Almost lost left rear wheel on my 488 spider

WOW that would be a BIG problem if it happened other times. Could cost your life

 

This is definitely why we check the torque on the wheels at the track but it doesn't seem like it should be needed around town. In any case, maybe your spirited driving was enough to loosen it up.

 

Hello,

I am from Germany and I have had the same problem one year ago. After joining the Nürburgring Grand-Prix Course.

Fortunately it didnˋt happen on the Track, it happened on the way to the Gas Station.It was also the real left wheel and also I pulled 4 of 5 screws by hand. My Ferrari Dealer said this can be happen when driving on a race track and behind closed Doors they said that they knew this problem.

It was unbelievable! There was no excuse or a letter of regret from Ferrari. Nothing! They swapped half of the left axle and I have got the car back after 8 weeks waiting on the spare parts from Italy.

Greetings from Germany

Heinz

 

Hello,

they made no discussion. All things are covered by warranty.
I do not worry at high speed, but after this incident I check the screws regularly before driving with high speed.

Best regards

Heinz

 

This seems bizarre to me. Was somebody or a machine not torquing the lugs properly on the assembly line?

 

I've seen this before. I was at circuit of the americas and a guy showed up with his new 488. He didn't bother to check his lugs. He came off the track complaining about a noise. A mechanic from another garage came over and it turned out all of his lugs could be taken off by hand.

 

very few things make me OMG but OMG!

 

I can't speak to which wheel it was, did not ask, but was at COTA last year and a 488 lost a wheel during a slow speed turn. No injuries, and my understanding is the car had no significant damage, but that same car had completed many laps at normal speeds just prior to the incident. Driver was very lucky.

Jim

 

I have read on this forum that the recommended torque for Ferrari wheels is 75 ft lbs which seems pretty low to me. Most cars are in the 80-95 Ft-lb range and I have even seen one car recently that called for 105 ft-lbs. Just speculating though...

 

This is checked in dealer prep. My guess is it was a dealer issue, not a factory issue.

As a rule, a shop should have a second mechanic check the torque settings the car's lug nuts before it's released in case the first guy forgot. People are human so a second check removes the risk, no matter how small

 

I have no choice but to rely on my mechanic for many things. The cost/benefit ratio is too low for me to double check everything they do.

However, I highly recommended spending a few dollars on a torque wrench and learning to use it properly if you push your car. It is up there with checking the tires and tire pressures. It is very little effort for a lot of piece of mind.

(Found a nail in a tire yesterday when checking wear. New tires went on today. Looking forward to trying the Pilot Sport 4s out!)

Sent from my Pixel 2 using FerrariChat.com mobile app

 

here is the other thread that you mentioned

https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/488-rear-wheel-fell-off.579082/

also left rear...

 

Somebody or some machine wasn't functioning properly that day, is all I can think of that would cause that, but shouldn't dealer prep check for things like that?

 

Logic would not support that the factory lug tightening tool was at fault unless there is one single machine dedicated to the left rear wheel. Other wheels would also have to be coming loose or falling off if the same machine tightens more than just the one wheel location. The other threads placed cause on the action of the differential under power and recommended multiple re-torqueing. FWIW I've never had a wheel come loose after proper torqueing on any car I've owned but I don't track cars.

 

There seems to have been enough of these incidents for Ferrari to issue a TSB. I'm surprised the NHTSB hasn't gotten involved as this is definitely a public safety issue.

 

Happened to me at cota with all 4 wheel lugs loosened significantly after ~15 laps, with right rear (most load bearing) the loosest. They need tightening after every session, not just an inspection.

 

Planning on going out to the track today, I torqued my wheels last night to 75#, which as noted above seems low, but that is the number in the manual. Just checked the torque again and nothing loosened from the activity today.