Wheel Came Off

On holiday in France heading over to ile d’Oleron on the west coast. We had been touring down the N10 but decided to make up some time and got on the A10. After a peage(toll) stop and accelerating hard I felt a bit of rear wheel steering and then the car slammed down on the drivers side rear, the wheel came off and overtook us. Fortunately we managed to coast/grind to a halt on the safety strip without too much drama (we thought). We had been doing 130 KMH. The wheel ended up on the safety strip about 200 meters ahead of us. The rear suspension dragging along the tarmac sent a shower of sparks on to the tinder dry grass and set it on fire. Once stopped I had to run back with the fire extinguisher carried in the car to put out the roadside fire.

Then back to recover the wheel and assess the damage. The hub shaft has sheared at the hub end. I am assuming this is just metal fatigue brought on by a combination of age and some level of aggressive driving on the track days we do. The car has a 145 BHP 1700 twin cam, and I use Michelin XAS tyres which are very sticky when hot.

I have replaced the inner output shafts after one broke on a track day, driving to the pit lane. I have Sue Miller CV joints, but have never thought about the hub shafts. Does anyone have any guidance/advice/experiences to share about replacements shafts. I will do both of course and presume there are some soild billet types available. No doubt there is an element of price/performance in the choice but given what I use the car for they will need to be strong.
A few photos to share.

Thanks
Martin







By a lottery ticket…!! :open_mouth:

TTR sells shafts that don’t break in my experience. I did an original shaft in my Elan about 25 years ago on the race track and changed them both then, no problems since. At least you don’t have the hassle of removing the hub to replace the shaft. You may also need a new hub if the taper is damaged.

They usually break at the big end of the taper near the bearing I have not seen one fail at the nut end like yours.

cheers
Rohan

Must have been loose on the taper for some time! the nut does not hold the wheel on.

Is there any possibility that the failure at the nut end could have been aided by over-tightening the KO spinner?

My sympathies. I had pretty much the same thing happen not long after I bought the car. Mine went on the A1 near Peterborough with a friend of mine - a traffic cop! - in the passengers seat. The scars on the bottom of the strut are still there.

Blimey, not seen that before.
At least you came to a controlled stop.
I hope you get home safely.
Looks like you’ll have plenty to do in your 2 weeks quarantine :smiley:

The TTR 26R S2 set up I have looks unbreakable…( but see the threads on it’s quirks, wont go with your Sue Millar shafts). They may do billet outer shafts for the standard style hub setup, which would be the easiest way to go. ( ? need new hub and carrier???)

When I was rebuilding my struts I seriously considered seeing if it was possible to fix a ring of nylon (or similar) to the bottom of the strut to act as a sacrificial “skid” if the shaft broke / wheel came off etc.

Easier slide and less damage.

A cut down motorcycle racer knee slider would probably be suitable material. :laughing:

Exactly! Even give some tasty sparks. How to securely attach however?

When you say overtightening what torque are you using?
From the picture it looks like a conical failure from the last thread.

UHMW would make the best rub/ skid plate… ‘Ultra High Molecular Weight’ polyethylene. It will resist wear better than Nylon or polyurethane. How you mount it is another matter.

Regards,
Tim Engel

Do you intend to do this on a regular basis?

John :wink:

Indeed!!! :smiley:

I have TTR F1 billet shafts with no keyway. Seem to be the best (strongest) option available. Paired with CV’s (from Dave Bean). No mating problems.

I have 26R hubs, so you need to verify that the TTR shafts work with standard hubs.

I see Matty also has shafts (Quaife).

None are cheap.

Just be sure to lap the hubs/shafts carefully to ensure a proper tight fit.

You said “we” several times…

Was your passenger female? I’d love to know their reaction? Have they been back in the car ?? :laughing: :laughing:

there appears to be little fretting on the taper, which points more to the nut having been overtightened in the past. that combined with wider rims and sticky rubber… off it goes!

+1 for the TTR shafts and hubs, make sure you lap them in well.

Cheers

V

The car was recovered by a mechanically sympathetic garage and will stay with them until we finish our holiday in another weeks time. It will then be returned to our house in Normandy where I can fix it. So no UK quarantine issues.

Its looking like some TTR billet shafts that will mate with the CV joints on the car. Thanks for the lapping tip.

I don’t know what torque the spinners are fixed at, I have only ever done it by feel (as much as can be felt with a big hammer). I can’t remember what torque the hub nut was fixed at but it would have been as per the workshop manual. I have seen some posts that suggest more than the reccomended torque should be used??? Up to 200lb/ft

The wheels are only 5J and the tyres are to original spec 155/13 but with the sticky compound on the XAS.

Yes a female passenger who was initially quite shocked (understandably), more from the noise of the hub scraping along the road than anything else. She recovered very quickly and focussed on being impatient with the recovery process, she is French so impatient is a massive understatement . It is amazing how stable the car was on 3 wheels.

I am interested to know what happened after the incident, to the car and to your holiday Martin.

We holiday in France once a year in one old Lotus or another, and fortunately have never had to call the emergency services. But I often wonder what would happen if we needed to, and if the car was not repairable in France, what would happen to our holiday, re transport.

I suppose I should find that out before such an event ever happens…doh

Do tell what happened to you.

Leslie

@ Leslie

I now live in France for most of the year only returning to the UK when business requires it. Like you we take trips across France on a regular basis for such events as the le Mans classic and the track days that Club Lotus France organise. Have also been to Italy to follow the Mille Miglia (a great trip). I have always had european breakdown cover via my UK insurance and have had to use it on 3 occaisions over the last 20 years.

Head gasket failure recovered to UK
In board drive shaft recovered to Normandy
This latest one recovered to Normandy.

This time we continued to our holiday destination via train and taxi all paid for or recoverable from the insurance company. They would also repatriate the car to the UK if I wanted and pay for our travel back to the UK if required. This time we are with family from my wifes side (all French) so will take a lift back to Normandy with them.

In the past we have had a hire car organised to continue the trip while the Lotus went in the other direction.
Despite the risk of driving a tuned 53 year old car around France sometimes in very hot weather we will continue to do it simply because it is so enjoyable and I still get a buzz out of taking it apart to fix the latest problem.
We used to have a 911 but sold it as we always took the Lotus for trips as the smile factor is greater.

I hope your run of good fortune with no breakdowns continues. (maybe you prepare your car better than me??)

Martin