I drove the nova to softball tonight. A buddys girlfriend wated a ride back to the pub where we hang after the game. She likes fast old cars so we go through the gears on the interstate, 4 of them, im probably pushing 120mph {stupid on my part} I back off and i notice a weird vibration. Hmmmm. We go park at the pub and i go to leave about an hour ago. I dont drive 100 feet...maybe 15 feet out of the parking lot and my back wheel comes off, sheared all the axle studs right off and screwed my wheel up somthing feirce. I dont know for sure what the hell cause this, but the good Lord was watching over me tonight. Thank you Jesus for sparing me. If that had happened 2,000 driven feet before hand we would have both been gone and my obituary would be the only thing being typed right now. Please make sure your cars are in perfect working order before going to the track or even driving for that matter CHECK THEM OVER.

-Nick

maybe your "buddy" didn't like his girl riding with you and loosend the lugs for you.?!?!?! smile.gif

do you have any enemys at the softball field? could this been a prank pulled in the pub parking lot? at any rate im glad that you were not hurt! Dave

Maybe death does have it in for you, but he didn't have the girl on his list. You better watch over your shoulder. ;) :D

Old 7/16" wheel studs suck. Had 4 snap, and the last one was scary. Drove the car hard everywhere, but nonetheless, it still surprised me. :eek:

No enemies guys...im friends with everyone, if it was vandalism it would be a random act but from what ive seen it couldnt have been as the lug nuts i did find were completely turned in on the axle stud but they were SHEARED OFF!!!!...Ive had weird stuff happen but for the car to be fine one second and to shear the axle studs off the moser axles the next is BIZZARE !!!! I think i have an idea on what caused this after assesing a bit of the damage but...right now im
1. Happy that it happened like it did and that me and her are OK
2. Hoping the axle isnt bent...if it isnt i shouldnt have THAT much for expenses
3. It didnt pound the 1/4 panel at all from what i can see but ill have to asses the damage tomorrow night.
Oh and 67GTO...these are moser axles and studs, not old factory crap.

do you use an impact to tighten the lug nuts or a torque wrench? if its an impact id be lookin at the other 15 studs.

You don't get too many freebies Nick. Keep it safe 'bro. Remember, it's not only your arse on the line out there.

How much torque do you put on your lugnuts? Are they screw in studs?

All I can say is you may have cheated others out of a life as well had things gone wrong....and am happy it was not my wife and kids on the road near you. We have a racetrack nearby, I am sure you are aware of that fact. I know when I was younger I did some silly things too, but as you get a bit older you figure out what not to do...keep racing at the track! As a sidenote, if you live at home and something would have happened, your folks would be liable for your actions. If they are in any way a means of support for you, I believe until you are around 23-ish they can be held accountable. One more thing to consider: and umbrella insurance policy, a $1M policy costs beans compared to what it may save you if something bad happens... ;)

oh cmon rolling a car on the freeway isnt that bad, kinda messes up ur car though. :(

Brian, they are moser axles, screw in type, 7/16 X 20 all 5 are sheared off. It would take a train to shear them off. And im not putting down power like that. I tighten the wheels down with a breaker bar and to be honest i know they were tight, i dont leave stuff loose.
Steve i know theres a racetrack right up the road, but it was a spur of the moment, stupid, im invincible kind of thing that we've all done. I dont usually do those things to that extreme.
I got lucky, and with that kind of luck.....maybe i should borrow $10,000 and get in the World Series Of Poker!!!

i think its because there was a lady in the car that asked to go fast :D

keep in mind, being in an 11 second street car is a wild ride for most passengers, so giving them a quick burst and letting off will make your point, you dont need to go 120.

they probably sheared because the lugs loosened, and the wheel started to cock different directions, and the shear load took em out.

"Tightened with a breaking bar"

Nuts were overtightend.

Get a torque wrench and final tighten to 85ft/lbs (eg) -(spec on my centerline autodrags) - you will be VERY surprised how EASY it is to hit that figure.

I'm sure was into the 150+ ft/lb range on my van/ trailer - "good and snug to a little squeak" - with regular acorn nuts on a steel wheel. Spec for them is 100ft/lbs. Doh !!

IMO

MAT

find the sheared studs and see if the nuts backed off, or if they sheared with the nuts still tight.

I tend to agree with MAT, i always tighten my lugs with a torque wrench, 1/2" studs. PLus i go over them 3 times per wheel.

Originally posted by Nickel333:
Brian, they are moser axles, screw in type, 7/16 X 20 all 5 are sheared off. It would take a train to shear them off. And im not putting down power like that. I tighten the wheels down with a breaker bar and to be honest i know they were tight, i dont leave stuff loose.
Steve i know theres a racetrack right up the road, but it was a spur of the moment, stupid, im invincible kind of thing that we've all done. I dont usually do those things to that extreme.
I got lucky, and with that kind of luck.....maybe i should borrow $10,000 and get in the World Series Of Poker!!! Whatever you do just have fun, just as you were. Stuff like that can happen anytime , anywhere. And no matter what their is gonna be SOMEONE that doesn't agree with your decision(to go fast).Good Luck on the fix!!

What would be the correct toque specs for a steel rally wheel? (14 and 15inch)

thanks.

Here is one thing to look at. A friend of mine has a 68 camaro tubbed out. He lost his right rear wheel the same way you did. All five studs sheared off. He was in town and made a right turn. Axle dropped down on the deep part of the wheel and rode it to the side of the road. No damage to wheelwell. It turned out to be the center off the wheel did not go over the shoulder of the axle. The back of the wheel was riding on the high spot of the axle. So only the studs were taking the weight of the car. Check your other wheel and see if it is clearing the shoulder of the axle. I hope this is your problem.

I found 3 studs and 2 appeared to be tight with the lugs still on, one was messed up and it could have been loose and i dont know where the other 2 are.

probably too tight, and too far stretched, beyond the capability of the bolt.

Do you run a spool??? or mini spool?

maybe you should run an anglia style wheel. :D

I lost a wheel on one of my old novas years ago, the left side dropped and the wheel went spinning by at 80+ mph, as the car slid on the traction bar to a stop I watched and pinpointed where the wheel left the highway and went bouncing into the woods. That wheel went through the trees almost 100 yards! If it would have hit an oncoming car there would have been serious damage. It took hours to find the wheel. The tractionbar saved the brakes, etc. from any damage. I torque my wheels now, no more impact, no more torque sticks. Alloy wheels need to be retorqued after 100 miles of regular street use. Do not use wheelspacers.

I run a detroit locker, and I think i have it figured out what happened. Its too difficult to explain by just typing so i wont bother.