joseph mitro

i'm getting ready for my first true DE this weekend and installing new steel lug nuts. is the torque setting different than for the stock alloy nuts?

Sam Lin

Nope.

Sam

JackOlsen

I do mine to 94 ft/lb.

jharding

Do check your lug nuts after each DE run (or after two if you have back-to-back runs). Steel lug nuts on aluminum wheels will tend to loosen up more than if you used aluminum lug nuts.

mitch236

You don't want to re-torque when the wheels are hot. Once a day, in the morning is sufficient.

RedlineMan

Hey Joe;

Same torque. I have taken on the double click torquing method. I have found that, for whatever reason, hitting the torque spec plus an extra click thereafter seems to keep the lugs from loosening again, where a single click seems to allow them more "freedom to roam."

Using 90 static and then the extra tweek probably gets them around the 94 Jack mentions. I find my lugs never loosen up thereafter.

jharding

Mitch,

Isn't that more of an issue when checking aluminum lug nuts when the wheels are hot? A steel lug nut on a steel stud should expand and contract around the same rates. I check my wheels usually before the next run, not right after the previous run. Since using steel lug nuts I've had a couple loosen up before. That leads me to think the dissimilar metals can cause wheels (especially Fuchs) to crack when not checked often enough.

Joel
83 944 "Likes to take my money!"

M758

When pull hot wheels and tires off a car the nuts do seem tighter than when they are cold. That would make sense since the aluminum wheel expands more than the steel wheel stud.

JackOlsen

Is there any truth to what I've heard about the light alloy OEM ones stripping out when torqued hot? I know the steel ones are S.O.P. in racing, but I still don't really know the reason for that.

M758

Well steel are required for PCA club racing. One thing I do know is that in a racing enviroment you take the wheels on and off so many times the alimum might wear. For a street car you might pull the wheels off every 5000 miles. On my spec car I do it at lest 3 times per weekend given that I store the car on once set of tires and race on another.

ScottMellor

I got the steel so I could use my handy dandy battery powered impact wrench, since I change wheels a lot.

RedlineMan

Hey;

The alloy nuts will wear, and the threads disappear over time. There is also nothing worse than hearing rrrrRAWK as you torque alloy nuts down. They can gall and literally weld themselves to the rim. They are rather hard to get off at this stage. Ask me how I know!

Steelies are much more robust and dependable. Also allows the scruts to check thread engagement of the nuts in tech.

Tennessee Turbo

Where can I get steel lugs?

JackOlsen

Pelican Parts has them. I believe they're a VW part. Make sure the mating surface is rounded, to match the contour of the Fuchs. There are other nuts that will work, but have the wrong contour to that part.

Bull

As mentioned, required for years for visual inspection of the protruding threads.