As with many motorsports design and engineering departments, the University of Glasgow’s Formula Student Team, UGRacing, splits design work involving the unsprung mass (everything not supported directly by the suspension) into an independent sub-team away from the sprung mass development teams. Over the past three years, UGRacing’s unsprung mass team has been on a mission to reduce the weight of the unsprung components to improve multiple areas of performance. UGRacing found that traction, steering responsiveness, and wheel acceleration were the three significant beneficiaries of low unsprung mass (USM).
O.Z Magnesium Formula Student Wheel
One of the most significant components in the USM assembly is the wheel. In 2020, UGRacing decided to move to OZ Racings’ 10″ Centrelock wheels. These magnesium racing wheels are significantly lighter than most other Formula Student-style wheels, weighing only 1.6 kg per rim, resulting in an instant 600-gram reduction in each corner assembly. The centre locking geometry required a redesign of the wheel hubs.
 
The wheel hubs in the UGRacing UGR20 racing car attach to the rest of the unsprung mass assembly. A retaining nut keeps the hub inside the wheel bearings and provides preload to the bearings. As unsprung mass is one of the areas of Formula Student that is almost entirely unrestricted in terms of design, UGRacing encouraged concept sketching and planning at the initial stages of t...