Lockwired Halibrand knock-offs?

[PeterAllen]

This question has been asked on a historic racing forum. Does anyone have any suggestions?

1. Rudge Whitworth hub spinners have left and right and right threads for each side of the car.
2. As a rule of thumb you turn the spinner in the direction of wheel rotation to remove them.
3. Rudge Whitworth hub nuts have a FEMALE taper, and its the eplicyclic (ish) movement between wheel and hub /nut which tightens the nut as the car drives forward. Hub nut inertia effect during acceleration and braking is in my opinion a red-herring on this matter.

Hopefully everyone agrees with 1. and 2. I think 3. is also true, and it bears out by the fact that Lotus Elans undo in the opposite direction. Elans have a MALE taper on the nut, so it seems logical to me that as the taper direction is reversed, so is the thread direction.

Why then do racing Cobras with Halibrand wheels, tri-spinners with MALE tapers on the nuts have thread directions as per the Rudge Whitworth design.
Is it any coincidence that we saw/see racing Cobras with lockwire on their tri-spinners?

[Rob. Smith]

I'm not familiar with the Rudge Whitworth spinners but I have Trigo wheels with the appropriate hubs and they have left and right hand threads for the right and left side of the car. As you say the forward acceleration motion of the vehicle tightens the nut. Braking must undo the nut. I suppose this is the reason for the retaining wire. I'm now suspicious of whether I need to wire my spinners. I doubt though If I'll ever produce the 'G' forces that will undo the spinners...so I'll stay with no wires until I find a loose spinner.

[computerworks]

The safety wire is more of an indicator that the spinner is loosening up. Wiring the spinner with a bit of slack gives you a visual warning if one of the wires has become taut.

[PeterAllen]

Originally Posted by computerworks

The safety wire is more of an indicator that the spinner is loosening up. Wiring the spinner with a bit of slack gives you a visual warning if one of the wires has become taut.

That suggests there have been instances of spinners working loose - is that the case? I know of no other vehicle where the spinners are lockwired, one assumes because their design is self tightening.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by PeterAllen

That suggests there have been instances of spinners working loose -

Oh, yeah...most recent at Monterey races.

[dadndave]

I have lost a knock off once, fortunately that was all. A spool of wire and pair of special pliers is a lot cheaper than buying a new knock off, and a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new car to replace the one you just drove off the highway at speed, plus medicals
If at some time you do put your car onto the racetrack, it's a CAMS requirement that they be wired correctly. if not then no racing.
Simply it only takes a few minutes to do, and it's good insurance that you hopefully never need if you do everything correctly.