spinner (wheel)
{{Short description|Automobile wheel part}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
The spinner on automobile wheels historically refers to knock-off hub nuts or center caps. They may be the actual, or intended to simulate, the design used on antique vehicles or vintage sports cars. A "spinner wheel" in contemporary usage is a type of hubcap or inner wheel ornament, that spins independently inside of a wheel itself when the vehicle is in motion and continues to spin once the vehicle has come to a stop.
Original use
{{Main|Centerlock wheel}}
File:Riley Brooklands 1930,Belem02.jpg
File:1967 AMC Marlin white with red interior 07.jpg simulated wire wheel cover with spinner]]
The spinner or "knock-off" originated with Rudge-Whitworth center lock wire wheels and hubs, which were first patented in 1908.{{cite magazine|last=Howard |first=Keith |date=May 2001 |title=Rudge-Whitworth hub |url= https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/may-2001/41/r-u-d-g-e-whit-worth-hub |magazine=Motor Sport |language=en-GB |access-date=18 March 2020}}{{cite web|url= https://www.hemmings.com/blog/article/rudge-whitworth/ |title=Rudge-Whitworth |last=Shea |first=Terry |date=September 2012 |website=hemmings.com |access-date=2020-03-18}} The spinner was a threaded, winged nut designed to keep the wheel fastened to the hub. They were screwed on and "knocked on tightly" using a hammer, hence the name "knock-offs". Most setups will feature right-hand threads on the left side of the vehicle, and left-hand threads (rotate clockwise to remove) on the vehicle's right side so the screw-on spinner would stay tightened as the auto was in forward motion.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=muyszoZbpNQC&q=setups+will+feature+right-hand+threads+on+the+vehicle+left+side,+and+left-hand+threads+on+the+vehicle+right+side&pg=PT253 |first=Mike |last=Mavrigian |title=High Performance Fasteners & Plumbing: A Guide to Nuts, Bolts, Fuel, Brake, Oil & Coolant Lines, Hoses, Clamps, Racinghardware and Plumbing Techniques |publisher=HP Books |year=2008 |isbn=9781557885234}} This style of "knock-off" wheel was common on road cars until the development of the lug nut method attaching the wheel.
Spinner hubcaps
The spinner hubcap was introduced into the commercial vehicle and passenger automobile market in the 1930s.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=U3rJxPYT32MC&q=spinner+hub+cap&pg=PA416 |title=The guide to United States popular culture |publisher=Bowling Green State University Popular Press |year=2001 |isbn=9780879728212 |editor-last=Browne |editor-first=Ray B. |page=416 |editor2-last=Browne |editor2-first=Pat}} Automotive designer Harley Earl expressed a brash philosophy behind his 1950s automobiles that included "glittering spinner hubcaps."{{cite journal |last1=Yates |first1=Brock |title=Detroit Iron |journal=American Heritage |date=October 1991 |volume=42 |issue=6 |url= https://www.americanheritage.com/detroit-iron |access-date=30 September 2019}} During the 1950s and 1960s automobile manufacturers offered simulated wire wheel covers for a look of luxury that featured crisscrossing spokes designed to look like the real wire wheels that were used on vehicles in the 1920s and 1930s.{{cite web|title=A look back at simulated wire wheel covers. Part 2: the 1960s |first=Sean |last=Connor |date=22 January 2012 |publisher=Newark Classic Cars Examiner |url= https://www.classiccarstodayonline.com/2015/02/19/a-look-back-at-simulated-wire-wheel-covers-part-2-the-1960s/ |access-date=30 September 2019}} These "spinner-wheel covers" were available on standard as well as featured on custom cars, and lowriders quickly adapted them for their vehicles.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_tB9qbFCigC&q=Wire+wheel+cover+spinner+1960&pg=PA199 |pages=199–200 |title=Lowriders in Chicano Culture: From Low to Slow to Show|first=Charles M. |last=Tatum |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2011 |isbn=9780313381492}}
