Wow, what can I say. My front left wheel came off on the highway. We were at a dealer track event and I enjoyed some laps around the track. I drove their cars a lot as well, it was a blast.

However on the drive home right away I began to feel a slight vibration. I thought that is strange. I got out and looked at all the wheels. One of the wheels looked like it was missing its wheel balance weights so I figured I would stay below 60 and get them rebalanced at Discount Tire.

Well, it got REALLY bad so I started to slow down and pull over and all of the sudden the left front of the car dropped down, sparks flew, and the wheel went on down the road and crossed the highway.

I was so lucky nobody got hurt and it did not hit oncoming traffic on the other side of the interstate.


The car is at Ways shop right now and hopefully he can get it taken care of. Thanks to him I was not stranded on a busy interstate and he helped me get the wheel back on and to a safe place to call a tow truck.

Would this have happened from Discount Tire not torquing the wheels properly. I just had these put on about a month ago and less than 4000 miles

k

 

Glad to hear you're okay! Do you just have stock rims? What did you have done at discount tire?

 

They are team dynamics wheels. I had them mount the tires I bought from them. Do they have any liability in this for expense to any damage?

The car drug on the lower control arm and sheered off the bolt/nut which is why I had it towed. The control arm was still intact but probably not safe.

 

Also, is it a possible problem with after market wheels and hub centric rings? I had them install the wheels and bought hub centric rings from them.

 

A few weeks ago, this same thing happened to me. Left front wheel started shaking like I had a flat, but the flat tire indicator wasn't on. I immediately pulled over, and saw no flat, so I checked the lugs and all 4 (including the wheel lock) was loose. I checked my other 3 wheels and same there. Then I remembered I had these wheels rebalanced a few weeks ago, and never bothered to retorque them--trusting the shop would tighten them properly.

Never again. If anyone ever takes off the wheels, tighten them with a torque wrench to be sure. Best to do after you've driven a bit to let it settle in.

So glad that you weren't injured. It was a wet rainy night when it happened, and being on the side of the freeway with cars whizzing past me inches away was not fun---had I lost my wheel, it would have been very bad as there was no where to pull off to the side when it happened and I would have been a sitting duck in the fast lane under poor visibility.

Btw, there is a thread somewhere here on NAM about plastic hubcentric rings deforming under the heat at a track event possibly causing the wheels to get loose? Might want to do a Google search and limit it to the site:northamericanmotoring.com

Richard

 

It's generally thought that one needs to check the torque of ones lug bolts during the day at a track event and after. (Among other things) The amount of heat put in the wheels makes it more likely to have this exact issue. I know when ever I've gone we've all had torque wrenchs and checked. In my case before, mid day after a few runs, and after.

Sure if they didn't tighten them correctly it would be more likely... But one of the basics for the owner / driver for track prep is checking the torque oneself no matter who put em on or when. I have to say I'm afraid that I can't see holding the tire vendor responsible in a any way.

Glad it wasn't worse and you're OK!

Edit: My tire / wheel vendor advised me that I wanted metal centering rings not plastic if I planned to do any track type events including driving schools. Not a absolute I think but a darn good idea.

 

I second this advice. The plastic rings can't handle the heat that the track produces. I would switch to metal.

I also never trust shops to torque wheels or to inflate tires properly. I spun my Miata 5 minute after leaving a shop 12 years ago. I had never felt the car let go so easy so I checked the road for oil. There was nothing wrong with the road so I started to check the car. The shop had put about 20 pounds in both fronts and one rear was 58 pounds and the other was 64 pounds. They should have been around 30 pounds. I was only going about 40 mph but it was a poorly designed on-ramp that banked the wrong way. There was no saving it and I hit a sign post with the front fender. I was lucky all I hurt was my car. I could have caused a bad accident. I totally recommend doing a safety check after anyone works on your car.


I'm glad you weren't hurt and the car wasn't damaged too bad.

