The Official 356Talk Forum

Some 918's, but not all of them, have their wheel nuts anodized a la F1 style so that you know which side they go on. I'd think they would all have this feature, but if they aren't red and blue they're black all round.

Some folks need all the help they can get. Having threads that twist (lock on) in opposite directions can really baffle the novice who hasn't a clue that things are not always the same. The Sunbeam Alpine I drove back in my youth had this feature as the wire wheel knockoffs were designed to insure the wheels rotation did not interfere with the attachment of the knockoff. Its the little things that everyone gets right most of the time.

The point of eared knock-offs being "hammer off to the front, on to the rear" is, if you clip a rock, or curb (kerb?) ,it tightens, not loosens the wheel. Very reasonable.

So Gary, you're telling us that if ya hit a rock while backing (or going forward) on the wrong side the vehicle, the spinner ear will tighten the wheel, not loosen it. Nahhhhhhh, I'm not going to go there. You'll figure it out on your own. Me, I stand by my statement. And for my two cents, attaching a spinner to a wheel that is held on with a series of lug nuts is like driving around in a plastic tub with the Porsche script proudly displayed. Yea, what ever fills your sails is fine with me.

Hint: A friend's dad brought back an MG TA, (not TC) from the war. He was constantly tightening the knockoffs on one side of the car.

Yea, must have been the rocks on that side of his parking space.

Left hand side right hand thread (tightens clockwise ), right hand side left hand thread,thats how I manage to remember them.

Never had much trouble remembering as the wire wheels on the Sunbeam Alpine had spinners that the brass hammer in the trunk would always convince to turn as they should, once ya got the hang of it. I do remember the kid at the tire shop who when attempting to remount the wheels had a dickens of a time figuring out how to mount the knock off. The old hands at wheel removal just watched him and grinned. Finally, someone would take pity on the kid and spin the knock off in the opposite direction. Then the explanations would ensue and ya should have heard all the BS that followed.

For those seeking more insight into this phenomena, do have a look at

http://www.mgaguru.com/mgtech/wheels/wl102.htm

Inertia vs. momentum absent friction. My Triumphs had arrows on the knockoffs for those who hadn't read Newton.

I thought the interesting part was that a couple of these cars had the red/blue distinction, and a couple were all black. So what option --with both wheels being center-locks--gets you the colored wheels nuts, vs the all-black ? I mean, is there a track version of the 918 ?

An optometrist's note that you're not colorblind?