During the early-1960s, the simulated wire wheel covers returned, but with a new look designed to emphasize sportiness with their radiating spokes and center "spinner caps."{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TwcOO2OxujYC&q=AMC+spinner+wheel+cover&pg=PA10 |page=10 |last=Gunnell|first=John|title=Standard Catalog of American Muscle Cars 1960-1972 |year=2006 |publisher=Krause Publications |isbn=978-0-89689-433-4}} These classic center spinner caps feature a rigidly mounted propeller-like center element, usually with two or three projecting "blades."{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=WZ9bF45s1cMC&q=Wire+wheel+cover+spinner&pg=PA27 |page=27 |last=Corcoran |first=Tom |title=Mustang 1964½–1968 |year=1994 |publisher=MBI Publishing |isbn=978-0-87938-630-6}} They were intended to simulate the knock-off hubs that were used on vintage racing vehicles and classic sports cars where a hammer or special wrench was used on the spinner to release or tighten the wheel to the hub.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UbLua09mcjIC&q=Wire+wheel+cover+spinner+1960&pg=PA84 |page=84 |title=Original MGA |first=Anders Ditlev |last=Clausager |publisher=MBI Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=9780760314500}}
These spinner hubcaps were most often an optional appearance upgrade to the standard equipment hubcaps or full wheel covers that attached to stamped steel wheels.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=y6DUvUpGmn0C&q=Wire+wheel+cover+spinner&pg=PA74 |page=74 |last=Cheetham |first=Craig |title=Ultimate Muscle Cars |publisher=MBI Publishing|year=2007 |isbn=978-0-7603-2834-7}} Top trim models sometimes included spinner wheel covers as standard equipment to appeal to youthful customers.{{cite book |last=Glatch |first=Tom |title=The Art of Mopar: Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth Muscle Cars |date=2017 |publisher=Motorbooks |isbn=9780760359716 |pages=22–28 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=LlcqDwAAQBAJ&q=Dodge+spinner+wheel+cover&pg=PA21}}
In the late 1960s, U.S. Federal safety standards banned the use of protruding bar spinners on automobiles.
Other uses
File:1956 Dodge La Femme fenderF.jpg
The mid-1950s Dodge four-bladed "spinner" wheel covers became an icon for the era and also became an item popular to owners to customize their cars.{{cite book|url= https://archive.org/details/standardguideto100john |url-access= registration |page= [https://archive.org/details/standardguideto100john/page/94 94] |quote= Dodge four bladed spinner wheel cover. |title=Standard guide to 1950s American cars |first=John |last=Gunnell |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2004 |isbn=9780873498685}}{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2CqJ-oFA9CkC&q=Dodge+four+bladed+spinner+wheel+cover&pg=PA145 |title=Kustom Kemps of America: Commemorative Book |publisher=Turner Publishing |year=2003 |isbn=9781563119378}}
Spinners were an add-on accessory marketed during the 1950s to decorate regular wheel covers for a custom look.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pmlSQglkGokC&q=spinner+hub+cap&pg=PA209 |page=209 |title=Rod & Custom in the 1950s |first=Deette |last=Crow |publisher=Motorbooks International |year=2004 |isbn=9780760316306}} Center spinner hubcaps were also available as original equipment from automakers.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=1sh3KnKIgIwC&q=spinner+hub+cap&pg=PA22 |page=22 |title=Chrysler Muscle: Detroit's Mightiest Machines |first1=Bill |last1=Holder |first2=Phil |last2=Kunz |publisher=Krause Publications |year=2003 |isbn=9780873496339}}
Custom wheels for lowriders also used naked ladies on wheel covers, and these were the first to feature a floating or spinner-type wheel device. A bracket was used to mount to the spindle, so while the lady stood still the wheel spun around.{{cite magazine |url= http://www.lowridermagazine.com/tech/0605_lrm_history_of_the_wheel/viewall.html |title=History of the Wheel: A loose look at the wheels and tires that lowriders have loved to roll on |first=Sammy J. |last=Perea |magazine=Lowrider |date=February 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120826080732/http://www.lowridermagazine.com/tech/0605_lrm_history_of_the_wheel/viewall.html |archive-date=26 August 2012 |access-date=30 September 2019}} Similarly, the Rolls-Royce Phantom has anti-spinners – the "RR" logo in the center of the hub is mounted on a spinner or gyroscopic mechanism with an offset weight designed to ensure that the logo is always the right way up when the car is parked.{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Sean |last2=Hood |first2=Bryan |title=21 Fascinating Things You Didn't Know About Rolls-Royce |url= https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/rolls-royce-facts-2900540/ |work=Robb Report |access-date=28 November 2023 |date=8 February 2022}}
The hubometers used on large trucks, buses, and trailers that appear to be stationary while the wheel is turning to accurately measure the actual distance covered. They are enclosed and float in a liquid with anti-freeze to be functional in severe low temperatures without freezing.
