Rudge Wheel Question

[Tom Scott]

We all know that the spinners for Rudge wheels have a left and right hand tread, the question is which side is left and right thread. It is my belief that the left side has a right hand tread and right side vice versa, so that as the car moves forward the spinners have a tendency to tighten themselves.
Thanks,
Tom Scott

[Alan Hall]

Tom,
Where is a british car owner when you need one? Of course they would probably answer with something about "offside undo"!

[Wes Bender]

Tom, you're correct. The left hand threads go on the passenger's side and the right hand threads on the driver's. This can be verified if you check out the PET parts listing.

Being a British car owner, I won't say, "offside undo", but I would suggest keeping your pecker up.

cheers,
Wes

[Tom Scott]

How about this for a memory jogger for us the old dudes? Right is left (right side is left hand thread) and left is right. Now the only problem is remembering which side is left and right.
T

[Vic Skirmants]

So why are the 1958 and earlier (and VW) spindle nuts left-hand thread on the left??
As well as many early Chrysler products?

[Wes Bender]

Maybe they could brake better than they could accelerate.....

Cheers,
Wes

[John Hearn]

It is my belief that most cars, if not all cars made in the last 75 years can brake at a high G force than they can accelerate...........
A 911 Turbo S in the eighties was given an engine power of 500 odd horse power with brakes that were rated at 2000 brake horse power....
KTF
John

[George Walling]

First all don't claim to be a expert on this subject but here is my thoughts. The left threads go on the left side (drivers side) right side (passenger side) gets the right hand threads. It has been my experience dealing with heavy equipment and early american classic car with this type of wheel nuts that it was so that your nut would stay tight under braking as that is where the strain was put on the nuts and a bigger chance of them coming loose, not because of the high forces creater on acceleration which in most cases is less than braking forces. Hope this helps.

[Chuck House]

The correct way to install the hubs for Rudge wheels is so the spinners tighten when spinning towards the rear of the car, loosen when spinning towards the front. This means right hand thread on left side of car (driver's side in the US) and left hand thread on right side of car. They absolutely must be self tightening when the wheel is rotating in the forward direction. It is the same for other types of cars with knock-offs with the Rudge-Whitworth type hub. Don't want to do it this way?... be prepared to watch a wheel bounding along side of you. Also, it is a good idea to re-tighten them several times during the first few hundred miles just to be sure.

As a corollary, here are instructions for the factory knock-offs on 60's Corvettes...
-On the driver side, the spinner will tighten onto the wheel adapter in a clockwise -direction.
-On the passenger side, the spinner will tighten onto the wheel adapter in a counterclockwise direction.
-When tightening the spinner onto the wheel adapter, it will always spin toward the rear of the vehicle, regardless which side of the vehicle you're on.
-When removing the spinner from the wheel adapter, it will always spin toward the front of the vehicle, regardless of which side of the vehicle you're on.

Finally, here are photos of the special tool offered by http://www.oldtimertools.de to remove/install Porsche Rudge spinners without swinging heavy hammers around your fenders. Note the markings indicating side and direction.

[Wes Bender]

Thanks, Chuck. For what it's worth, one can determine what Porsche felt was correct by going to illustration 601-10 in the wheel section of the PET parts catalog. They show the hubs with left hand threads on the right side and the right hand threads on the left side. Those who think they know better might wish to contact Porsche and express their thoughts on the matter.

And, yes, there are several instances among British car owners where those who installed the hubs on the wrong side had the experience of seeing a wheel pass them on the road, usually with a shower of sparks trailing behind the car.

Cheers,
Wes

[Jim Fleming]

From my 1948 MG TC:

Right side UNDO clock wise arrow

Left side UNDO counter clock wise arrow

[Gerry McCarthy]

All:
I don't think that accel/braking has anything to do wth it. The wing nut is always arranged so that strking the front of the of the nut will loosen, and the rear, tighten. Thus, if you brush a tall kerb, tree stump, fellow competitor, or whatever, the nut will TIGHTEN, not loosen. RULE: off,to the front; on, to the rear.
KTF

[Paul Lima]

While I would not claim this to be definitive, I have this to add, confirming Chuck House' comments above. The car is a 1955 Continental Coupe. Rudge wheels were added by the owner in about 1995. The spinners say Porsche and have an arrow showing AUF (German for ON, as all 356 owners know from the gas petcock control). BUT, that marking is wrong. I borrowed the tool (oldtimertools.de) and followed its directions and it is correct (and the spinner is WRONG) Why? Here is some pure speculation. It appears that the wheels made in the 1960s were made in England by a company named Rudge-Whitworth. They must have thought that AUF meant OFF??!!

[Jim Nelson]

First all don't claim to be a expert on this subject but here is my thoughts. The left threads go on the left side (drivers side) right side (passenger side) gets the right hand threads. It has been my experience dealing with heavy equipment and early american classic car with this type of wheel nuts that it was so that your nut would stay tight under braking as that is where the strain was put on the nuts and a bigger chance of them coming loose, not because of the high forces creater on acceleration which in most cases is less than braking forces. Hope this helps.

Forumla One cars, on the other hand, are the opposite of this experience.

[Jim Liberty]

Not only can I not afford a set of Rudge wheels, now I'm so confused all four of my wheels would come off at once. DO NOT have me restore a Rudge wheel car at my shop.