Changing lug nuts GIF

[Jon]

Changing lug nuts GIF.


https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net...g_lug_nuts.gif

[PJs]

Would be my luck that top nut would have bounced off my forehead and all the rest rolled under the car to the far side.

[Jon]

I didn't realize it before I found this GIF, but pit crews are increasingly recruited from among former football players. The average career length is short (though longer than the NFL), and the better crewmen make 6-figure salaries.

Interestingly, Matt Prater, who holds the NFL record for the longest field goal (64 yards), did a one-month stint on a pit crew before he was rejected. More: Former football players make the jump to NASCAR pit crews | The MMQB with Peter King


https://diqn32j8nouaz.cloudfront.net/pitstop.gif

[PJs]

Whodathunk. I sure didn't. Kind of make sense though except for a torn ACL up and down on the concrete.

[mklotz]

Ok, I understand how they can remove the lugnuts so quickly, but how do they remount them after a tire change as quickly as shown in the gif? Do the air-powered wrenches have a clip like an automatic pistol that delivers nuts to the wrench?

[Jon]

I had the same question, and poked around a bit. Looks like they glue the lug nuts onto the wheels before the race.

Also, they're using highly-specialized air tools, running on nitrogen, with different on/off torque settings, and spring systems for ejecting the lug nuts once they're loose. I was wondering what happens to stray flying lug nuts. Mostly they're just swept up, then used as souvenirs. However, there are various incidents of stray lug nuts causing damage to people and even cars.

Turns out that there is a lot of wiggle room for pit crews to alter the lug nut changing procedure, and there are various rules made to govern exactly how many lug nuts have to go on, and exactly how. I believe it's easier to gain a half-second or second on a pit stop than it is when the car is actually racing.

[Jon]

Asking for trouble...

[PJs]

Yup, looks like trouble to me especially on the alloy wheels of today. Also wonder how it works on old dirty used lug nuts. Cute but no Cigar from me!

Also that formula car above and a lot of the high level race cars use a single large nut...toward the end of the Gif you can see the large socket on the end of the impact. And yes they are very trick impacts run on pure nitrogen. Typically I think these single nuts are retained in the impact for re-installation as they only change tires a few times in a longer race or weather issues. NASCAR still uses multiple lug nuts to represent the "Stock Car" theme and are glued in.

[blkadder]

I still prefer the knock off wire wheels that my MGB (1965) has. I can change a wheel in about five minutes with nothing but the jack and a lead hammer.

[Jon]

Double stack pit stop. This was the first time I ever noticed the guys brushing off the grill.