Are wheel adapters legal in ITB, are they safe, are they a good or bad idea?
Are wheel adapters legal in ITB, are they safe, are they a good or bad idea?
Yes,Yes, seem to work well on Jeff Youngs ITS Triumph.
Steve Eckerich
ITS 18 Speedsource RX7
ITR RX8 (under construction)
We've run them on the Golf since Day 1. Good hubcentric ones on the front, cheapo eBay ones on the back.
K
A wheel spacer. Which is free, so it can also be an adapter.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
So we can change bolt patterns via "spacers" because spacers are free?
That seems a stretch.....
1985 CRX Si competed in Solo II: AS, CS, DS, GS
1986 CRX Si competed in: SCCA Solo II CSP, SCCA ITA, SCCA ITB, NASA H5
1988 CRX Si competed in ITA & STL
Why?
We can add a splitter and undertray as part of a "free" air dam.
We can add heat heat shielding and ducting as part of a "free" radiator.
We can add all kinds of bars and arms to the rear suspension as traction bars.
You should see some of the "sway bars" that are out there.
The fact is the rules say the following:
1. If something is free, you can make it do what you want so long as it doesn't perform a prohibited function. You can't for example use "free exhaust" to run a turbocharger.
2. But if what you are doing with your free item isn't specifically prohibited, have at it. Otherwise, the idea that "if it says you can you can" means nothing and things like splitters and brake duct hose (rule says brakes may be ventilated, doesn't say how) and heatshields and ducting built off of radiators and air dams (ever see the front of a well-developed 2nd Gen RX7?) are all gone.
Here, my wheel spacers simply happen to have studs, just like some folks ventilated brakes have hoses, or their radiators have ducting, or their air dams have splitters.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
okay. i went back to the rules and i would agree.
D. AUTHORIZED MODIFICATIONSThe following modifications are authorized on all Improved Touring Categoryfunction.
cars. Modifications shall not be made unless authorized herein. No
permitted component/modification shall additionally perform a prohibited
although the rules does not say you can change the bolt pattern, the mod rule above says the permitted part shall not perform a "prohibited" function. and changing the pattern is not specifically prohibited by the ruleset.
i had thought the above section was more to the effect of 'could not perform an otherwise unapproved function'.....
and i suppose others would argue that they are free under:
o. Hardware items (nuts, bolts, etc.) may be replaced with similaritems performing the same fastening function(s)......
1985 CRX Si competed in Solo II: AS, CS, DS, GS
1986 CRX Si competed in: SCCA Solo II CSP, SCCA ITA, SCCA ITB, NASA H5
1988 CRX Si competed in ITA & STL
Exactly.
I did my homework before I spent the jack on the adaptors and the Volks to go with them (TR uses 4X3.75 wheel pattern that no one wants to make.....).
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
You are not changing the wheel bolt pattern of the hub (the car part); you are changing wheels (bolt pattern, offset, track) which are "free" with what amounts to a bolt-on spacer.
and for Bill, since you don't need ~15mm of the offset for the CR6 wheel, you have a lot of room to make this happen. I'd be happy to help find a good solution for you if you are interested.
Since we are using convoluted logic, when you undo the lug nuts to change the tire does the adapter stay bolted to the wheel or the hub. I submit that since it is not removed with the wheel and stays bolted to the hub it is part of the hub and not the wheel.
Jerry
Lone Star Regional Executive
Lone Star Tech Chief.
These discussions are what make the newcomer sad about IT.
Get some wheels, bolt them on the car, and go racing. If you want to add additional weight and complexity with a wheel adapter then go for it.
Yep - agree part of a multi piece wheel.
I was just asking because the adapter is IMO "riskier" than just a spacer. That said, with both do your homework and use the right hardware, and it should be just fine.
Not really risky. Many of our cars have cheap cast aluminum front hubs with studs pulled in. Good spacers are 6061 or a 5 series aluminum and are much stronger in .500 and up thickness. With good hardware they are a no brainer and allow more (insert cheaper) wheel options. Sure keeps people racing more than finding $200+ custom wheels.
Steve Eckerich
ITS 18 Speedsource RX7
ITR RX8 (under construction)
If you are increasing you track you might put more load on the wheel bearing but that is the only risky side of it I see. My spacers are alloy and clearly higher quality as Steve note than the crap hubs on my car that wear out frequently.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
Offset is offset.The hub/bearing cant tell between wheel offset of spacer offset. As long as the tire is inside the fender, all good as far as the bearing is concerned.
We ran the tire well outside of the fender(13x8 , 2in back space), due to lack of rules in our ministock and never broke the hub/studs, nothing. 89VW jett. Stuffed the wheel inside the pas seat one time and stuff just bent.
Mike Ogren , FWDracingguide.com, 352.4288.983 ,http://www.ogren-engineering.com/
Sure, but that (offset is offset) is not the question. If you change the track and push the lever arm acting on the bearing/hub assembly out with a spacer, you will put additional force on it. You can minimize that by moving the wheel back in with offset but if you don't and you do take advantage of the additional track there will be more stress on the bearing.
NC Region
1980 ITS Triumph TR8
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