Modern concept
The modern spinner device is a decorative kinetic attachment to the wheel of an automobile.{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lqSkD9cxTmMC&q=Spinner+automobile+wheel&pg=PA28 |page=28 |title=A Field Guide to Automotive Technology |first=Ed |last=Sobe |publisher=Chicago Review Press |year=2009 |isbn= 9781613741719}} The spinner covers the center of a car's wheel and is designed to independently rotate by using one or more roller bearings to isolate the spinner from the wheel, enabling it to turn while the wheel is at rest.
Legislative bills were proposed in several US states to ban spinner-type wheels and hubcaps that simulate movement even when a vehicle is stopped because they could be disconcerting to other motorists and present a safety hazard.{{cite web |url= http://www2.sema.org/Main/SemaOrgHome.aspx?ID=53066 |title=Spinner wheels and hubcaps face bans in several states |publisher=SEMA Market Snapshot |location=US |date=15 June 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150223174142/http://www2.sema.org/Main/SemaOrgHome.aspx?ID=53066 |archive-date=23 February 2015 |access-date=30 September 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Shunk |first1=Chris |title=New York State moves to ban spinner wheels |url= https://www.autoblog.com/2007/02/17/new-york-state-moves-to-ban-spinner-wheels/ |work=Autoblog |date=17 February 2007 |access-date=30 September 2019}}
Spinners were popular during the early-2000s within the hip-hop community of the United States. Since the mid-2000s, they are gradually fading out of vogue in popular culture.{{cite web|url= http://www.smartguy.com/index.asp?id=2354 |title=Choosing the Best Tires for Your Car |publisher=Smartguy.com |year=2008 |access-date=11 June 2013}}{{cite web |url= http://www.kophi.org/page/10/ |title=How to Select New Rims and Tires for Your Car |date=19 August 2012 |publisher=Auto Parts & Accessories |access-date=11 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130723174154/http://www.kophi.org/page/10/ |archive-date=23 July 2013 }}
Music
The spinner-type automobile hubcaps were the inspiration for a Detroit-area R&B/soul group, The Domingoes, to rename themselves The Spinners in the late 1950s.{{cite journal|url= https://www.rnbshowcasemag.com/spinners.html |title=The 'One of a Kind' Sound of The Spinners |journal=R&B Showcase News |issue=7|first=Tim |last=Marshall |access-date=9 October 2012 }}{{cite web |last=McCollum |first=Brian |title=Bobby Smith, lead singer of The Spinners, dies |url= https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2013/03/19/spinners-lead-singer-bobby-smith-dies/2000219/ |agency=Detroit Free Press |work=USA Today |date=19 March 2013 |access-date=30 September 2019}}
In 1960, Pat Davis recorded the song "Spinner Hub Caps".{{cite web|first=Tyrone |last=Schmidling |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AQtzaenRhY |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/8AQtzaenRhY |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|title=Pat Davis "Spinner Hub Caps" 1960 |via=YouTube |date=26 April 2009 |access-date=11 June 2013}}{{cbignore}}
In 2003, as spinning rims were in the height of their popularity in hip-hop culture, Three 6 Mafia released the song "Ridin' Spinners". The song title refers to driving while having spinning rims installed on the car. In the first line of the song, DJ Paul urges all the "players out there ridin' spinners" to "stop, and let 'em keep spinnin' baby", and the chorus repeatedly proclaims that the spinners "don't stop".{{cite web |title=Three 6 Mafia - Ridin' Spinners Lyrics |url=https://genius.com/Three-6-mafia-ridin-spinners-lyrics |website=Genius.com |access-date=26 January 2024}} The song was on the album Da Unbreakables, which was certified gold by the RIAA.{{Cite news|url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&se=three+6+mafia#search_section|title=Gold & Platinum - RIAA|work=RIAA|access-date=2018-06-26|language=en-US}}
"Weird Al" Yankovic's 2006 song White & Nerdy contains the lines "My rims never spin to the contrary / You'll find that they're quite stationary"{{cite web|url= https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/9139268/Weird+Al+Yankovic/White+%26+Nerdy |title=White & Nerdy lyrics |website=lyrics.com}}