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Back to Basics - Part 2

Building on the knowledge gained from last month's column on wheelmeasurement basics, let's take a look at the different types of lug nuts and their purposes.This may seem like a trivial matter, but the fact is that for all of the work that you doin your shop, a fifty cent piece of metal can cause a lot of misery and liabilityconcerns.First, the more common lug nuts used in the aftermarket are the acorn or conicalseat lugs which typically have a 60° angle (see Diagram 1). Beware, somemanufacturers use a 63° angle on some of their tuner-style wheels. Acorn lug nutscome in two distinct designs. One has a 13/16-inch hex and is straight from top tobottom, while the other has a 3/4-inch hex with a bulge at the base before theangle begins.Make sure that when you replace lug nuts that thecustomer's own lug wrench will fit properly on the newset. Many times, this is overlooked, and will create anupset customer if he/she can't change a flat tire in anemergency.Also, if you sell custom wheels that require a thin wallsocket to reach the lugs, make sure that it's compatible with the customer's lugwrench, as well. If not, you'll have to make sure he/she can acquire the rightwrench for a nominal cost.

Beware of Long Studs

In the last few years, the automotive industry has seen more changes in bolt circlesand thread pitches than in the last 20 years combined. One major problem that hascropped up for dealers is the increased length of lug studs. This means that astandard length lug nut will bottom out before fully applying the proper seatpressure against the wheel.The problem is that you may not notice. The wheel may look tight, but in actualityit's ready to come off as soon as the customer drives away. The solution here is touse duplex length lug nuts. These are available in both hex sizes and areapproximately 1/2-inch longer than standard. Typically, the bulge head lug nuts areneeded for aluminum wheels with deeper lug holes, but can be used on steelwheels as well.Next, we have the mag shank lug nuts. These lug nuts are available in multiplelengths depending on the application. Each requires a washer, either separate or built-on, to apply the proper seat pressure and keep the lug nut from scarring theface of the wheel.The most common are the short shank,standard shank and extended shank (seeDiagram 2). There are other lengths, but theseare the most commonly seen by dealers.Mag lug nuts for aftermarket wheels aretypically designed for vehicles that were built20-30 years ago. This means that most newthread pitches are not available in a mag shanklug. The exception is the 14mm x 1.5 common

to the 1988-98 GM 1/2-ton 2WD trucks. The wall of the shank was too thin to haveany strength, so the wall was thickened and it became a duplex.Keep in mind, these will not fit old style wheels that accept three different boltpatterns. Certain wheels, like the Cragar S/S, were modified - the lug hole wasenlarged - to accept the 14mm lug. This means that a Cragar S/S that came off of a pre-1988 GM 1/2-ton 2WD will not work on a 1988-98 truck.

Washer Differences

While we're on the subject of mag lugs, let's talk about the different washersneeded for some common applications (see Diagram 3). Washers are either centered or offset, depending on the application. Cragar-style washers are thickand are usually chrome plated, while Keystone Klassic washers are thinner. Theoffset washers are used on vehicles with either a 5-4.5 or 5-5 bolt circle. Thecenter-punched washers are used on vehicles with a 5-4.75 bolt circle.Next, let's look at the larger duplex and dualie lugs.Make sure that when you order lugs for 3/4- and 1-tontrucks that you have the proper length lug nut. FordF250 and F350 trucks from the mid-1980s to late-1990s require XXL length lug nuts. Also, some dualiewheels require special lug nuts, such as a 90û acornor a washer either built on or separate.Next, we have the ET mag lug nut. This is an acornlug nut with a small shank on the end. These lug nutsare of great use to help center a wheel onto the lugstuds.Aftermarket wheels are not typically hub centric likethe factory wheels. On occasion a vibration will occur in a front-wheel drive vehicle, and using these typesof lugs and a centric ring, which we'll discuss in afuture article, will help eliminate the vibration (seeDiagram 4).Our last major type of lug nut is one of the newest(see Diagram 5) on the market. The socket lug or "Tuner" lug is a very narrow lug nut that will just barely fit into the lug hole of atuner-style wheel. They are available in several colors and in chrome.These lug nuts are installed with a key that engages the lug nut through the center instead of the outside of the lug nut.It is recommended that you torque these types of lug nuts by hand, as too muchabuse from an impact gun can lead to the key wearing out or, in some cases,breaking.A word of caution regarding these socket lugs - makesure that the lug studs on the vehicle aren't too longor the key will be pushed out of the head of thesocket lug, making it is almost impossible to torquethe lugs properly.Next time, we'll discuss different types of wheels,different types of finishes and the proper maintenance of each.