esanmiguel

While switching from my 15" phone dials to my new 16" Boxster wheels, I re-used the oem black lug nuts. I noticed that they are pretty light and I am guessing that they have to be made out of aluminum to be this light.

For them being aluminum, should I be concerned about the strength? Wouldn't steel be stronger? Can I buy aftermarket chrome steel ones to replace them? I guess as long as the shape and size are the same it should not be a problem.

ERAU-944

if you dont want your old ones, you can send em to me i'll pay shipping or whatever.

-Michael-

SoCal Driver

Some where I get the impression that the lug nuts are titanium. Even if they are aluminum there is more than enough thread contact to keep the wheels on. Just as the racers.

You can get these recoated -- actually anodized. Think a basic cost is $25. Would pay to have a big pile of these to do. I think I have an extra set. Let me check prices here in OC.

ninefiveone

They're aluminum.

People who track cars seem to prefer steel. I'm not clear on all the forces that act on the lug nuts to know whether the properties of steel are preferable here or not.

I switched to steel because I remove the wheels often so I figured the higher fatigue life (probably worded wrong) would be preferable and knowing they were new brought peace of mind when I'm at the track.

Z-man

I concur. I use steel lug nuts, but that's because I'm constantly switching between my street tires & track tires. Before switching, I tore up a couple of the aluminum lug nuts: they hold the wheel on the hub fine, but constantly taking them on and off gets them pretty scuffed up!

Regarding aluminum vs. steel on the track: first off, PCA club racing requires steel, but PCA DE doesn't. I have never seen a problem with running aluminum lug nuts on the track, but with my region, we check the torque on every car every day of an event. (Note: either alum or steel, the torque spec I use is 96 lb-ft. )

So, with all the taking off/putting on and torquing, the steel lug nuts hold up much better: it's more cosmetic than anything else.

HTH,
-Z-man.

Dave in Chicago

For the street car and occasional DE machine, stick with the Porsche lightweight lug nuts. The aluminum wheel and nuts match surfaces and metallurgy to expand / contract evenly. Steel nuts with aluminum wheels actually require more frequent checking (not an issue for a heavily tracked car, your doing it all the time anyway). Torque accurately and check again after about 50 miles and before each track day. Do not overtighten... Bad for nuts, bad for rotors, just plain bad.

Sach951

Hm... I was told that they're magnesium, actually, and hence the low weight. However, I received this information from a tire shop that snapped one of my lugs off ( probably just an excuse ) while putting new tires on, and hence I had to take the car to a professional to have them taken out... absurdly expensive. I think I shall buy steel lug nuts in the future so as to avoid them sheering off again... another perspective...

Are they magnesium, or are they aluminium / just an excuse?

ninefiveone

Three people here have said they're aluminum. Which they are.

If you don't believe that (I support the "don't believe everything you read" stance), then why ask here?

SoCal Driver

Grind on a broken one and tell us what color the sparks are.

The lug nuts can be anodized again to almost any color. Black is the most common.

M758

The otherthing is removing the aluminium ones when the wheels are hot as you might at the end of track session is not really good for them.

Steel is better for race cars and track cars because of the number of times wheels get taken off. For most street cars it is every 5000 to 10000 miles and even assuming 20k per year is 2-4 times. I change tires twice in 1 day at the track. All that changing means more wear on the nuts and a greater chance to bugger them up. Steel is harder to damage since it will take more force. You really have to force them to damage them.

W88951

PCA mandates that you have to have steel lug nuts on your car when participating in a DE or club race. They are not as picky at an autocross though. You also should mandate that your nuts are torqued to no more then ~100ft/lbs. I set mine to 90. If an impact wrench is used to put the lugs on, you will probably have a bent wheel or they will stretch the threads of the lugs or stud. In a previous vehicle, the dealer torqued my nuts to over 200 ft/lbs. Needless to say they replaced all of my wheel studs and nuts at their cost.

If you are interested in purchasing steel lug nuts, here is a link. They are a buck o five a piece. $1.05

http://www.944racing.com/Search/View...earchType=Main

944Play

I got a set of twenty brand-new black anodized alloy lug nuts from PartsHeaven for $50, so it hardly seems worth the trouble/downtime to have them refinished. The quick fix is a black magic marker.

Z-man

As I stated above, steel lug nuts are NOT required for DE events: in my region, and in many of the neighboring regions. It is recommended, but not required. And, for those people who switch between street and track tires, it is natural to use steel lug nuts. But again, it is not required.

But what do I know, I'm just my region's DE track tech co-chair!

-Zoltan.

W88951

Sorry, I was informed that Steel Lug nuts were required for DE events. I guess to be safe, check with hosting region about their requirement on lug nuts before a DE.

SidViscous

Some places not only mandate steel, but that they be open ended so that it can be seen that you are catching enough threads.

As to keeping the stock aluminum ones. I did. one cracked. Took me a total of about 6 hours to get the lugnut off, ruined the lug itself, hacked up the wheels, and replacing the lug took about another 2 hours.

Have steel on now.