quick release steering wheel hubs

[RacerBill]

I would like some advice on quick release steering wheel hubs. Which do you prefer, octagon or splined?

Thanks to all for your input.

[CaptainWho]

Hexagon or octagon. They're harder to put on misaligned, though a tooth or two on a spline doesn't drive me up a wall.

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Doug "Lefty" Franklin
NutDriver Racing

[Greg Amy]

Splined - less play.

[Quickshoe]

My opinion--involute spline, absolutely nothing else. SPA unit is top of the line.

They only go on one way so you can't get it misaligned. There is a ton more surface area on all those spline facings than a hex/oct hub, therefore, it will wear at a much slower rate. Further the SPA unit is chromeoly (4130 or 4340 don't remember which)

Lastly, and most importantly to me, is the amount of play in the unit is zero.
I've "saved a buck" and bought those hex ones before, done the alum/alum, alum/steel, and steel/steel (yep 3x$50-80 each + the SPA, should have just bought the SPA to begin with).

Some people claim their hex unit doesn't have any slop, I've yet to see one that lasts more than a few races before it develops slop.

As drivers we spend a lot of time and effort trying to perfect our inputs. The steering wheel being one of our primary input devices I think it is imperitive that it is precise in its' connection to the shaft. Nothing like turning the wheel 1/4" and having nothing happen-or turn it 1/2" when you need 1/4" and then move it back a 1/4" to make up the difference only to have it have zero effect at the rack.



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Daryl DeArman

edit--mixed up use of convolute/involute


[This message has been edited by Quickshoe (edited September 05, 2004).]

[Geo]

Originally posted by grega:
Splined - less play.

Yep!

The SPA is pretty much the top shelf. And you pay for it as well. But there are others that cost a lot less out there that are splined that have so little play you may as well call it zero (as in barely perceptable off the car - on the car you cannot notice it).


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George Roffe
Houston, TX
84 944 ITS car under construction
92 ITS Sentra SE-R occasionally borrowed
http://www.nissport.com

[924Guy]

No argument with getting a spline, if you can budget for it. However, I went for a hex type from RPW, have used it heavily for 5 years (every time I'm in and out of the car, not just occasionally), and I have no problems with slop. Two theories to that. First of all, I have a light coat of silver $hit (Al-based antisieze) on the hex to keep it from sticking. Secondly, it's the hex type with the collar, not the pin type. I was in a friend's 924 a couple of weeks ago, he has the pin type quick-disconnect, and his had a fair bit of slop in it.

I also have a) tape on the wheel at the 0 deg position, and a paint pen mark on the 0 deg position of the steering column, avoids any chance to misalign the steering wheel.

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Vaughan Scott
Detroit Region #280052
'79 924 #77 ITA/GTS1
www.vaughanscott.com

[RacerBill]

Thanks, everyone for your input. You have convinced me that splined is the way to go. I do plan on some form of indexing the wheel to the hub.

My car came with a Momo wheel and adapter, and I have found a quick release hub, splined, and with a collar vs a pin, from LTB Motorsports That mates directly to the Momo hub adapter.

[CaptainWho]

Originally posted by 924Guy:
Secondly, it's the hex type with the collar, not the pin type.

That could be the difference. Our collar-type hex QRs show no signs of slop.

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Doug "Lefty" Franklin
NutDriver Racing

[Bill Miller]

I put a splined one on my old car and loved it. No play to speak of. My new car came w/ the hex one, and I really don't like it. Problem is, it's welded on, and I need to change the whole steering column.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[Eric Parham]

Bill, does your sloppy hex use a collar or pin?

[m glassburner]

Where would I get the SPA splined unit at?? mike g.

[Bill Miller]

Eric,

It's the collar style. I won't use the pin one at all.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[Quickshoe]

Originally posted by m glassburner:
Where would I get the SPA splined unit at?? mike g.

Pegasus has 2 models:

http://pegasusautoracing.com/ProductDetail....asp?RecId=1056

and

http://pegasusautoracing.com/ProductDetail....asp?RecId=3139

edit--fix link


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Daryl DeArman

[This message has been edited by Quickshoe (edited September 05, 2004).]

[volante]

Talk to Louis at LTB,I got a MOMO set up that included wheel,hub and locknut adapter--no welding,which is good for the right reasons and only bad for one but it nots going anywhere.It was a hex-collar design with almost no play.

Dave V.

[Chris Wire]

If you want the easiest installation with no hassles and a quality product, go to LTB Motorsports and Louis will take good care of you.

If you want a robust piece for less than half the price of the SPA unit, try Sweet Manufacturing. Their steel splined unit is NASCAR and SFI approved. They also make an aluminum version as well. Both are collar-type release mechanisms. If I had to pick one word to describe them, it would be SMOOOOOTH. They slide on and off so easily, yet have near zero play.

Really can't go wrong either way.



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Chris Wire
Team Wire Racing
ITS Mazda RX7 #35
[email protected]

[Quickshoe]

I had a Sweet unit prior to going with the SPA. It was, by far, the best unit under $100 I could find.

IMO it still is not as nice as the SPA. If you raced Yugos (most hex units) all your life, and jump in an ITE Corvette (sweet) you'll notice a great performance difference...the SPA is a Ferrari F360 Modena Challenge car I was fortunate enough to drive at race speeds a couple of years back.

On one hand the SPA is about twice as expensive as a Sweet, may be hard to justify when a "Corvette" will do. On the other it is only another $100 to go from the Corvette to the F360.

FWIW, I am not one of those "you get what you pay for", "$50 helmet for a $50 head", "I got the best, because I spent the most" type people. Far from it. I like to call myself frugal, others call me a tighta$$. But there are certain concessions that I will not make. This just happens to be one of them.

Mike G, I have an offer for you. I will be looking at another race car on Saturday. If it doesn't have a SPA unit and I buy the car, I'll be in the market for one. If you buy the SPA unit and don't like it, I will buy it from you (never mounted of course) for $200. If you are game...I'll let you know Saturday what the story is.

[Knestis]

I have one of the MOMO adapter-friendly splined units from LTB and am happy with it. I put it on and went, "Wah" when I felt what seemed like a lot of slop but on the track, I've NEVER noticed it. (Probably a degree?)

Mark Coffin suggested hitting both pieces with some Krylon to tighten up the tolerences but I've never done it.

The quality of price and service from Louis cannot be overstated...

K

[Greg Amy]

<font face=\"Verdana, Arial\" size=\"2\">--no welding,which is good for the right reasons...</font>

Note that there are no provisions in the ITCS allowing welded-on steering wheel releases or modifications to the steering column in any way. In fact, I'd contend that doing so is contrary to the rules...

I also have LTB adapters and quick-releases, and I'm quite pleased with them. In the interest of fairness, however, I wish to note that our buddy Geo also offers a splined design at http://www.nissport.com

[Geo]

Originally posted by grega:
In the interest of fairness, however, I wish to note that our buddy Geo also offers a splined design at http://www.nissport.com

Thanks for the plug Greg. In addition to our original design, we have the production pieces for what we call a "univeral" adapter that is basically the same sort of design as what LTB makes with the incorporation of one improvement Greg suggested (do you remember it Greg?).

Anyway, those should be in the hands of the welder or powdercoated now and should hit our web site before too long.


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George Roffe
Houston, TX
84 944 ITS car under construction
92 ITS Sentra SE-R occasionally borrowed
http://www.nissport.com

[metalworker]

LTB Motorsports got its roof blown off by the hurricane. I don't know how much damage has been done to his business, but if you were planning to order something from him, give him a couple of days. He needs your business, so don't take it anywhere else, but please be a little patient.