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Supercars investigating wheel nut fix

Supercars could revise its wheel nut system ahead of the Bathurst 1000 with potential solutions being trialled today.

Screenshot 2023-09-17 at 3.32.04 pm

The Gen3 wheel nuts have returned to the spotlight in recent weeks off the back of a number of lost wheels.

The most high-profile was the wheel coming off Garth Tander's Grove Mustang while running fourth in the early stages of the Sandown 500.

There were similar instances at the Sydney Motorsport Park and Sandown ride days for Triple Eight and Erebus respectively, although the latter is thought to have been a hub-related failure, rather than linked to a design flaw of any time.

Motorsport.com understands testing is being undertaken today on some solutions that could improve wheel retention with the smaller, lighter Gen3 nut and spindle systems.

That feasibly means a change could be mandated ahead of the Bathurst 1000.

A lost wheel on the high-speed, largely wall-lined Mount Panorama would have the high potential to badly damage a car.

Brad Jones Racing owner Brad Jones forecasted a change to the current system in a video posted to the team's social channels last week.

His theory is that a design similar to the old-generation cars, with an in-built central clip to stop nuts unwinding entirely even if they come loose, is the desired fix.

This isn't the first time wheel nuts have proven problematic on these new cars, with a re-design of the system that retained the nut inside the rim itself required before the start of the season.

There were also changes to the stubs on the hub to stop rims sticking while hot.

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