Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

[Glenn Rogers]

One of the main mechanics at a local Corvette shop surprised me a couple of months ago by telling me it is not advised to use the rolled hard steel tappered saftey pins on my 65 KO wheels. He did not reinstall them and suggested I not use any type of safety pins.

It get's worse ... I pulled the caps off this evening after getting the car back from them yesterday and found they mis-aligned one of the front KOs onto the adapter nuts rather than the main key pins and left about 3/8" inches of threads showing. I drove home 30 miles this way .... I was floored when I pulled off the cap and saw this (and without pins). I wonder if this damaged the wheel or adapter? ... Luckily the spinner remained tight throughout the incident, however.

I called the owner on his cell phone and told them that this was pretty sloppy work. He has offered to inspect everything and replace the wheel if damaged .... but at this point I'm not sure I'd even risk letting them close to the car again.

This type of advice on the pins does not sound right to me ... someone please advise.

[Paul Reynolds]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

I'm doing a little cross posting here....... but I think it's good info just the same.

The original KO's did not have any pins at all. They stay on because the owners maintain their wheels in accordance with the installation and periodic maintenance instructions.

The aluminum pins in the aftermarket KO wheels were never designed to be a "safety" item. They were anti-theft devices. This doesn't mean they won't aid in keeping the spinner from loosening up, it just wasn't the designed function.

A lot of people have installed the steel roll pins in place of the aluminum pins as a safety measure. This is probably more peace of mind than anything else. If the spinner is not installed properly, than no pin, steel or aluminum, is going to survive the pressure of a 3500lb car trying to turn the spinner. A lot of people swear by them, and that's ok. They probably maintain thier KO's pretty well also.

When I bought my car, the PO had installed steel roll pins. When I took the wheels off after I got it home, 3 of the 4 roll pins were nothing but bits of metal (they are quite brittle) because the spinners were not properly tightened. Jammed up the threads pretty well. I now use the aluminum pins that were designed for the wheels and I maintain the spinner tightness. I also mark my spinners so I can "pre-flight" the car before I drive away. I think that is the best safety measure.

RRod, there are "special" long lug nuts that hold the adaptors on the axles. They are made so you can't get the wheel on the wrong way. Cheap insurance. Most Corvette vendors have them.

[Jack W.]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

Paul - with all due respect, I don't think the pin installed in a slot between the threads of the spinner and the hub assembly (as typical) does not face the full might of the car's torque (accelerating or braking) in a normal situation (hub, and KO wheel, in good shape, holes where large "pins" insert into wheel not elongated). Point is that the engineers designed the hub and wheel to take the spinning torque force by use of the big lug pins on the hub assembly, which mate with and "plug into" the receiving holes in the KO wheel. (If these holes get elongated in any fashion then this can lead to some "forward - backward" movement, a bad thing, and then possibly the fate you describe, where the pins get "rolled over").

The little spinner pins keep the spinner from coming loose for whatever reason, be it rotational forces on the spinner (if installed side-correct should not be present) or thieves who don't know any better, I guess. Critical to that function is the center cap remaining on. These little pins do not normally encounter the full twisting might of the rear axle.

[Bill Stephenson]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

-------I feel a bit sorry for the Knock-off wheel owner that assumes that either the aluminum or cold-rolled pin is the reason a spinner keeps the knock-off wheel on. The spinner needs to have no less than the recommended number of whacks with a correct hammer and usually a few more. The notches, as we all should know, on both the spinner and adapter are located such that there should always be a pair lined up. Loosening up a spinner to line up a pin hole is obviously a bad thing. If anything, whack it a bit harder to get two in alignment. If the spinner is tight enough there should be no damage to the pin. And the comment about a magic-marker stripe from the spinner to the cone is the absolutely best insurance out there if one actually looks to see that the lines are still in alignment...........Bill S

[William V.]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

I suspect that when the KO first came out with the pins, the intent was to help secure the spinner from loosening. However, as from previous posts, this is not the case. I use the aluminum pins as a marker only. When aligned properly, the pin easily slides in and out. Shortly after I install a wheel and about every 200 miles, I check to see if the pin slides easily. If not, I know this spinner has moved and take appropriate action. I jack up the wheel remove the pin loosen and retighten the spinner. I very rarely have to do this procedure but if I do, the wheel was not tighten propery at the start.

[Michael H.]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

I agree with Bill. I've been driving Corvettes w/KO wheels all around this country for the last 35 years and 50,000+ miles and I've never had a problem with a wheel coming loose. Ever. If installed properly and checked a few times in the first hundred miles, they're not coming off.

If a wheel is damaged or if the adapters/nuts are installed on the wrong side, that's an entirely different story and it's almost guaranteed to come loose. Marking the spinner/cone, as Bill mentioned, is an excellent idea. Don't be afraid to wack the spinners. The factory torque spec is 450 ft lbs.

Michael

[Paul Reynolds]

Re: Should I Use my 65 KO Wheels Safety Pins?

Jack, that's what I was trying to say (I think). Properly maintained wheels (and not damaged) shouldn't have any pressure on the little pins. That being said, if the spinner is not on tightly enough (I've heard of owners using a rubber mallet to set the spinners), and the wheel gets a little wobble going, then the pins may start to see some force and will probably not last long as I found with my car when I first got it.

Otherwise, I agree with your assessmsnt.