The new ones wouldn't spin freely. I used new nuts and torqued them to spec.
I "believe" that it's supposed to have some drag. I actually had 1 old one that would spin round a couple times, I figured it was bad. It was a different hub than the one on the other side. The ABS exciter ring was different than the other side, and different from my new ones. It (the exciter ring) was more of a stamped design kinda like the rears, while the new ones were more solid, and machined. Since I don't know the maintenence history of my car, I assumed that the loose, spinning, stamped exciter ringed hub was most likely OEM, while the other one (the tighter one) was a newer replacement. I only replaced both of them because I'm working over everthing else.
Perhaps you could put the car up on a jack stand(s), mount a wheel, and give it a wiggle test. Also check to see if it spins smoothly. Perhaps the idea that it should spin freely comes from spinning it with a wheel mounted, where the inertia from the weight of the wheel will overcome the drag and allow it to spin round a few times.
Maybe someone else could post their findings on this to confim or deny my theory...
Rick