loose OEM wheel at track speeds

[regandr]

Has anybody else had an OEM wheel come loose at speed on track ?
My BRZ has 28 track days on it, driven quite hard and fast.
I am a former Skip Barber, PCA and SCCA racer and instructor so I know how to drive fast.
At Willow Springs, I had an OEM wheel, with OEM lug nuts and studs, come loose twice at 80+ mph while cornering.
got it stopped before the wheel came off.
The wheel lug holes are wallowed out on 3 wheels even though only 1 wheel came loose. lug tapers are scratched, worn and distorted.
Torqued to 89 ft/lbs religiously, BFG G force Rival tires. otherwise, car is stock.
are the studs stretched ? are the lugs worn ? is the stock wheel flexing allowing lugs to loosen ?
any similar experiences or thoughts would be really good to hear.

[ls1ac]

I had wheels that seemed to come loose at the track, close inspection showed slight wallowing also. Not wanting to give up several sets of wheels, an old guy told me to have the holes redrilled at a machine shop with a different tapper (only the face) and change lug nuts to match the new tapper. We set up an index table to keep the new tapers in line, It seemed to work for me.

[Thorpedo]

Originally Posted by regandr

Has anybody else had an OEM wheel come loose at speed on track ?
My BRZ has 28 track days on it, driven quite hard and fast.
I am a former Skip Barber, PCA and SCCA racer and instructor so I know how to drive fast.
At Willow Springs, I had an OEM wheel, with OEM lug nuts and studs, come loose twice at 80+ mph while cornering.
got it stopped before the wheel came off.
The wheel lug holes are wallowed out on 3 wheels even though only 1 wheel came loose. lug tapers are scratched, worn and distorted.
Torqued to 89 ft/lbs religiously, BFG G force Rival tires. otherwise, car is stock.
are the studs stretched ? are the lugs worn ? is the stock wheel flexing allowing lugs to loosen ?
any similar experiences or thoughts would be really good to hear.

Don't take this personally, but in all seriousness you likely just need to do two things. The first is get your torque wrench calibrated. DON'T do this at your average tool store or mechanic, they will likely do more harm than good. Go to a reputable engine/performance shop and pay them to calibrate yours. Leaving torque wrenches cranked up or bumping them the wrong way can throw them WAY out in a hurry. Secondly, make sure you know how to use the thing. I worked at/ran an engine shop for years and it blew me away every time someone I trusted who had been a mechanic for 30 years clearly had no idea what they were doing.

(Here is where you say "I have been doing this for longer than you've been alive, sonney", but trust me, just look it up and make sure you're on the right track. Of the 20 or so cases of this I have seen in person, 19 of them were that rather the torque wrench was way off or the person using it was.

Edit: I will add that this is not commonplace for the twins. After lurking these forums for years there have been only a couple cases. Broken studs have been much more common and my opinion is that those problems are both due to improperly calibrated torque wrenches/user error. It is possible that your car was driven on loose wheels by the dealer prior to you receiving it. If that wore the lug seats in the wheels then undoubtedly they will have a problem staying tight.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by regandr

Has anybody else had an OEM wheel come loose at speed on track ?
My BRZ has 28 track days on it, driven quite hard and fast.
I am a former Skip Barber, PCA and SCCA racer and instructor so I know how to drive fast.
At Willow Springs, I had an OEM wheel, with OEM lug nuts and studs, come loose twice at 80+ mph while cornering.
got it stopped before the wheel came off.
The wheel lug holes are wallowed out on 3 wheels even though only 1 wheel came loose. lug tapers are scratched, worn and distorted.
Torqued to 89 ft/lbs religiously, BFG G force Rival tires. otherwise, car is stock.
are the studs stretched ? are the lugs worn ? is the stock wheel flexing allowing lugs to loosen ?
any similar experiences or thoughts would be really good to hear.

It sounds like your wheels were overtorqued.

Get a second torque wrench, and never torque things when they're hot.

[regandr]

thanks guys. torque wrench was calibrated in Jan. by snap-on. torque is always 89 ft/lbs.

[EAGLE5]

I would visually compare wheels, studs, and nuts to another twin without the problem. You one of those people who puts oil on studs?