Spinner Torque for Wire Wheels ?

I browsed through a couple of my manuals, then tried a search here for old threads and didn't find what I was looking for. Google took me to a few Lotus threads that may apply.

The question is, if you have wire wheels with eared knock off spinners AND you have a tool to tighten the spinners using a wrench, what do you torque the spinners to?

The Lotus threads suggested a range from 180 to 220 ft-lb depending on the type of spinner. The data in the Triumph threads focus on the 3/8" stud to adapter hub torque... which is not what I'm after.

Any ideas regarding spinner torque?

Unfortunately, there's no specific mention of any force as applied to a spinner wrench, but otherwise this article from the VTR site might prove useful?

I hit them pretty hard before I go driving'


It could really spoil you day when you loose a wheel while your driving'
(taken from expr.)
:hammer:

I get them tight, then do another <span style="font-style: italic">3/16"</span> movement (at the ear) or so. Not scientific but it would be pretty hard to measure torque when smacking 'em with a hammer.

FWIW - I use a 10" length of 1x1 oak as a drift and hit it with a 3# dead-blow hammer.

As I understand it, they actually tighten themselves (via flexing of the spokes I think) as you roll forward so they find their tightness as you drive. That is why the threads have opposite handedness on each side.

Mounting wire wheels... article from Dayton...

Read the last couple of paragraphs.

Thanks for the posts. All comments and observations are appreciated. Now to elaborate on why I asked.

Our GT6 is on wires and it is my wife's car. The kids are old enough now that she wants to start driving it more. That's fine with me. I think the car falls apart slowly from lack of use.

Earlier this year we were getting the car ready for a show. I had my wife try to remove the wheels so we could clean them. The lead hammer blows were coming very close to the bodywork and spokes. Since I won't always be with my wife when she's driving this car I wanted to have a tool in the car to help with the spinners. I considered one of the wooden knock-off wrenches sold by most, but thought it might be better to provide something that wouldn't splinter and which would give my wife the ability of applying a bit more leverage.

I machined a 1" thick aluminum plate to fit the eared knock-offs and tapped 6 places around the perimeter to accept 3/8" pipe as handles/levers. On the very first use of the wrench a pipe/lever failed. I'd forgotten what a stress concentrator pipe threads are. I will be placing solid steel bars inside the ends of the pipe for increased strength but wanted to get an idea how much torque was reasonable and appropriate. (i.e. Do I tell her to stand on the end of one pipe handles to generate the necessary locking torque?)

The VTR article contrasts the information on the Lotus web sites. As many Lotus cars have shared front end parts with TRs I had thought the information on spinner torque may be applicable. I still think it SHOULD be applicable. I assume Lotus experimented to find what torque produced the same angular displacement as well placed hammer blows.

Thanks again to all and a special thanks to Andy for the link. I'll go easy on the torque using the aluminum wrench and follow/finish with lead hammer blows.

Geo Hahn said:

That is why the threads have opposite handedness on each side.

Click to expand...

And <span style="font-weight: bold">that</span> is why one should never tow a knock-off, wire-wheeled car "backwards" with the rear up in the air! I still remember, almost 40 years ago, watching my local garage tow a Jaguar XK-150 to my house. A friend had bought the car and was storing it there. It had a problem with the RR wheel hub, so the rear was in the air. I was glad we were following the tow truck as we watched one of the front wheel knockoffs fall off and bounce into the weeds. Fortunately, neglect had "fastened" the front wheel on quite securely, and it didn't move at all.

Much more recently, another friend had an early Spitfire with wire wheels towed to my house so I could do some work on it. For whatever reason, the tow operator elected to tow from the rear. After a 25-mile tow, the front wheels and knockoffs were rather loose!

dklawson said:

The VTR article contrasts the information on the Lotus web sites. As many Lotus cars have shared front end parts with TRs I had thought the information on spinner torque may be applicable. I still think it SHOULD be applicable. I assume Lotus experimented to find what torque produced the same angular displacement as well placed hammer blows.

Click to expand...

Doug,
I don't know what Lotus articles you're referring to, but remember that many Lotus, though having knock-off wheels, do not have Rudge-Whitworth splined hubs.
There's a world of difference!

I once had a front wheel nearly come off my Lotus Elan Sprint at 80MPH+. It had a knock-off, but the wheel was held by pins. I had done some work that required the wheel to be off. In my rush to get whee I needed to be I forgot to tighten the knock-off more than hand tight. All fine until the steering went very, very light at the high speed. A sharp bend was coming up and when I hit the brakes the car went everywhere. I had to stop it on the handbrake. The knock-off was held on by only a couple of threads. One of the scariest moments I have had in a car to date.

Thanks Roger. I'll do some more research on the Lotus hubs. I obviously was mistaken thinking they were like those on the Triumphs.

Slightly related to Doug's question, I can pass along something I found this week.

All my experience with wire wheels had been with an MGA and a Healey 100-4. They both had the copper hammer, about 3 lbs. So, I assumed that that was all there was. I remember that the hammers, and the knock-off caps would tend to get beat up. Some folks use wooden stakes to insulate the cap from the hammer.

When I bought this car, the PO had a heavy, orange, PLASTIC hammer that he used for this purpose. I used it once, and it works GREAT! It is heavy and HARD, and neither it nor the caps have a mark on them. I wondered where he got it.

Well, last week I found them. At HARBOR FREIGHT, in about 3 different sizes.

FWIW.

I believe those are the "dead blow" hammers. The heads are supposed to be full of lead shot. The dead blow hammers were recommended by several Lotus owners on the same Lotus boards I stumbled across looking for spinner torque information.