Wheel Nuts

[StuB]

You may have seen from my other posts that I've had fun and games tonight and ended up stripping two of my wheel nuts. 

Two questions:

How do I stop it happening again, should I apply some grease or copperslip?

Do I have the right ones? Car came with Caterham 8 spoke anthracite wheels. The existing nuts have the chamfered edge. I wanted to put on some Minilites and assumed the same nuts would be OK as hole is also countersunk. 

Interested in people's thoughts. 

[Jonathan Kay]

What was the sequence of events that led up to the stripping? First time those nuts had been used with those wheels? Open or closed nuts? Tool used? Torque applied?

Jonathan

[StuB]

Hi Jonathan, the car had been to the garage for a check and I think they'd used an a airgun as the nuts were incredibly tight when I came to remove them. Once I'd put on the new wheels I tightened them slightly while the car was on the jack then fully once lowered. It was then I noticed two just turning. When I removed them their thread was stripped around the bolt. Yes it was the first time these bolts had been used with the Minilites. They are closed nuts and I used a proper wheel nut tool (can't think of proper name) and then was going to use torque wrench. 

[Johnh]

sounds like someone has damaged the thread by over tightening with a windy gun?

if that's the case? new studs and nuts will be required..not a difficult job as long as you get the same studs and nuts as the rest.

do up with fingers only then tork up by hand.

[Paul McKenzie]

Are the minilites exposing more thread on the studs? Have the studs bottomed inside the closed nut which has then spun and stripped the threads. Either way it means new studs in the hubs, which need to be pressed out and in and need to be aligned properly.

[Wrightpayne]

Stu,

make sure you go for the slightly longer studs - the std ones only have about 5 threads engaged. Discussion will be in the archives from several years ago. I also have elise mk1 black open nuts.

Good luck with the remedy.

Ian

[Jonathan Kay]

Are the minilites exposing more thread on the studs? Have the studs bottomed inside the closed nut which has then spun and stripped the threads.

That was what I suspected.

Jonathan

[andy couchman]

Correct torque? I've hear different figures.

Andy

[Wrightpayne]

75nm for ford fitment wheels.

[elie boone]

I never had a problem at 10Nm with Ford wheel nuts, is it possible that the guy with his impact wrench didn't put the nuts on buy hand for a turn or 2 but direct with the impact wrench thus wrecking the nuts ?

[Jonathan Kay]

My 1998 Assembly Guide says:
Cars with Ital live axle: 61 Nm
All other cars: 75 Nm

The current non-160 Guide says: 74 Nm

The current 160 Guide says: 100 Nm

Jonathan

 

[Jonathan Kay]

What's damaged: the nuts or the studs or both?

Jonathan

[DJ.]

Just thinking about this.

1. If the studs are too long for slightly thinner wheels, the nut would torque up, but not pinch the wheel securely. This would mean the wheels wobbled, but is very unlikely to damage the bolt threads.

2. It isn't recommended to apply copperslip to wheel nuts. Particularly if they are the closed end type, because grease builds up in the nut and causes a hydraulic lock that prevents the nut seating and will lead to a correctly torqued nut coming loose.

3. in my opinion the only way to ruin the threads it to grossly overtighten the nuts and/or cross the threads as the nut goes on. An idiot with a compressed air tool will achieve this easily by not setting it correctly and not making sure the nuts are on the threads properly by hand first.

To prevent it happening again, just do it yourself and use a torque wrench. I only ever take my wheels when changing tyres, I don't let them take the wheels off and jack up my Seven in the wrong way.