almost finished with my 5 lug swap...
 

but one thing id like to know...

should i replace the front bearings? is there a way to tell if they need to be replaced once theyre off the car?


also... the front uses only 1 wedge bearing... correct?

Well usually you check for wheel-bearing play by shaking the wheel on the hub. I suppose if you found a way to mount the hub on something rock-solid you could flex the hub by threading on a couple lug nuts and then using a couple wrenches one on top and one on the bottom to get some torque on the bearing.

But why not just replace them anyway? Better to be safe then sorry... and you'll have the peace of mind knowing that your car is one important step towards being track-ready. I'm not joking either there's a reason they tell you do that...

... I know of a spec race-miata that busted a brand new wheel bearing after only 3 half- hour races. That's what sticky tires and G forces will do to the suspension. It'll also shake and flex loose all the nuts and bolts in the suspension. When I was pit-crew for the afformentioned miata I had to check for that stuff and usually found a few loose ones before every race.

front hubs on the FC are a pain. They are listed as non-servicable by Mazda but that isn't true. Do a search on servicing FC hubs and you'll find the instructions you need. Be prepared to spend a whole afternoon on those bitches though...