broke. If people think they can build these cars and take them to the track, push them many multiples harder than even possible than on the street, and not break them then I think they are fooling themselves.
I broke parts on bikes and got hurt.......real hurt. I don't do that anymore....but that doesn't mean I'll retire to the couch just yet either.
I don't think C4 bearings are suitable for high power cars on slicks being run hard on race tracks no matter who makes them. ALL the corvette guys seam to know that. We (many very knowledgeable people have contacted me on the subject) will come up with a much stronger package, add a time change program if necessary to that, and post everything I learn from doing so. This is one of the reasons why I have built and am developing this car in public.....to lend a bit of reality to the bench racing.
So there is no blame here.....just truthful information.
Ed, the stub shaft splines go in the back of the bearing housing, all the way through the bearing and out the other side. It's the lack of material thickness in the bearing shoulder itself that is the problem. This is completely evident if you compare the C4 design to the C5-6-7- X Tracker design. The answer is to retrofit to the X Tracker design. It is becoming evident this is the solution on both the front and the back of the car. This is the direction I am heading and as hard parts become available..............watch this space.