The Wheel Package Team is responsible for the design, analysis, and manufacturing of the vehicles spindle, hub assembly, and wheel. Additionally, the team must select hub bearings, and tires – being sure they will meet all of the requirements and meet regulations.
With this most recent design, the team decided to change from a 14 inch wheel to a 16 inch wheel. This decision was made because tires fitting the old style 14 inch wheel had become obsolete, and the increased weight of a cruiser class car required more robust wheels/tires. After cost analysis, the team made a choice to design custom wheels and leverage our sponsors for reduced material cost and machining. With this we were able to achieve our goal cost of $400/wheel compared to $1600/wheel from a wheel supplier. The wheels are machined from 6061-T6511 Aluminium supplied with a discount by Alro Steel – Lansing, and machining was completed by S & S Die Company – Lansing .
The wheels are designed specifically to be used with cheaper moped tires as well as more expensive solar racing tires. The moped tire is a Michelin City Grip and the solar car tire is also supplied by Michelin.
The wheel mounts directly to the hub assembly which was machined completely by members of the team. The hub bearings are pressed into the hub. The hub bearings are deep-groove ball bearings supplied by NSK. The hub has extensive light weighting which helps to keep the component weight down. The brake disc is also mounted to the hub.
The hub assembly is mounted on the spindle. The spindle transfers wheel loads to the suspension. It was also machined by members of the team and is made from 4130 Steel.
All components are designed to meet the loading condition of a 3G bump, 1G corner and 1G braking – simultaneously. This was an overview of the wheel assembly of the new Aurora vehicle.
