Any reason for GM sport wheel hub to be so heavy?

[HeavyD]

Dug out a factory deluxe/corvette style steering wheel attached to a hub from a 68 Camaro on it...prepared to scuff it for paint and noticed the thing seems almost absurdly heavy?? You could put it in a sock and I am sure you could swing it and knock someone out.

Wouldn't the weight of this thing be hard on the steering column shaft or am I missing something? Been wanting to ask this for a while. Thanks.

[LockDoc]

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I think the relatively short distance from the wheel to the top bearing and the angle of the column would help offset the weight of the wheel. The column bearings are far from heavy duty and some have a plastic case that the balls ride in, but I think you will be fine. I guess it would depend on how much you plan to drive it and if you pull on the wheel when you get in and out off the vehicle.

LockDoc

[HotWheelsFan]

Manual steering might be rough on bearings. Heaviness might help w/ vibration dampening.

[leftybass209]

Sometimes I think we get wrapped up in small details and forget these were just cars and trucks in their heyday. They were driven and beaten and taken for granted. There wasn't any supporting documentation or tech bulletins to be concerned of premature bearing wear.

The bearings may not need, or have needed to be replaced, but after even 20 years and a bunch of miles, it'd be ignorant to not check this kind of stuff anyway. I would think it's a non-issue.

[kwmech]

extra metal was cheaper than engineers back then??

[special-K]

The comfort-grip steering wheels were really light by themselves. I wonder how much one with hub weighs compared to the factory truck wheel. I bet the hub was intentionally made on the heavy side for vibration dampening and other "feel" considerations. Also, it's the hub that is bolted securely to the column with the light metal steering wheel bolted to that. I'm sure they wanted a solid and secure bolt-up there, so the hub was left solid. A hub is what holds things together and takes all the stress of leverage

[indymachinist]

I'd say its heavy because its not cheap junk.

[HeavyD]

Originally Posted by special-K

The comfort-grip steering wheels were really light by themselves. I wonder how much one with hub weighs compared to the factory truck wheel. I bet the hub was intentionally made on the heavy side for vibration dampening and other "feel" considerations. Also, it's the hub that is bolted securely to the column with the light metal steering wheel bolted to that. I'm sure they wanted a solid and secure bolt-up there, so the hub was left solid. A hub is what holds things together and takes all the stress of leverage

Some good points there..thanks all.

[special-K]

It was a good question. I'm a curios person, too. They certainly are heavy. Superior's hubs were light as a feather and those steering wheels had a cheaper feel. I just read through again and my thoughts on the weight being hard on the top bearing. I figure the bearing is rated to handle that. It's what bearings do. As mentioned, the weight is very close to the bearing so minimal leverage. Look at wheel bearings and what they do. Bigger, yes, as all bearings are are sized to suit demand. But just those 4 bearings carry all the weight of the truck with heavy wheels and tires hanging off of them with shock and side stresses added into the mix