Oh man. Where to start. First off, someone buy sydewayz a dictionary, because there's nothing "intuitive" about machining and pressing mixed up parts. Props for trying to string together three 8+ letter words on an automotive forum, though.
Ok. So S13 bearings and S14 4-lug bearings are not the same. Period. All S14's use different spindle tapers (and thus inner bearing races) than S13's. AND, S14 4-lug hubs are not the same as 4-lug S13 hubs, easily represented by the fact that they take different studs. So, yes, It would be REALLY easy to go get S14 4-lug spindles for free and go get new OEM hub/bearing assemblies for $230 and basically have new everything.
I think Z28ricer's solution for taking free J30 throwaway hubs and pressing in S13 bearings is at least another alternative. Chasing a machinist and shop guy (because I don't have my own press) isn't something I'm going to waste my time on to save a few bucks, but it wouldn't be a stretch for someone who works at a shop to do this.
Some people on here need to stop playing internet engineer. "thin hubs"? WTF does that have to do with anything? When has anyone ever broken a hub before? Time attack cars on slicks crashing berms? No. Drift cars crashing into walls? No. Lets just say I'm not losing sleep at night thinking about cast steel cracking. ...especially when it's being loaded by a big chunk of cast aluminum.
And who in here is talking about replacing worn out bearings? These bearings basically never wear out. My car is on the originals and has 165k on it. I know there are even higher mileage examples as well. The only time I've killed bearings is on my S13 when I ran them without the seals/caps. Enough water finally accumulated in there and rusted the rollers. But only after 2 years of driving it like that! Even then it was just noisy and didn't have any play.
By the way, lets go ahead and address another internet myth while we're talking about hubs.... The front bearings are not sealed. The outer caps actually keep stuff out. And they're not sealed on the backside either. That's why its important to keep the "ring" part of the brake shield when you cut it. It interfaces closely with the hub to keep stuff out.
Finally, never trust online parts catalogs unless you're reading scans of the Nissan microfiche directly.
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