Knock Off Wheel Safety Wire

[bliss]

If you have knock off wheels on your Cobra...

[Bill D]

Why wouldn't you use safety wire?

[JBCOBRA]

I used to use safety wire. Now I don't bother. You can tell by the sound of the lead hammer hitting the spinner when the spinners are tight.

[601HP]

Our other vehicles have 4, 5 or 8 lug nuts per wheel. They are installed and snugged down as dry threads.

My Cobra has 1 hub nut and its lathered with anti-seize: (a). between the knock-off face where it mates against the wheel, and (b). all the threaded areas. The safety wire is 10 cents per wheel, of big time insurance and piece of mind for me.

[kevins2]

I've gotten in the habit of walking around the car and giving each safety wire a wiggle to detect if it has tighted up at all, an indication that the spinner was starting to come loose. The first time I put my wheels on one did come a bit loose after a few drives - the safety wire was tight as a guitar string. So now, I really whack the hell out of them with my lead hammer - hasn't happened again, but I still check the safety wire after each drive.

[KarlCSX2498]

Hello, Yes, I always wire the knock offs. When I first was testing the go kart without the body, the LF came loose several times and it scared me. So I'm always sure the knock offs are tight and wired.
later, karl

[1795]

I see no reason not to use safety wire, and besides it looks cool with the safety wire on. People see it and say, "Wow those are real knock-offs!"

[601HP]

I had the Cobra parked at a family get together. An adult guest I'd never met, walked up and asked if the red car was mine. I said yes, and then he mentioned I had a spider web on the wheel.

We walked over to the car. I asked what he was talking about. He pointed to the safety wire, and then a puzzled look spread across his face!

He apparently wasn't a car guy. And yes, this is a true story!

David

[Mr Jody]

Originally Posted by JBCOBRA

I used to use safety wire. Now I don't bother. You can tell by the sound of the lead hammer hitting the spinner when the spinners are tight.

....and you can tell by the sound of the brake rotor hitting the pavement when they are loose.

Just kidding with you JB. The choice is yours, but as 601HP says, it's cheap insurance, and as 1795 says, it pre-answers the question of "Are those real knock-offs?".

[JBCOBRA]

Over the years I have had a variety of cars with knockoffs. None of them even had a provision for wire.....just saying.

[mr0077]

You should add a bullet in the poll, "Yes, for safety" and maybe one, "Yes, for looks".

[1985 CCX]

Did 289 Cobras with stock spinners use wire?
????

[Larry N Johnson]

Racing Cobras did not use safety wire during races.
No extra time and not needed for safety.

[vatdevil]

Had one spinner loosen up, so always safety wire them. Use it as a check before each track or autocross run. Some event tech inspections require them. I find them fun to install ��

[SwiftDB4]

Originally Posted by Larry N Johnson

Racing Cobras did not use safety wire during races.
No extra time and not needed for safety.

GT40's didn't either. Never had mine loosen even with many track days. Usually takes several whacks to loosen mine.

[rlrichins]

I had one loosen that I thought was tight and the wheel partially galled the hub. I would never not use safety wire. When I am at speed I don't want to have to worry about the wheels!

[Obsessive]

I have owned and driven several other cars with knock off spinners, all of them wire-wheeled and made in England. While none of them ever had any provision for safety wire, it should be recognized that none of them had anything close to the rear wheel torque of my 427. Add to that, high speed braking and absolutely no way of hearing the beginning of a loose spinner over side exhaust and the decision to apply safety wire feels like a no-brainer. It's easy to apply with decent safety wire pliers and looks every bit the part of a 60s race car. The only modification to the spinner needed is to drill a single hole and that can be done in minutes with the most basic cordless had drill. Why would you not run with safety wire?

[Hrdayz]

Safety wire is a must for me. I got my cobra less than a year ago and taught myself how to do the wheels spinners. It's cheap insurance in my opinion.

[Bernica]

For anyone that has done over say 130mph in these cars, enough gremlins start getting into your head. Like tires, brakes, wheels, windshield etc. Wiring the wheels is just one less gremlin, at least for me!

[Snake2998]

Originally Posted by Bernica

For anyone that has done over say 130mph in these cars, enough gremlins start getting into your head. Like tires, brakes, wheels, windshield etc. Wiring the wheels is just one less gremlin, at least for me!

I have this image in my mind of spinner loosening off on the front wheels and the wheel moving away from the drive pins and suddenly you are at speed with no brakes or brakes on only one side. Not a good time to discover the problem when you are braking heavily.

Also the car steering from loose rear wheels.