The NASCAR Cup Series made waves in 2022 by switching from five-lug wheels to center lock wheels that sped up pit stops.
Other race car types and some high end sports cars also use center locks, which simplify the tire-changing process, but they still need a wrench. At least for now.
Ford has been granted a patent for an “Automotive Wheel With Tool-Less Lug and Integrated Lug Wrench” that brings the two together.
The patent notes that, regardless of how many lugs a wheel has, the wrench needs to be stored somewhere and retrieved to change a wheel, which “creates a potentially inconvenient and inefficient situation that could perhaps be remedied.”
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The solution, is a lever built into the wheel that’s attached to a ratchet assembly, which rotates the lug to loosen and tighten it. Pretty easy, peasy. Basically the automotive equivalent of a quick-release bike wheel.
While patent explains the mechanism’s concept, it doesn’t address the most obvious issue this could create, which is imbalance, as the lever is designed so that it would rotate with the wheel.
However, it does suggest that the lever could be integrated into the design of the wheel by using other similar elements, so that’s one potential avenue toward balancing things out.
There is, of course, the matter of essentially carrying four wrenches instead of one, which could mean additional weight for the vehicle.
It may not be the best solution for a sports or racing car, but it would make things easier for car owners and keep things organized for fleets.
Ford knows a lot about the latter, but has not yet indicated it has any plans to put this patent to work on a production vehicle.
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