page_title: Wobbly-web wheel
section_title: 4 stud wheel controversy at Le Mans
hierarchical_section_title: Wobbly-web wheel / Lotus racing cars / 4 stud wheel controversy at Le Mans
caption_attribution_description: Built 1965. 1.5 litre V12 Six 2-stroke V-twin Ariel Arrow motorcycle engines joined together
context_page_description: The wobbly-web wheel is a form of metal disc wheel where the disc is 'wobbled' into spokes. This provides a stiffer, lightweight wheel.
  Wobbly-web wheels are best known through their iconic use on Lotus racing cars of the late 1950s and 1960s.
context_section_description: Lotus's main design principle at this time was Chapman's famous maxim, 'Simplicate and add more lightness'. The Formula Junior Lotus 20 and Lotus 22 extended this to their front wheels, which used a 4-stud fastening, compared to the previous 6-stud that was still used on their rear, driven, wheels.
  At the 1963 Le Mans, Lotus entered the new, and somewhat unfinished, Lotus 23, a widened version of the Lotus 22 two-seater. It was disqualified from competition before the race and did not take part. This was on the basis of its wheels, although not specifically due to the wobbly-web design. The car, as designed, used Lotus's typical 6-stud wheel at the rear but a 4-stud mounting at the front. The wheel rims were also wider at the rear, 6" vs. 5", with wider tyres of 5.50×13 rather than 4.50×13. As the rules for Le Man were still framed as a "sports car" endurance race, they required the carrying of a spare wheel. The 23 had such a spare, but obviously it could not be fitted to both ends of the car. The scrutineers rejected this and barred the car from competition. Matching 4-stud rear hubs were flown hurriedly from England, avoiding the incompatibility problem, but the scrutineers now objected that if 6 studs had been required before, 4 must be inadequately strong and still refused to allow the cars to compete. After this, Chapman replied "We shall never again race at Le Mans.", a promise that Lotus kept until 1997, long after Chapman's death in 1982.
  The following year's Can Am sports car, the Lotus 30, switched from wheel studs to centre-lock wheels. This was mostly due to the far greater torque of its large V8 engine, but it also avoided this situation re-occurring, as the 30 also carried a single spare wheel.
caption: Lotus 23, with 4- and 6-stud wheels just visible
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