WARNING check your lug nut springs :)
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
WARNING check your lug nut springs :)
I have had several of these wear out recently. They are oem bought from my Chevy dealer about 3 years ago near as I can tell.
They fail when I go to torque them down. Torque wrench just keeps turning.
Studs appear fine, I can put a new lug nut on and torque it down on the same stud.
Studs are stock.
Of course this is not a spring stuck into a lug nut, it's the thread in the lug nut peeling away or stripping out.
Anyone got a link to a decent lug nut vendor, not interested in color/anodized/engraved yadayada. Just something open & strong and FULLY THREADED so I can get a little more engagement.
I change wheels several times a month so they get heavy use.
Thanks.
#6
Race Director
Is that a chinese re-manufactured lug nut?
#7
Le Mans Master
For my 92 I hit my local NAPA up every few years for 20 lug nuts so I've never seen this.
#8
Melting Slicks
Hey guys, check with your local tire shops. Our local Chevy dealer had a tire machine in the detail shop and did tons of custom wheel swaps. He had a 55 gallon drum cut in half and it was over flowing with lug nuts removed from brand new cars/trucks. He would let me dig through and take zip lock bags full of new nuts and I would drop off a six pack in return.
#12
Melting Slicks
I have had several of these wear out recently. They are oem bought from my Chevy dealer about 3 years ago near as I can tell.
They fail when I go to torque them down. Torque wrench just keeps turning.
Studs appear fine, I can put a new lug nut on and torque it down on the same stud.
Studs are stock.
Of course this is not a spring stuck into a lug nut, it's the thread in the lug nut peeling away or stripping out.
Anyone got a link to a decent lug nut vendor, not interested in color/anodized/engraved yadayada. Just something open & strong and FULLY THREADED so I can get a little more engagement.
I change wheels several times a month so they get heavy use.
Thanks.
#15
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Sep 2003
Location: Northville Michigan
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"You should also NEVER use an air or electric impact gun or a 12-point socket on lug nuts."
The use of air or electric impact guns is never allowed in an automotive assembly plant for the installation of lug nuts. Such devices round the edges of the lug nuts and are impossible to regulate so that their torque does not overstress the wheel studs.
Take the extra time and break your lug nuts loose with a long rachet or breaker bar. After they are loose, you can safely use a battery powered drill to spin the lug nuts off the studs.
The same goes for the installation of lug nuts. You can use a battery powered drill to spin the lug nuts down, but a torque wrench, with a 6-point quality socket should be used to apply torque.
Ideally, torque should be applied in three stages - 50 lb-ft - 75 lb-ft - 95 or 100 lb-ft.
The lug nuts should be torqued in a star pattern - Start with nut #1 - cross over to a nut across the wheel from nut #1 - cross back to the nut that is next to nut #1, but is not next to nut #2.
Tighten the other two nuts following the first three. Do this for all three stages of torquing.
The use of air or electric impact guns is never allowed in an automotive assembly plant for the installation of lug nuts. Such devices round the edges of the lug nuts and are impossible to regulate so that their torque does not overstress the wheel studs.
Take the extra time and break your lug nuts loose with a long rachet or breaker bar. After they are loose, you can safely use a battery powered drill to spin the lug nuts off the studs.
The same goes for the installation of lug nuts. You can use a battery powered drill to spin the lug nuts down, but a torque wrench, with a 6-point quality socket should be used to apply torque.
Ideally, torque should be applied in three stages - 50 lb-ft - 75 lb-ft - 95 or 100 lb-ft.
The lug nuts should be torqued in a star pattern - Start with nut #1 - cross over to a nut across the wheel from nut #1 - cross back to the nut that is next to nut #1, but is not next to nut #2.
Tighten the other two nuts following the first three. Do this for all three stages of torquing.
Last edited by Pumba; 02-23-2010 at 07:18 PM.
#16
Race Director
Thread Starter
"You should also NEVER use an air or electric impact gun or a 12-point socket on lug nuts."
Every tire store in the world uses impact tools and (correct me if I am wrong) every manufacturer upon original installation uses them (correction spindle nut runners - my bad), probably 5 nuts at a time.
Of course, not for the torque spec when the tire store or racer is finishing off.
Every tire store in the world uses impact tools and (correct me if I am wrong) every manufacturer upon original installation uses them (correction spindle nut runners - my bad), probably 5 nuts at a time.
Of course, not for the torque spec when the tire store or racer is finishing off.
Last edited by froggy47; 02-23-2010 at 07:16 PM.
#18
Melting Slicks
Member Since: Sep 2003
Location: Northville Michigan
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Not true!
I am in the OEM automotive engineering business, and to my knowledge NONE of the automotive assembly plants use impact guns.
All that I have seen in use a 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 spindle nut runners. These are very expensive electric torque wrenches.
Most TIRE STORE gauge their employees worth by how much money can they bring into the store. The more tires that they dismount, change, and remount in a day the more they like the guy.
Very few of them are knowledgeable or care about what is best for your vehicle. It is only in recent years that TIRE STORES have started to use torque wrenches to tighten the lug nuts when they reinstall your wheels.
And, most of them improperly use the torque wrench!
Last edited by Pumba; 02-24-2010 at 01:34 PM.