10 replies to this topic

[trescoman]

Had a real scary moment a few days ago, the rear bolts to the top of the hub on the offside rear sheared through and the wheel dropped into the wheel arch . The good news was I had just pulled onto a roundabout, so was only doing somewhere between 0-5 MPH , the real worry was in the morning I was doing some twisty roads on the way to Courtenays and having fun, if it had happened then…... It has been fixed under warranty by Warwick Shurbrook in Gt Yarmouth with the minimum of fuss……again to them , and they replaced the other side bolts as a precaution . I have Nitrons fitted and had a geo setup, the company who did the setup are very professional. I spoke to them, and as they said “it’s their business, so its unlikely we made a mistake, and we do double check our work” . The mechanic a WS said that one of the bolts appeared to have been loose a while, I hadn’t noticed any handling problems. So I guess the questions are, 1, are the OEM bolts man enough for a lower/Nitrons setup 2, was one of the bolts defective 3, or could they (the geo setup guys) made mistake and not done the bolts up properly Any comments

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Edited by trescoman, 26 April 2005 - 04:42 AM.

[Thorney]

I don't want to tempt fate here but I've done over 19k miles on Nitrons and AO48's inluding over 7k track miles and I'm on standard bolts.

[Richiemouse]

I'm sure someone else mentioned loose bolts recently, I think I might check mine.

[trescoman]

I don't want to tempt fate here but I've done over 19k miles on Nitrons and AO48's inluding over 7k track miles and I'm on standard bolts.

that's the sort of thing I was hoping for, if you are on std bolts then mine was a one off , and just one of those things that happen
Needless to say, it's now on my list off things to check every now and then

[oblomov]

Well you're OK and that's what counts The fact the car had minimal damage is a bonus Something for us all to be aware of tho. Eric

[Richy]

Glad your ok and thank goodness it didnt happen when the car was shifting Bolts can also shear from over tightening Alot of places dont bother ''torqueing'' bolts and just do them up untill the cant turn a wrench anymore The oem bolts should be able to handle Nitrons etc no problems So I would say it was ether a defective bolt or a defective Fitter

[munkeh]

Trescoman - is this what yours looked like? CLICKY

I wonder if anyone else has had these bolts go. From what I recall from the thread linked to above it seemed that overtightening might have been the problem - I haven't reread the thread though.

[trescoman]

Trescoman - is this what yours looked like? CLICKY

I wonder if anyone else has had these bolts go. From what I recall from the thread linked to above it seemed that overtightening might have been the problem - I haven't reread the thread though.

interesting !

as sheared bolts they looked very similar, I think I will investigate the stronger bolt.........although with checking, the OEM bolts should be adequate.

My opinion........over tightened

All a bit worrying really...... , all good info though, could have been sh*t loads worse


Bob

[cyberman]

Delighted to hear you got away with it. Its an object lesson to us all. Even if the cause (over / under-tightening / defective bolts) cannot be identified just look at the odds.... We have now had several cars with failures out of a population of what 2-3K? So we are into 1 in some hundreds failing per annum. Do you want a chance of 1 in some hundreds that a wheel can fold up when pulling 0.8g with traffic coming the other way? I don't think so. This is a significant increment in the risk of death from driving. In my case I now plan to replace these with stronger bolts and have them very formally tightened and secured. Loctite 243 seems an excellent idea as does *a written certificate of torquing* from the appropriately qualified and equipped fitter. I'm even thinking about drilling and wiring the brutes - inter alia this emphasises to the fitter how seriously you take it. So a new service rule for the vehicle: if these bolts are touched they are replaced with new on a formal documented basis. For the cost of a few bolts and half an hour with a torque wrench every time they are touched its a no brainer. I have to say that my favourite chaps are very anti-fitting new bolts. As they say, we have done 19K on slicks in an Elise with standard bolts, its no issue to us, we know how to torque stuff (and they do). However, I am going to over-ride them on this. They aren't the only people to twiddle. Kind regards - Ian

[barrybethel]

I had mine swapped by Plans at the last service. OEM Vauxhall bolts for the rear are twelve quid each! The robbing bar-stewards! Plans recommended oem by the way, not stronger bolts as they are more likely to snap if they fail. Oem are more likely to bend when failing. IMO they should be checked regularly if you do a lot of track days. I also thing that the 10,000 mile service interval is bollox if you do a lot of track days. It needs to be at least twice as often

[cyberman]

Being close to Heathrow I might crank up the aircraft fastener guys and see what we can get by way of a certified crack-tested entity. Arm and a leg job no doubt but if it'll hold the wing on a 747 it'll do me. Ian