An oil lubricated rotating hub (14) and stationary spindle (12) assembly includes an oil bath seal (16, 16') for establishing a dynamic sealing interface between the hub (14) and spindle (12). A wheel sensor assembly includes a variable reluctance senor (54) targeted at an encoder ring (56, 56') which is integrated into the oil bath seal (16, 16'). The encoder ring (56, 56') is of the permanent magnet type including a plurality of magnetically polarized sectors alternating between North and South polarities. The use of an encoder style target (56, 56') in combination with a variable reluctance sensor (54) enables improved slow speed sensing with relatively large air gap spacing between the exposed (58, 58') of the encoder ring (56, 56') and the head of the VR sensor (54). Furthermore, the encoder ring (56, 56') enables use of less expensive, lighter materials for the oil bath seal carrier (20, 20').