FFr wheels

[durk]

I just received the FFR 15" wheels and 4 M.T. tires and they look great on the car. I have seen some of the cars that have a spinner keeper w/springs and tie wire my spinners have a set screw is this enough I don't see how it could come loose and if it did the lug nut covers would rattle to alert you

[NukeMMC]

The problem with the setscrew is the damage to the threads on the hub that will happen no matter what. Then you find yourself figuring out how to get the spinner off when it galls to the hub.

[edwardb]

The safety wire you're seeing was from back in the day with pin drive wheels (knock-offs) when it was often used. Depending on who you ask, it was there to make sure the spinner didn't turn too much, or it was there to give a reference to tell if the spinner moved at all. Whatever the reason, doesn't matter that much. For lug nut wheels like yours (and mine...) it's not required unless you're trying to have an extra authentic look. I generally use a couple hits with a dead blow hammer, and I've never had a problem with them coming loose. I do tighten the set screw, but very lightly, and I've never had a problem. Maybe it's not doing much though. But the caution about over tightening them and damaging the threads is real. Some remove them all together.

I'm not sure how much warning you would get if one came loose. You hear every once in a while about someone loosing a spinner. They were just gone. If they had heard them rattling, probably they would have stopped to see what the problem was. Then again, they might have rattled for a bit, but couldn't be heard of the engine, side pipes, wind, traffic, etc. You get the idea.

[karlos]

Different but related question: once installed, what keeps the hub and spinner from turning together when you try to remove it? The hub isn't keyed or prevented from turning that I can see. And since the spinner has to come off to get to the lug nuts under the cover, I'm wondering what happens in the event the spinner galls on the hub? Seems a matter of time before the bare aluminum galls, the spinner won't come off, and the wheel is stuck on the hub because there's no access to the lug nuts. Do you guys do something special to somehow prevent the hub from turning? Or is the clamp-up force from tightening the lug nuts sufficient to keep it put?

[edwardb]

Legitimate concern. First, it's generally a good idea to put some type of lube on the threads. Some guys use anti-seize. There are purpose made lubes for pin drive spinners. Something. The main problem happens when trying to remove them. As you mentioned, sometimes the retainer will start turning with the spinner, then it gets to be a real pain. Some guys glue in the retainer with silicone. That's probably one of the most common approaches. There are also various ways to pin the retainer in place. I drilled and tapped for set screws through the wheel and into the retainer. Like this.

http://i867.photobucket.com/albums/ab234/edwardb123/Factory%20Five%20Mark%204%20Roadster%20Build/Final%20Assembly/th_IMG_2916_zps3918f9e4.jpg (http://s867.photobucket.com/user/edwardb123/media/Factory%20Five%20Mark%204%20Roadster%20Build/Final%20Assembly/IMG_2916_zps3918f9e4.jpg.html)

[CraigS]

Edward, as a reference, did you tap all the way though the spinner hub? Or did you just thread the wheel and let the set screw tighten against the hub?

[edwardb]

Edward, as a reference, did you tap all the way though the spinner hub? Or did you just thread the wheel and let the set screw tighten against the hub?

I tapped all the way through. The adapter is a bit loose in the opening, so I wanted to make sure I always had a good hold on it. Some have only pressed against the adapter though.

[marlin]

Just a quick suggestion to add to edwardb's fix. If you place the nut cover and spinner on to the hub before drilling and tapping it will hold & center the hub in place. And you can get the threads and screw into the base of the hub. Hope this helps.
Marlin

[DaleG]

43049After struggling with this issue a few times I found a solution that works for me. I use a grip wrench to hold the hub steady as I turn, then tighten the spinner down tight with a few blows of a rubber mallet. Then I install the set screw with Blue Lock-tite until it makes firm (but not real tight) contact with the hub. The grip wrench shown in the pic is larger than the one I use (can't find the small one; garage needs sorting). Reverse the process to remove.

Question: does drilling the wheel for wires or set screws affect wheel balance?

Cheers, Dale

[CraigS]

Question: does drilling the wheel for wires or set screws affect wheel balance?
No it won't. If it were out at the rim "maybe" a case could be made for affecting balance. But think about the little set screw compared to the smallest wheel weight you have ever seen. Also realize you are drilling out aluminum and replacing it w/ steel. So maybe 1/3 of the steel weight is offset anyway.

[Gumball]

I used safety wire, both for the period-correct look and also due to concerns about the knock-off getting stuck on the center. I took a few other measures, too, a couple of which necessitated the safety wire.

1) I "keyed" the threaded centers to the wheel by cutting a few notches in the beveled portion that is not seen from the outside and then drilling corresponding shallow dimples in the hub hole on the inside of the wheel. I then used some of the JB Weld stick putty to fix the threaded center in place. All this was done, obviously, with the wheels off the car - and I used the knock-off to pull the threaded center tight against the inside of the wheels' hub hole.

2) Anti-seize on the threads before installing the knock-offs.

3) Chucked the set screws - they are steel and the knock-offs are aluminum... bad things can happen with dissimilar metals and I didn't want to have to drill those things out someday.

4) Hand-tighten the knock-offs only... then add safety wire to hold them tight.

http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab15/CCRsAC/Graduation/IMG_20150614_173123015_zpsfcp6lvax.jpg (http://s845.photobucket.com/user/CCRsAC/media/Graduation/IMG_20150614_173123015_zpsfcp6lvax.jpg.html)

[karlos]

Thanks for all the great ideas, guys! This forum's right up there with sliced bread.

[durk]

Great discussion now how about which side do the left hand threaded spinners go I have heard both ways I guess it is not intuitive

[Corsair]

Just make sure that you lockwire the spinner so that it pulls the lockwire tight to be undone, it is very easy to lockwire something backwards... and nothing worse than getting a really nice lockwire and having to redo it because it is the wrong way round...(i have worked on aircraft and have cursed multiple times after getting a really finicky lockwire done and finding it backwards...)

[durk]

I worked for the military as a tank mechanic and understand tie wire and its use what I am talking about is what side of the car do the left handed threaded spinners go somewhere I read that the top of the spinner needs to be hammered towards the rear of the car which would put the left hand spinners on the pass. side

[Gumball]

I worked for the military as a tank mechanic and understand tie wire and its use what I am talking about is what side of the car do the left handed threaded spinners go somewhere I read that the top of the spinner needs to be hammered towards the rear of the car which would put the left hand spinners on the pass. side

The wheel in my photo is the driver's side (left) front - wire is pulling up and holding the knock-off tight. This is a right-hand thread and the left-hand thread are on the passenger side.