Safety Wiring Bolts
[ May 22nd, 2008 ] By: Charles Smith Posted in » Ramblings
Safety Wiring is a pretty common thing in most motorsports. I like to think of it as a mechanical thread lock(Loctite/Teflon Tape), but much easier to remove.
What It Is
Safety wire is wire that is passed through holes in bolt heads that is twisted, wrapped and secured in such a way that the bolts cannot loosen without removing the safety wire. The wire is secured to either other bolts (preferable) or mounting points built in to the component.
Why Safety Wire?
Safety wiring is required for various motorsport leagues as it is the only safe way to secure certain critical bolts. Loctite and Teflon Tape can too often fail and let the bolt unscrew. It is impossible for the bolts to unscrew when safety wired correctly, without the safety wire first failing. It can also be thought of as a warning system. It is the first sign of failure without being a critical one.
Safety Wire is used most commonly on suspension and brake components. A failure of either of those would be catastrophic to the car and driver.
It is pretty simple to do, however it is tedious. Who better to explain how to do it than the website I stole the above picture from? NO ONE. Check it out.
May 23rd, 2008 at 3:30 am
Safety wiring is like a mechanical cock block, preventing any (un)screwing around in ugly, dangerous situations.
Am I right in guessing that you’d need a new set of bolts to replace the older ones w/o holes in the bolt heads?
May 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
You could get new bolts with holes in them already, or you can add holes. Depending on the size of the bolt head, it might not be safe to put a hole through it.