Alloy wheel nut torque setting

[youngsyp]

Hi,

I've just bought a set of alloy wheel nuts. Does anyone know what sort of torque range I should be doing them up to ?

I've read that it's not the wheel nut your worried about when tightening it but, the wheel stud itself ?!

The nuts are made of 7075 Alloy and I normally do the steel wheel nuts up to 75lbs/ft, as recommended bythe manufacturer of my wheels !

Cheers

Paul

 

[Braveheart]

Paul,
I have no idea but if it was me, I would just nip them up to about 50lbs/ft then do a few hard miles, heavy breaking etc and check them again. Heat is a big factor with alloy wheels and wheel nuts.
A new set of alloy wheels and lug nuts then rag it round a track makes me nervious.
The marrage between lug nut and wheel needs to be spot on or you will always have to adjust them until they mate properly.

 

[Fast Guy]

72-87lbft (98-118nm) is shown in the manual, but only on the exploded diagram, so doesn't make referance to alloy or steel. I've always done mine upto 100nm with no problems, but may change that to 110nm now.

 

[pulsarboby]

ive got them on my motor but tbh im gonna remove them and fit standard steel nuts!
im paranoid about the things stripping the thread from the nut on fast hard cornering, they may be fine but it niggles away in theback of your head which aint no good for confidence:doh:

 

[Jon Olds]

Run alloy ones on the back, steel on the front on my rally car, no probs. Slightly worried about wear on the alloys ones as tyres are changed every 5 mins.

 

[youngsyp]

Thanks chaps.

Every article I've managed to find, has stated that the torque setting for wheel nuts is only concerned with the wheel stud, and how it stretches with the specific torque setting. So, they all give torque settings for stud size and not wheel nut type.
With that in mind, they also stated that stripping of the nut thread was not an issue.

As a starter, I think I'll gowith Scott's method and work my way up. I've been driving around with only three wheel nuts on one of the front wheels for a few months, due to me having to drill one out. I checked them regularly with the torque wrench and they didn't budge a bit. Prior to that, I only did them up to around 60-65 lbs/ft anyway, until I read Compomotives recommendations !

Paul

P.s. When you guys have changed a wheel stud, how did you get the new one to pull through the hub far enough ?
I put the stud in, put the wheel on and did the nut up on the specific stud, to pull it through. Only problem is, it's not pulled it through as far as the other three studs are ?!
Again, I only tightened the wheel nut up to around 80 lbs/ft and backed it off, then repeated. Finally torquing the nut to 75 lbs/ft.

 

[youngsyp]

I contacted the retailer about this and they reckon I should torque them to 85 lbs/ft !! :shock:

I think that's a bit much but, will work my way up to the 75 lbs/ft, my steel wheel nuts are torqued too !

Paul

 

[Braveheart]

P.s. When you guys have changed a wheel stud, how did you get the new one to pull through the hub far enough ?
I put the stud in, put the wheel on and did the nut up on the specific stud, to pull it through. Only problem is, it's not pulled it through as far as the other three studs are ?!
Again, I only tightened the wheel nut up to around 80 lbs/ft and backed it off, then repeated. Finally torquing the nut to 75 lbs/ft.

Paul… I had the same problem when I fitted new studs all round.
As you mention, you can’t pull them fully home onto their spines without applying serious torque.
Ideally, they should be sent home using a press but that means taking the hub off.
I used the steel space saver wheel and old steel nuts and drew the studs in using a crack bar.
Not sure what the torque required was but all studs where fine afterwards.
A bit crude and maybe not what you want to try but it worked for me... ;-)

 

[youngsyp]

Paul… I had the same problem when I fitted new studs all round.
As you mention, you can’t pull them fully home onto their spines without applying serious torque.
Ideally, they should be sent home using a press but that means taking the hub off.
I used the steel space saver wheel and old steel nuts and drew the studs in using a crack bar.
Not sure what the torque required was but all studs where fine afterwards.
A bit crude and maybe not what you want to try but it worked for me... ;-)

Scott, that's the perfect idea !

I'll use one of the old wheel nuts, I have a 600mm breaker bar and I've not chucked the space saver away yet !

Thanks matey.

Paul

 

[Braveheart]

A press would be best but hey ho... my studs are fitted now. ;-)
As you know, my car is used primarily on the track so I check wheels, wheel nuts and tyres ofter... (every session).
As Bob mentioned, the last thing you want to doubt is "are my wheels on ok" although it's probably safer to loose a wheel while on a track than on a public highway.
Best not to loose a wheel in motion ever though.
In saying that, the cherry red, wide arched pulsar that Bob bought recently had a wheel come off on his way back from a magazine shoot.:shock: :doh:

 

[youngsyp]

In saying that, the cherry red, wide arched pulsar that Bob bought recently had a wheel come off on his way back from a magazine shoot.:shock: :doh:

In my experience, you have to try pretty hard to achieve that. So, well done to them !! :lol: