Can you over tighten Wheel nuts

[Andrew S]

Had a good question from one of my local members, can you over tighten stainless steel nuts and distort the standard Stag alloy wheels?

Presume you cant

[Ian F]

I would say Yes, you can, although whether you could distort the alloy wheel is debatable.

Overtightening could stretch the threads, damage the wheel where the nut sits, possibly stress fracture the wheel if it is not properly seated or the hub itself is distorted etc. etc.

Manufacturers provide torque figures for a reason surely? Under tightening could cause the nuts to loosen and wheel loss, Overtightening could cause other issues, even stranding you with a puncture if you cannot undo the darn things.

Use a a torque wrench - I do.

Ian

[V Mad]

It's like the string question, how tight is overtightened? Distortion or worse, cracking. I cant see the point of risking damage just for the sake of using a torque wrench. OK it takes a couple of minutes longer than the usual air gun overkill but its well worth.

[Stagnant]

Good point about the stranded bit. The knuckle heads that service London Taxis do them as tight as the air gun will go- far more than can be undone by hand (without a VERY long bar!)
Cheers, Mark.

[Pete]

Threads could strip or the stud could fracture and break. Not something you want to happen at the roadside or after you've left the hard shoulder. Will 40 year old studs be as strong as they were when they came out of the factory once they have been stressed a few times? I doubt it. You can get a decent torque wrench for £25.

I was driving along the M4 quite a few years ago when a stud broke on a rear wheel and the wheel came off. The trauma to the car was enough to fracture the diff a week later.

[robbo]

I torque mine to 70ftlb but mine are the original alloy nuts. I did strip one of the nuts the other week but they normally torque up ok.
Rob.

[Ziptie_Engineer]

Definately (although not necessary Stag related). About 5 years ago I owned a Spitfire that came with some cheap-nasty replica Minilite alloys. The rims were so soft that the chrome wheel nuts actually started to chew their way through the alloy like a drill bit with almost no torque applied. Good job I stopped screwing the nuts when I did, otherwise they would have gone straight through!

In Germany, where tyres are swapped seasonally, you see everyone religiously giving their wheels a final tighten with a torque wrench.... Although, of course, what do the German know about engineering!

[Arbman Al]

What torque setting do people use for the minilite replicas from RandR alloy with their well nuts? I used the ROM figure of 100ft/lbs for the stag alloy wheel nuts.

[LAMBRETTLAD]

100 seems a little high ,i used 70 to 80 foot pounds which is around 110 newtons etc

[Arbman Al]

I emailed R&R and they came back with 70 ft/lbs.

[V Mad]

Definately (although not necessary Stag related). About 5 years ago I owned a Spitfire that came with some cheap-nasty replica Minilite alloys. The rims were so soft that the chrome wheel nuts actually started to chew their way through the alloy like a drill bit with almost no torque applied. Good job I stopped screwing the nuts when I did, otherwise they would have gone straight through!

The Stag wheels nuts should have a captive washer that should prevent the nut cutting into the wheel.

[DJT]

80lbs/ft for Stag alloys. Any more is unnecessary and makes removing at the roadside a challenge. My ROM says 60-80 lbs/ft.

[jakesmig]

We use the 18V impact guns to remove wheel nuts on the rally cars and use them to tigthen to grip value but never use then to tighten up any nut (except crankshaft / driveshaft nuts). We've frequently seen people using the guns to torque up wheel nuts and often seen studs shear, sometimes not until the car is out on the road.
We torque up the wheel nuts to 60 lbft., never more, never less. and haven't had any problems.

The 18V guns seem to tighten up more viciously than air guns, they certainly undo nuts that air guns wont look at.
John.