 

Thanks for the info guys. I thought the same thing but I asked the tire shop about plastic. They said all the hub centric rings are for is aligning the wheels during mounting. The guys said that once properly tightened the wheel will be held. I was leery of that but took their word for it.

k

 

A lot of people agree with this. And a lot (including me) have the opposite opinion. And yes the plastic "heat resistant" rings will deform during track events. Learned that the hard way. And when they did I had an "out of balance" situation. And also the lug bolts will back out. Something to do with the expansion and contraction of the metals due to high heat and cooling.
Not a bad habit to check toque from time to time.

 

This is true. The hubcentric rings just play a part when mounting the wheel so that you can evenly tighten the bolts while the wheel is centered. As long as the bolts are evenly tightened and the wheel is centered, a melted/misshaped hubring is not going to cause them to back out. I have run thousands of miles on wheels without hubcentric rings (they don't make the right size for my application) and I check my lugs regularly. Never seen a problem. If all four bolts are tightened and the wheel is centered properly, there won't be any wobbles. The hubcentric rings just make it much easier to center when installing.

It's also true that heating and cooling of bolts can lead to them backing out....but if this is the case, a metal or plastic hubring isn't going to stop them from backing out further. The only measure that can be taken here is to check your lugs after driving events...and regularly on daily drivers.

What would be the cause of the "out of balance" situation? Unless your lugs were already backing out....your wheel would still be lugcentric and there would be no balance issues.

 

There is a rule of thumb to always RE-check your torque 25 miles after having your wheels installed. My tire place always reminds me of this, and I always do it.

 

That really sucks. What was the damage to the car?

At least this didn't happen...
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Gxqls0goYV8

 

I am really wishing Discount Tire would have said something to me about having them re-torqued...

The damage is going to end up being more extensive. It looks like the hub, axle and bushings. Probably about $800 or more in repairs. Also the plastic wheel fender was cracked, but may not need replacing.

 

YES .... I also re-torque several times after wheel removal, and monthly I check air pressure and a quick re-torque.

 

So for you who torque your own wheels do you have a dedicated wrench just for wheels to get to that high ft lb?

 

Also, the stock lug nuts were used. I assume those are the correct lug nuts to use? The holes that accept the lugs are like the mini wheels and conical in shape. I guess that is the right term.

 

I could easily be wrong...but all the torque wrenches I've ever seen can easily go up to the MINI's ft/lb requirement(which isn't that high, honestly).

 

Yes...your stock lugs are the right ones for the job as long as the wheels have a conical seat as you mentioned.

 

Uh, I just ran a real quick search and found this one that goes up to 200 Ft. Lbs.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...keyword=torque
I hope you arent torquing more then that!
Mine goes up to 120. I go till 80

 

I need a new torque wrench, my current one only goes up to 90 lb/ft but most torque wrenches aren't accurate in the top and bottom 10% of their range, the other torque wrench I have access to goes from 200-600 lb-ft so I don't think that's suitable either.

 

That's good to know. I just happen to be on the Sears site the other day and they have a specific wrench for wheels. Not that I want a special one, it's just time for me to get my own instead of borrowing and I want to get one that will maybe do a range from my say my oil pan plug to wheels.

 

+1 I have heard this from multiple sources regarding track days and torquing your lugs. Glad things didn't end up worse.

 

Tirerack has a nice torque wrench also for $29.99
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/tools/tw605.jsp

Get the correct 17mm Gorilla socket while you are there:
http://www.tirerack.com/accessories/tools/sockets.jsp


I have the Sears torque wrench also but it was $69 on sale. The Tire Rack one does the same job for less $$ and includes the extender things

 

Glad to hear you weren't hurt.
When tracking ALWAYS check lug torque. (but you know that now )

Did they do a tech inspection? That's pretty standard - checking battery hold down, fluids and lugs.

 

Do you have studs? or the original lugs?