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At FRENZY, I got served a little helping of hubris. Some time ago, I bought the ‘special socket’ the WSM recommended for 928 lug nuts. Porsche # 000 721 300 00. A chunky little aluminum 19mm 6pt socket for 1/2” drive.
I was proud of myself, because now I was not going to damage the new aluminum lug nuts I bought for the Red Witch.
Fast forward to FRENZY, I saw a gentleman about to remove one of the front wheels from his S4. A call to arms! With my cape flowing freely behind me, I sprang forth, new socket in hand. I was to going to help! I tore open the plastic bag and handed him the never before used socket. He happily took the socket from me and got to work.
First lug nut came off. And was now stuck in the socket. Wedged in place. The socket had to be chucked up in a vice and a blunt persuading tool had to be applied to remove the lug nut. The socket bore the scars of the event.
My cape hung limply down, as did my pride.
The gentleman used his 19mm deep well socket for the rest of his lug nuts.
Talking to others at FRENZY, nobody uses the special socket. They all use good fitting 19mm deep well sockets.
Hmmm...
I researched on Rennlist and settled on the Sunex 284319 socket. It is a 19mm 6pt deep well socket with an extended base, for 1/2" drive. It has a plastic sleeve on the outside to protect the hole in the rim, and a plastic insert inside the socket.
Since the lug nuts are new and the black anodizing is perfect, I will probably use a plastic baggy over the lug nuts as I use this socket.
I don’t believe this socket is impact rated. That doesn’t matter to me because I don’t use an impact for the lug nuts on my 928.
Photos of the sockets in all their glory:
Porsche socket on the left, Sunex socket on the right.
Markings on the Porsche socket are: SALTUS SR19x12.5 AL.
Fluted 6-point.
Scar in socket where the lug nut wedged.
Scar from vise and blunt persuading tool.
Straight 6-point with plastic insert.
Markings on the Sunex socket are: 19mm 284319.
Sunex socket.
From my searching, I am aware that this has been covered time and time again. This is just my take on a lug nut socket for my 928.
Thanks for the post. Sunex 284319 socket ordered. I had an older one that was made for the anodized lugs, but the insert kept falling out and almost dinged a wheel. I changed to steel chrome lugs for the look on my Fikse wheels so I'm more concerned about wheel damage than lug damage
Last edited by Bigfoot928; 10-09-2018 at 09:17 PM.
Reason: clarifying
For a decade or two I've been using a plastic-insert socket from 928 International, with a large heat-shrink sleeve added for wheel protection. The socket won't fit in the manhole-cover wheels with the sleeve on, but does work well on the wheels I regularly run on the car. No impacts used at all with that socket. Once a nut is loosened slightly, I swap to a standard 6pt 19mm deep well also with the shrink sleeve on it. Nuts come out by hand from there.
Each of the sockets you show are a version of a "flank drive" socket, where no pressure is applied to the corners. Saves marking up the corners, but can mar the flat faces especially if the nuts are torqued on a little too tight. The 928 International socket starts life as a bigger socket, and has a full plastic insert so no metal-to-metal contact. The shrink sleeve I added really helps keep the insert for sliding out. No issues and no marks on the lug nuts, so I call it a success.
dr bob, in my searching, I ran across a post by you from way back when. You mentioned just this socket from 928 International. So...I searched high and low on their website and found nothing. That's why I went with the Sunex. Do you have any specific part number or such for the socket?
No. But it's been used for a lot of years now. May be long out of production. Works very well but it's a pretty small market. Call Tom/Mark and see if they still exist.
Just to clarify though. The lug nut wasn't released using blunt force in a vice. It was tried, but I couldn't release that way. Very sorry for the scars on the tool. That's why I stopped.
Thom and I (yes it took two of us!) screwed the nut back on the stud tight and attached the breaker bar to the socket. All it took was a little counter turn to release it. We should have thought of that first.
I too purchased the Porsche socket some twenty years ago, never could use it as it won't fit into any of the Rims (Cup 1, Cup II, Turbo twist (as Rob E. shows above) or the stock manholes from what I can recall, sits in the tool box drawer.
I'll bet it fits a Fuchs wheel
10-09-2018, 08:18 PM
A tale of two sockets...lugs.
