Wheels falling off RX-7 redux

(Leon van Dommelen) wrote:

> Here we have the situation that all of them popped off at the same
> time right from their original fully screwed-on state, by skimming
> over the tops of the stud threads, rather than shearing the
> threads significantly, let alone the studs.

I didn't see the car but is it possible that there were no lug nuts at
all? A friend had a similar thing some years back but only one wheel
was affected, he had a flat on his boat trailer, he and his son changed
it in a big rush and when the wheel came off a few miles later each
thought the other had put on the lug nuts! Somewhere on the highway is
a hubcap full of lugnuts!

NOTE: If you knew the two people involved you wouldn't be at all
surprised at the incident, they managed between the two of them to
destroy an awful lot of machinery and the tendency to hurry no matter
what eventually resulted in the death of the son.


--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project: http://blinkynet.net/comp/uip5.html

pltrgyst wrote:
> On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 09:35:16 -0500, pws > wrote:
>
>> pltrgyst wrote:
>>
>>> Well, two things seem obvious: 1. since no other damage was noted, the wheels
>>> all came off because either the lug nuts came off or the bolts sheared, and 2.
>>> at least three of those wheels completely separated from the car at essentially
>>> the same time, so either the last lug nuts came off or the bolts sheared
>>> simultaneously.
>>>
>>> If you've got a way around those points, please let us know.
>>>
>>> -- Larry
>> Sorry to step in Leon, but I have one.
>>
>> There is no "either" here. The lug nuts came off because they failed to
>> properly engage the bolt threads, while the lug bolts remained intact
>> with threads that could still be used afterwards with the proper lug nuts.
>>
>> Leon saw this in person, he even personally inspected with the car. I am
>> going with his assessment on this one.
>
> Ummm, no you don't. Nothing you or Leon have said contradicts anything I've
> said. I have not asserted any reason why the lug nuts came off, just that they
> did.
>
> -- Larry

Sorry, but Leon has already stated that the lug studs were barely
damaged and would still accept the OEM wheels and lug nuts.

After this post, you listed sheared lug bolts as a possible cause that
the lug nuts came off.

That is a contradiction since they were not sheared, unless of course,
you are going to accuse Leon of lying, as you once did with me.

Pat

BRUCE HASKIN wrote:
> Pat,
>
> .....I'm fixin' ..... is "Texan" and has no resemblance to English.
> Using "Texan" is ok, but not improper English. :-) (Go to bed Pat ! )
> :-)
>
> Bruce Bing '03 LS
>
> PS: What the hell are you still doing in Texas ? I thought you were
> going Northwest.


We have plenty of rain here, thank you, I don't need to travel for it.
I also got smacked by that thing called circumstances. :-)

I'm fixin' to get there, which of course means anywhere from 10 minutes
to 20 years.

Pat

XS11E > wrote:

(Leon van Dommelen) wrote:
>
>> Here we have the situation that all of them popped off at the same
>> time right from their original fully screwed-on state, by skimming
>> over the tops of the stud threads, rather than shearing the
>> threads significantly, let alone the studs.
>
>I didn't see the car but is it possible that there were no lug nuts at
>all?

No they were there all 20. That's how they managed to mess up the threads
to some extent.

The only thing that I wonder about is whether he really got them torqued
to spec. That would seem a lot of torque for them to come of so easily,
not?

Leon

> A friend had a similar thing some years back but only one wheel
>was affected, he had a flat on his boat trailer, he and his son changed
>it in a big rush and when the wheel came off a few miles later each
>thought the other had put on the lug nuts! Somewhere on the highway is
>a hubcap full of lugnuts!
>
>NOTE: If you knew the two people involved you wouldn't be at all
>surprised at the incident, they managed between the two of them to
>destroy an awful lot of machinery and the tendency to hurry no matter
>what eventually resulted in the death of the son.
--
Leon van Dommelen Bess, the Miata Bozo, the Miata
http://www.dommelen.net/miata
The only thing better than a white Miata is two white Miatas

On Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:28:02 GMT, (Leon van
Dommelen) wrote:

>The only thing that I wonder about is whether he really got them torqued
>to spec. That would seem a lot of torque for them to come of so easily...

Leon, that's precisely why I asked if your region's tech inspectors had a torque
wrench.

-- Larry