| cliftford | -- 03-01-2014 @ 8:29 AM |
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Question: Does anyone have any idea why ford went to the large bolt pattern on 36-39 wheels amd back to the smaller bolt pattern in 1940 and up? Just curious.
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| ford38v8 | -- 03-01-2014 @ 8:45 AM |
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The large pattern saves unsprung weight, using the drum for rigidity instead of the wheel. Equally inportant was the savings realized from using less steel. Unfortunately, it was discovered that drum distortion was occurring, particularly when lug nuts were not properly torqued down. Circle track racers found them very desirable, though. Alan
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| Stroker | -- 03-01-2014 @ 4:33 PM |
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Alan pretty well covered it, but I'd like to add some "trivia". Joop Tjaarda van Sterkenburg, was an innovative automotive designer who greatly influenced Ford design in the late 30's. He also influenced Volkswagen designs, which is the reason that the VW "Beetle" has so many late 30's Ford/Lincoln Zephyr styling clues, including of course the "wide bolt pattern" wheels. The wide bolt pattern wheel concept is mechanically sound,and lived-on for many more years on Porche's,and VW's. As Alan also stated, it is today used on many dirt-track-oval race cars, as it resists deflection from the extreme side loads imposed upon it that form of racing. As an aside, his son (also a designer) was instrumental in creating the Ford Pantera sports car. To answer the original question, I suspect it was influenced by three factors: 1. No one else at that time in history in the US followed Ford's lead, and 2. the amount of steel savings (given the deep-drawn spokes) would have been negligible. 3- Lastly, it required a large hubcap. The idea re-emerged in the mid-60's when Pontiac offered a wide bolt pattern wheel on their full-sized high performance offerings. This message was edited by Stroker on 3-1-14 @ 5:08 PM
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