Greg Gore

The owners manual and the FSM recommends 100 ft-lbs torque dry on the wheel studs and nuts and warns wheel nuts might loosen if lubricants are used. I guess I am concerned about tightening without at least a small amount of antiseize on the threads. Does anyone have some experience with this to recommend a revised wheel nut torque value with antiseize or should I just do what the FSM says and put everything back together dry?

85vet

I use wd40 and torque to 100 lbs with no problems.

BigLee

i have purchased a vehicle before, where someone had previously applied anti-seize to the wheel studs. i just left it, and never had any problems with them loosening. ever.

i typically tighten my lug nuts to about 60-70 lb.ft., on all my vehicles, even when the specs call for 80-100... i`ve seen plenty of lug nuts/studs strip or break from over tightening just a little too much...
been doing this for over 25+ years, and never once had an issue or problem from it...

i am not making a recomendation here, simply stating my results, thats all.

Bill Hetzel

Anitsieze and 100lbs, never had a problem.
FYI, I have a Formula Ford with small wheel studs and standard wheel nuts that gets torqued to 35 ft.lbs, never lost a wheel nut.

tjwong

I always use antisieze on all my vehicles including my trucks and never had a problem. I have been doing this for years.

bogus

Just so you know, that by using anti-sieze on lugs, the 100 lbs becomes about 150lbs.

I advise HIGHLY against any lubricant on the lug.

c4cruiser

I occasionally take a wire brush to the studs to remove any grit or rust and make sure the threads on the studs and nuts are in good shape. I swap wheels a lot (twice a month) on my 87 between my street tires and race tires so I always check the threads.

I use generic open-end lug nuts. They go on dry and torqued to 90-ft-lbs in stages and I re-check them after 25-30 miles of driving.

rocco16

I certainly agree, unless the manual calls for lubricant. See below.



Use a torque wrench on the nuts, and you won't have any problems with stripping/breaking studs when you tighten to the proper torque.


If torque values are for "dry, clean fasteners", then using a lubricant on them can result in over-stretching the bolts even when you use a torque wrench.

The reason for this is that the torque values were determined using the additional torque it takes to overcome dry thread friction. Reduce this friction and it takes less torque to achieve the desired bolt stretch. So, using the same torque value (on lubricated threads) will stretch the bolt and stress the nut threads more than design values indicate are optimum...this will weaken the bolt. (a major cause of the broken/stripped lugs that BigLee mentions)

Bottom line: most of us don't know as much as the design engineers. Go by the manual.


Larry
code5coupe

__________
Often wrong, never in doubt....

BigLee

i DO use a torque wrench on my lug nuts.

and i agree that using lubricants on bolts/nuts will alter the torque values, and lead to overstressing them, when dry specs. are called for.

the vehicle that had antiseize on the studs, got torqued to 50 lb/ft....

never the less, i have broken/stripped dry and clean studs that never reached 80 lbs. when tightening, and had no apparent damage.

perhaps they had been overtightend/impacted on at some point in the past, and were already weakened, who knows.

but i have never had a lug loosen on me after being torqued to only 60 lbs. (dry).....

Midnight 85

As much as I remove my wheels to clean the inside of the wheel and the wheelwell mine never get the chance to rust. Bogus has very good info, leave them dry.

Aardwolf

I have a very slight amount of the anti-seize on mine. It keeps the rust away and makes the wheels easier to work on. I take the wheels off very often. I use 100 for torque still.

Interesting tidbit about wheel adapters:

Should I use anti-seize on the studs? Will it cause the lug nuts to loosen easier?

http://www.performancewheel.com/****...10&gacid#sieze

Definitely! A small dab of anti-seize on both the hub and the spacer's or adapter's studs make torque values much more consistent, and prevent the lug nut from seizing after hard racing or a cold Colorado winter. As you torque the lug nut to spec, the stud acts like a spring, and gets pre-loaded. This tension in the stud is what holds the lug nut tight against the wheel (or spacer/adapter). By lubricating the stud with anti-seize, you make sure the torque on the lug nut will go to tensioning the stud, rather than friction that does not increase the tension, and will make it easier to lose pre-load and loosen. As long as there is tension, the lug nut will not loosen

Interesting tidbit about anti-seize on the rotor:

http://www.babcox.com/editorial/tr/tr110252.htm GM doesn't advise this but Ford does.

recommends using a nickel antiseize compound between the rotor and hub when new rotors are installed. The nickel antiseize provides corrosion protection and will not cause loss of lug nut torque over time as some other products will. Rust growth between the rotor and hub can push the rotor out and create runout, uneven wear and pedal pulsation. (I put some a rag and rub it in so there is not globs to sling off on the rotor)

Also it mentions not to under torque the lug.

Lug nut torque is also extremely important. GM says undertorquing only a single lug nut may create as much as 0.003-inch of lateral runout in a rotor!

Mark C5

It never ceases to amaze me how General Motors employs a veritable army of six figure engineers and yet we always seem to know better.

Aardwolf

The same paid engineers at Ford and GM can't agree either.

Mark C5

I guess I missed the part where the Ford engineers made any recommendations for a GM car?

Aardwolf

So did I, where is it?

LT4BUD

You could torque them dry then hit them with WD40 or whatever for protection...

Mine are dry period...

BrianCunningham

I'll never put them on dry again.

I needed to replace 3 studs and retap the rest before I came out here.

corvettedan22

I always thought the torque was 90lbs

is it 100 for an 85 as well ?

wayne lowry

The owners manual and the FSM recommends 100 ft-lbs torque dry on the wheel studs and nuts and warns wheel nuts might loosen if lubricants are used

There's your answer, 100 ft-lbs torque dry.
Do not use anti seize and certainly do not torque them to anything less.
Use a torque wrench.

coupeguy2001

I always apply a minimal amount of grease on the lugs, and torque to 75 ft/lbs. Never allow an impact to take them on / off, and **** off everybody at the tire store when I hand them a breaker bar with a 4" extension, and a 3/4 " socket attached.
I come prepared.......I use a little film case with grease in it in a plastic baggie. and while they are switching tires or balancing the wheels, I put a dab on the studs, and make sure they use their torque wrench to final tighten. I request 75, and I also retorque at home after 10- 15 miles. never had a problem since I started paying attention to the studs like that. but I did witness them snapping off 2 studs with an impact gun on the same wheel, and then instructed them on how to remove the hub to press in new studs, and they were unhappy, now the same guys groan when I come in the store, but I get it done my way. i heard one guy say "are all corvette guys like him? and the manager said "no, only the ones who know what they are doing"