How many use a special wrench for their knock-off wheels?

I see the benefit of the special socket. I have used one for years and will never go back to the hammer, but what is the need for a torque wrench? With the right leverage the lug nut tightens till it bottoms on the hub. It's a binary thing.

john

 

I'm sorry, but I thought hitting it with a lead hammer was common sense. I'd never have thought twice about it.

I do think that wooden thing looks kind of cool though.

_J

 

Those tools of Kerry and Visla are good for the home garage

Visla used an EXTRA hammer for that Jag XK thing to thighten.
Are you both always driving with a back up car?
To transport such hugh instruments!

my photo allotment on Ferrarichat is full.

So I must do it this way to show what I use.

http://www.werkzeughandel-roeder.de/handwerkzeuge/hammer-sortiment/schonhammer-rueckschlagfrei/schonhammer-702.html

Cornelis

 

I take no credit for that device. I spotted it this summer in someone's trunk and was struck by its simplicity. I assume it can be used in four different orientations.

 

British car parts vendors sell these. The gap around the hub that is necessary to allow fitment causes slop in the application of force, which can send the wood and/or hammer off into the spokes and rim. The offset puts the swing of the hammer closer to bodywork. The wood soon splinters - and if it doesn't, your hubs are too loose for safety. It's also an awkward thing to carry and store. The urethane/rubber of a dead-blow mallet is probably more cushioned than wood, so the wood adaptor really adds nothing.

Cornelis, you should get a hammer like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/3-lb-neon-orange-dead-blow-hammer-41799.html. 3 lbs is about right, and the urethane is nice and soft. The metal on your hammer is more risky, and the plastic faces are harder and much more inclined to slide on impact.

Custom sockets and big wrenches are mechanical and intellectually satisfying. I have several myself. But a urethane dead-blow mallet would be used on winged knock-offs by Occam himself.

 

Coldwater,
It all depands in what hands this hammer is.
I can not play golf with one hand.

Cornelis

 

Understood.
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The wooden tool may work for the common Dunlop wheels, but probably not too well for the 60's Ferraris.

john

 

I would advise against a dead blow hammer because unless you are very strong you will not get enough torque and loosing a wheel could be disastrous.

 

The hand-eye coordination is the key. The reason why I stopped using the hammer is because about one out of ten times I would miss the knock off and land on the aluminum rim. This can happen more often the deeper the knock off gets, like the 15 inch wheels on the Lusso and the like.

john

 

This tool is very expensive but it will save you an expensive fix for a missed struck and dented Borrani. I have the other tool in this thread but it is not as stable as the oldtimer tool http://www.oldtimertools.de/shop/index.php?cPath=6_15.

 

The narrower older wheels aren't really the problem, and the danger of doing damage missing the spinner isn't as bad as with the wider rims of the sixties. John, you're right, those deep wheels are very imposing come the time to take them off. The deeper the wheel, the more angle there will be between an ideally directed blow and what you can effectively do within safety margins to avoid damage.

Ideally, a tool for these should have an outside support, and act as a fulcrum, so you can apply force safely away from the wheel/bodywork and efficiently in the pane of rotation.

 

Here's the Tool we designed and use.
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Jim,
That's handy but wont fit in my trunk......
ciao
Oscar

 

We keep that one in our support helicopter. In our trunk we keep mini compressor,
and can of fix a flat.

 

Hi Jim,

sounds real vintage I bought some run-flats for my 212 export, took some encouragement to convince the people from Engelbert to produce them, but was cheaper than a chopper.

BTW, I use a "vintage"copper hammer but a modern jack, no problem finding the right torque as when you hear a dry "bang" the wheel is secured,

ciao
Oscar

 

Oscar, on the track Jim's huge heavy weight tool brings a lot of DOWN force.
Thats all what counts.
The function has no importance.

C.

 

On the track what matters to me is that the original Ferrari KO hammer was total crap. Chris tried to use it at Le Mans on 0846's RT rear when he got a flat and the head of the hammer flew off and he was unable to change the wheel so he tried to drive back to the pits but the mag wheel caught on fire and the car burned. Luckily there wasn't enough time to repair the damage before the next race. Realising an opportunity I bribed the French to lower the prototype engine size to 3 liters so the P cars would be banned as well as the MK-IV's. This kept J6 from being used too much before I could buy her and caused Ferrari to disassemble 0846 and bin her chassis which I was able to retrieve and "Resurrect" (Ferrari's words). If that hammer hadn't been crap I probably wouldn't have wound up with 0846. All is good.


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For the want of a nail..

 

Always True...

 

I KNEW it, you crafty, magnificent bastard.

 

Where was the chopper when you needed it.....

I never understood why they used magnesium for structural parts. Remember the Porsches in 1971 at LeMans....Well they did win though. Wasnt there a story that the weight of the oil cooler was saved as the chassis (magnesium) was used for cooling the oil...Those were the days,

For now back to topic, Ferrari tools are crap anyway, ever tried an original jack? Driving magnesium cars is dangerous, but using the original jacks is a garantee for chopped limbs.

Ciao
Oscar

 

My 330 GTC has 14" borrani's making it somewhat hard to hit the knockoff consistently. So taking a cue from another owner, I made my own tool. You can order spindle nuts in various sizes on line or at your local auto store. The one I purchased is a KD tools 3 1/2" #2451 for $17. I took it to a local machine shop who notched it so it would fit over the 3 ears. I took some 1/2" copper tubing (available at any hardware store), cut it in 5/8" lengths then cut it lengthwise so you have 2 pieces of 1 tube. I then wrapped the copper tubing around the notched edges of the spindle nut to protect the knock offs from getting nicked. I used JB Weld adhesive to secure the copper tubing to the spindle nut. I bought a 3" extension and a large torque wrench which I use to safely loosen or tighen the knockoffs. Works like a champ and I no longer worry about mis-hitting the knockoff. At Concourso this year, I saw a vendor selling the exact same spindle nut except they coated the end with a rubberized material in place of the copper tubing. The asking price was $350!

Tom
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I also use the tool from "oldtimer tools" on my Dino 246gt. For me it works perfectly too. Before I was using a lead hammer (not the original one ofcourse) which is still in the trunk.

But now I am facing another "problem": Do anybody have an idea what is the correct minimum and/or maximum torque to use?