lug nuts

[Kestas]

I've bought from these people: http://www.ezaccessory.com/Acorn_Lug_Nuts_s/1.htm

I like their site. They go into great detail to provide dimensions for their lug nuts. And their prices seem reasonable.

[King_V]

well... ordered a set from SFX Performance (shop about an hour ish away from me)

http://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/GOR91187XLB.htm

Did you ever pick these up? How are they?

I figure TX is WAY drier than NJ, so maybe the rust thing isn't something you can comment on yet!

[sly]

Did you ever pick these up? How are they?

I figure TX is WAY drier than NJ, so maybe the rust thing isn't something you can comment on yet!

they're on the car (pics in my readers ride thread). Fit perfect. good amount of lug to grab with a socket/wrench.

and yes... we're still 9 inches low for rain on the year (no rain in the summer at all). It's rather dry here this year. all the rain from the past 3 days was readily soaked up by the ground too. NO puddles anywhere.

[King_V]

Looks good!

[BerniniCaCO3]

hell yeah-- I HATE chrome caps.
The volvos that have them (maybe ford lug nuts?) are crap. I literally had one car come in for a first service & rotate, and wasted 8 lug nuts out of 20. The caps either popped right off, or wedged into the socket and had to be punched out.
Actually, what the shop foreman told me was that it was some environmental measure... instead of chrome plating solid steel, which has worked great for decades, these are polished aluminum caps that are wrapped around the steel, avoiding the use of chrome plating, which generates toxic waste. But it's no good when you waste lug nuts left and right!

... for a bit of history, when did knock-off wheels go away and get replaced by studs & nuts?

[marquisman]

prolly the 1920s lol. knock offs are still common. esp in the california area lol

[King_V]

Actually, what the shop foreman told me was that it was some environmental measure... instead of chrome plating solid steel, which has worked great for decades, these are polished aluminum caps that are wrapped around the steel, avoiding the use of chrome plating, which generates toxic waste. But it's no good when you waste lug nuts left and right!

Shit, if that's the case, then make the steel part bigger and maybe polish that. I'd be fine without the chrome or the caps as long as the damn thing fits and has some semblance to shiny metal.

Actually, now that I think about it, what would be the downside to making the whole thing all aluminum?

Also also . . uh, the regular open-ended lugnuts I bought to hold on a plain old steel wheel look like chrome. If it's not, then what is it? If it is, then why is it ok to chrome-plate those?

[1987cp]

You can buy aluminum lugnuts. I'd personally hesitate to use them for street use on a comparatively heavy vehicle, though.

I've also seen sites listing lugnuts made from stainless, which would seem like a good option if it's made from a strong enough variety.

[Kestas]

Both aluminum and stainless steel have a high tendency to gall in threaded fasteners. I'd only use them with a decent amount of antiseize paste on the threads. Additionally, aluminum would corrode like crazy.

[GM_Guy]

Both aluminum and stainless steel have a high tendency to gall in threaded fasteners. I'd only use them with a decent amount of antiseize paste on the threads. Additionally, aluminum would corrode like crazy.

This.
Stainless is a poor fastener choice for anything you need to take apart. If you need convincing, go buy a stainless nut and bolt, clamp one in a vise, get your drill and start by running the two together, then apart. Now see how many times you can do that before the two become one almost solid piece.

Alex.

[jaywish]

Going back to an earlier post, McGard lug nuts are solid, no caps and have a lifetime rust warranty. I got really tired of those crappy cap nuts or the cheap solid chrome nuts. So far I have had the McGards on the wagon for about four or five years. It is my dd in NY salt country. Though I will say my winter rims have center caps which cover the nuts. No rust and no caps to spin off.

Jay

[sly]

the gorilla brand has lifetime warranty too and you can get them in both one piece (like I did) and two piece CRIMPED (no glue to break). And since a place fairly local to me sells them, I got them from SFX Performance (dot com).

[BerniniCaCO3]

can't crimped still balloon?
Some of the volvo P1 cars have these aluminum crimped cap ones, that can come apart the very first time you try to remove that wheel, for it's first tire rotation!
I've had bad experiences with some other capped lug nuts, too; some big trucks have them: having to hammer the socket on and then punch the stuck lug nut back out, because the cap started to spread. One piece chromed is better.

[BerniniCaCO3]

This is highly relevant to this thread... I seem, to have in fact, lost my lock key!
I was already planning to get rid of my lock nuts.

Now, these are new ones, and are not overly corroded. The wheels were last removed say 6-8 months ago, so they should not be overly seized.
How hard will it be to get in to the pocket in the rim where they're recessed, and remove the blasted things, all four of them?
I just take a chisel and a hammer and start backing them out with careful blows? I reason that once the initial torque is released, they should unwind much easier, by hand if I'm fortunate or at least by pliers.

But I'm not sure. The only other time I had to remove a lock nut, it was in fact a stud, and was seized in there, and i had to drill it out. Desperately frustrating and time-consuming. I'm hoping I won't have to go through that X4....
Any other tips, or just, hammer and chisel?

[jaywish]

Hammer & chisel will work but you can mess up the rim. A good quality 12 point socket pounded on will usually work. The socket will possibly suffer some. There are expesive & inexpensive removal sockets made just for this purpose. Go to your flaps.

Jay