I think you nailed it with mention of the angle of the rollers. That's critical.

Lets imagine the races are the same thickness, therefore they expand the same amount and have a negligible effect here. We assume they are the same material as the hub too.

The angle (@) is then determined by axial linear expansion, and radial linear expansion only, right?

We'll call the rollers the Hyp.(H) and axial is cos(@), radial = sin(@).

On the w123 / w126 cos(@) is greater than sin(@). This makes sense b/c it how the car is supported, it needs a greater surface area.

The spindle is also much greater in length than width.


uhh... where was I going with this?

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