Aluminum Lug Nuts
Oct 1, 2010, 11:12 PM
#1
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Aluminum Lug Nuts
What experiences have people had with Aluminum Lug nuts?
I recently swapped out my heavy Pep-Boys lugs with a set of Volk short-style aluminum lugs (like these http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ts-p-2199.html ).
People have told me to stay away from impact guns, and maybe keep them below 90 ft/lbs. I've also been told that aluminum lugs are less than ideal for hard use.
What else should be known about using aluminum lugs?
I did a HPDE with the Volk lugs, and I didn't have any problems. I checked them with a torque wrench after the second session, and they were fine. The guy who sold me the lugs tracks his car extensively.
I've never really read anything about aluminum lugs, and I couldn't find any good EvoM threads. I'll be curious to hear people thoughts and experiences.
I recently swapped out my heavy Pep-Boys lugs with a set of Volk short-style aluminum lugs (like these http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ts-p-2199.html ).
People have told me to stay away from impact guns, and maybe keep them below 90 ft/lbs. I've also been told that aluminum lugs are less than ideal for hard use.
What else should be known about using aluminum lugs?
I did a HPDE with the Volk lugs, and I didn't have any problems. I checked them with a torque wrench after the second session, and they were fine. The guy who sold me the lugs tracks his car extensively.
I've never really read anything about aluminum lugs, and I couldn't find any good EvoM threads. I'll be curious to hear people thoughts and experiences.
Oct 1, 2010, 11:25 PM
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Oct 2, 2010, 01:46 AM
#6
Great thread. I recently purchased the blox aluminum lugs and would like some info also.
Should they be torqued to Mitsu specs? 85ft/lbs?
Iv herd that if you take your wheels off alot then it could become a problem as the lugs start to wear. Herd they can eventually strip out or even damage the stud. If they are removed once-twice a year shouldn't be a problem.
Anyone ever experience problems with aluminum lugs?
They look sick and weigh alot less compared to the autozone spline lugs I'm running now. Just don't like how it didn't come with locks
I'll post any info I come across
Should they be torqued to Mitsu specs? 85ft/lbs?
Iv herd that if you take your wheels off alot then it could become a problem as the lugs start to wear. Herd they can eventually strip out or even damage the stud. If they are removed once-twice a year shouldn't be a problem.
Anyone ever experience problems with aluminum lugs?
They look sick and weigh alot less compared to the autozone spline lugs I'm running now. Just don't like how it didn't come with locks
I'll post any info I come across
Oct 2, 2010, 07:27 AM
#7
What experiences have people had with Aluminum Lug nuts?
I recently swapped out my heavy Pep-Boys lugs with a set of Volk short-style aluminum lugs (like these http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ts-p-2199.html ).
People have told me to stay away from impact guns, and maybe keep them below 90 ft/lbs. I've also been told that aluminum lugs are less than ideal for hard use.
What else should be known about using aluminum lugs?
I did a HPDE with the Volk lugs, and I didn't have any problems. I checked them with a torque wrench after the second session, and they were fine. The guy who sold me the lugs tracks his car extensively.
I've never really read anything about aluminum lugs, and I couldn't find any good EvoM threads. I'll be curious to hear people thoughts and experiences.
I recently swapped out my heavy Pep-Boys lugs with a set of Volk short-style aluminum lugs (like these http://www.rallysportdirect.com/shop...ts-p-2199.html ).
People have told me to stay away from impact guns, and maybe keep them below 90 ft/lbs. I've also been told that aluminum lugs are less than ideal for hard use.
What else should be known about using aluminum lugs?
I did a HPDE with the Volk lugs, and I didn't have any problems. I checked them with a torque wrench after the second session, and they were fine. The guy who sold me the lugs tracks his car extensively.
I've never really read anything about aluminum lugs, and I couldn't find any good EvoM threads. I'll be curious to hear people thoughts and experiences.
bad experience with my last car,it pretty much strayed me away from aluminum lugnuts for any track use. I had decided at the time that during my quest for shedding all weight on my mr2 turbo, gutted at 2502 lbs, I decided to replace the steel stock style ones with kyokugen lugnuts. I hand tightened all the lugnuts with the special key, putting on the last wheel the special key stripped and lost its shape so it would not grab the lugnut. I ordered a replacement key and the new key lasted until I needed to remove the wheels again. Not a really good design imo.
Im all about losing weight on our cars, but there are some parts that just seems not worth it if your gonna compromise strength and durability. I am only running blox chromoly lugnuts because Im running aftermarket wheels and they are much stronger than aluminum. If I could I would run oem lugnuts and keep piece of mind that I could take my wheels off with an impact if I needed to.
My experience seemed to be more with the key and not the lugnuts themselves, but what good are lightweight lugnuts if you cant even remove them. thats my .02, take it for what its worth.
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Oct 2, 2010, 08:32 AM
#9
If used properly aluminum lugs are strong enough for track use and their weight benefit is nice however they're certainly not as strong or durable as steel would be. Aluminum threads will wear down after repeated use so I think the choice to use them will depend on how you use your car. If you're frequently removing/changing wheels for track or auto-x I would probably stay away from aluminum or be prepared to buy a new set every season. That said if you are going to use them and want to get good life out of them you need to do two things. Make sure the threads are clean and greased every time you remove them and always torque them properly, never with an impact gun.
Oct 2, 2010, 10:07 AM
#10
I would never use aluminum lug nuts for road race or auto X. They are not durable enough IMO. If you want a strong light lug, I'd look into titanium. Weight to safety… I’ll take weight any day of the week. If you’re looking to remove weight I would explore different wheel options and tires. Tirerack.com lists all weights of tires. Just a FYI
And if you are dead set on them I would do what sscottttt said with longer studs and check them for any fatigue as much as you can.
And if you are dead set on them I would do what sscottttt said with longer studs and check them for any fatigue as much as you can.
Oct 2, 2010, 03:38 PM
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I decided to replace the steel stock style ones with kyokugen lugnuts. I hand tightened all the lugnuts with the special key, putting on the last wheel the special key stripped and lost its shape so it would not grab the lugnut. I ordered a replacement key and the new key lasted until I needed to remove the wheels again. Not a really good design imo.
Oct 4, 2010, 01:07 PM
#15
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If used properly aluminum lugs are strong enough for track use and their weight benefit is nice however they're certainly not as strong or durable as steel would be. Aluminum threads will wear down after repeated use so I think the choice to use them will depend on how you use your car. If you're frequently removing/changing wheels for track or auto-x I would probably stay away from aluminum or be prepared to buy a new set every season. That said if you are going to use them and want to get good life out of them you need to do two things. Make sure the threads are clean and greased every time you remove them and always torque them properly, never with an impact gun.
NO!!! You degrade the torque capacity when you grease wheel studs!