Fun with safety wire
#1
Fun with safety wire
After my last track day, which involved two students in a lead/follow format (essentially, with my own track session, 60 minutes on track, 20 minutes off - repeat throughout the day), I killed my brake rotors, and used up half the life of a brand-new set of brake pads.
I ordered new Wilwood directional friction rings from Summit Racing (I would have ordered from Tarmac 88 but their shipping cost to Canada was twice as much). One of the nice things about the Trackspeed Engineering BBK is the safety-wiring for the bolts that hold the rings to the aluminum hats. Unless you have to replace them, in which case you have a whole new set of skills to learn. I borrowed a tool from a fellow club member and set about to learn how to DIY. TSE provides decent instructions but the most valuable tutorial came from a fellow Canuckistan:
Regardless, there will be blood:
Safety wire is frickin' sharp and hard to handle. Wear safety glasses (which I did) and gloves (which I eventually did). After a few hours, this was the result:
Hopefully I didn't **** it up too badly. Car is back together and I'm ready for next Friday's track day.
I ordered new Wilwood directional friction rings from Summit Racing (I would have ordered from Tarmac 88 but their shipping cost to Canada was twice as much). One of the nice things about the Trackspeed Engineering BBK is the safety-wiring for the bolts that hold the rings to the aluminum hats. Unless you have to replace them, in which case you have a whole new set of skills to learn. I borrowed a tool from a fellow club member and set about to learn how to DIY. TSE provides decent instructions but the most valuable tutorial came from a fellow Canuckistan:
Regardless, there will be blood:
Safety wire is frickin' sharp and hard to handle. Wear safety glasses (which I did) and gloves (which I eventually did). After a few hours, this was the result:
Hopefully I didn't **** it up too badly. Car is back together and I'm ready for next Friday's track day.
Last edited by DeerHunter; 08-17-2020 at 01:27 AM.
#3
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The one circled here for example could have been wrapped around the other way and the twist started at the right(side of the picture) hole. If that makes sense. It's pretty hard to explain
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
Edit, i made a picture to illustrate what i mean. There are a couple like this that could be fixed.
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
Edit, i made a picture to illustrate what i mean. There are a couple like this that could be fixed.
#4
The one circled here for example could have been wrapped around the other way and the twist started at the right(side of the picture) hole. If that makes sense. It's pretty hard to explain
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
As a matter of interest, what causes safety wire to fail, other than the obvious one of incorrect installation?
#5
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Well i've never actually witnessed it fail, so i can't say for sure. I'd have to guess, from what i've seen, that the main failure i've seen is due to improper wrap around a bolt head with the twist starting to far away from the hole. Another common one is tightness, to tight or loose can cause issues.
#7
The one circled here for example could have been wrapped around the other way and the twist started at the right(side of the picture) hole. If that makes sense. It's pretty hard to explain
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
Edit, i made a picture to illustrate what i mean. There are a couple like this that could be fixed.
I do a TON of safety wire on the hydroplane. I've seen safety wire that you think is good fail within 15 minutes.
Overall not bad, practice makes perfect.
Edit, i made a picture to illustrate what i mean. There are a couple like this that could be fixed.
I presume the tool you borrowed was a pair of the safety wire pliers that apply the twist, handy devices when you have them in the toolbox, and an incentive to do sump plugs etc too!
I always had a spare set of rotors on hand, already mounted on a set set of hats and wired ready to go. When the old rotors came off the car, I then had a bit of time to prep the new set, less rush, less chance of a mistake in the prep.
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