Should wheel lugnuts be lubed?

TCJBOLDIE

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I have applied a light coat of moly grease to mine to ensure that when tightening them with my tension wrench getting the wanted tightness if not hampered by dry friction.
What do the boffins think/recommend and why ?
 
Optimum torque settings vary on dry/wet so hopefully you've adjusted for this.

Some feel that they are prone to slip undone when lubed but I don't think there is any evidence of this. If you tighten it up correctly you shouldn't have a problem.
 
I have never thought about this ?-/ In the old days when I use to get my hands dirty I would tighten the lugs up until my muscles were rippling ;) Nowadays I leave such things to my trusty garage technicians and their torque Wrenches.
 
Optimum torque settings vary on dry/wet so hopefully you've adjusted for this.

Some feel that they are prone to slip undone when lubed but I don't think there is any evidence of this. If you tighten it up correctly you shouldn't have a problem.

Correct, there are different torque settings for dry and lubricated threads.

People who think lubrication will result in nuts becoming loose are simply proving that they don't know what they are doing and shouldn't be let anywhere near a car! The trick is to torque the nut/bolt correctly.

What Rad did was correct, but different lubes will require different torque settings so I would check that the correct torque has been applied.

http://www.enerpac.com/en/torque-tightening

More detailed explanation:

http://www.antiseize.com/pdf/torque_specifications.pdf
 
Dry friction to me means that one will be trying to shear/twist the wheel stud more than stretching/pulling the stud at the same torque wrench setting.
 
Wow this is getting way to technical, come on guy's its just a wheel nut. Don't need a torque wrench or a calibrated wheel gun, / tungsten carbide left hand Newton processor. Just a bit of copper grease and dont over tighten them. Thats it. Old school. |B
 
i use anti seize on mine to make it a bit easier to when it's time to undo them, tiny bit on lug and on the angled bit of wheel nut, had too many i couldn't undo in the past
 
FWIW I track my car and value my life and limb and will continue to torque wrench:)

I see some people taking the mickey and appear to be saying "near enough is good enough" and each to their own BUT If you want to do it right and have all the nuts @ the correct same tightness then IMO do the job properly :)
 
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i think most problems are from tyre places using the rattle guns on them, seen one place actually snap 2 of 5 studs on a car because of it :(

I have had this happen in the past and have had to use a long socket extension to gaIn enough leverage to undo them as could not budge then with a wheel brace .Thankfully it happened when I wanted to rotate the tyres and not on the road changing a flat.
 
Well if you'd used the correct amount of copper grease, and had set the torque wrench to the correct setting as you described earlier, this would not have happened, also if you're working on car at home,why even use a wheel brace, they never fit very well. U usually end up jumping on it or giving yourself a hernia, best to use a good socket & a strong arm bar, supported by an axle stand ,,set at the correct height. This will inevitably take the force now given to the offending wheel nut. Or just get out the impact gun, put it in reverse and say "Any last requests, and let em have it.:p
 
I prefer mine tightened to correct torque by a garage. If the threads are dry and dragging this would lead to the nut/bolt being under tightened. Clean then up with a soft (brass) wire brush and use a small amount of copper grease as an assembly lubricant. At least, this is what my garage does.
 
All im saying, is its not necessarily being done correctly, to the spec thats being questioned, your average service center won't take into account that the wheel nuts are lubricated or not and adjust the torque settings on his gun, he will spin them up the same weather its your skyline or the old Bedford van he did earlier. Best to do em yourself|B
 
Going on from this, I wonder if there is more merit in putting some lube on the rear of the wheel than the lug. I shall explain, once upon a time the garage had to replace a tyre for me, once the wheel lugs had been removed the wheel decided to stay attached to the hub. Apparently, with the wheel being aluminium and my constant cleaning routine at the car wash, the wheel some how bonded itself to the hub. After several good wallops on the back of the wheel with a club hammer and lump of wood the wheel finally parted company. According to the garage chap it would be prudent to put some copper grease on the back of the wheels; this he done to all of my wheels for no additional charge bless him.
 
I do have a point!! If you took the car to kwick fit, you don't get professional working on your car. Not realy, you get a tyre fitter who has a certificate. If you go to say aston martin, then you know tge jobs been done properly by someone who has a passion for cars.;)
 
Aluminium oxidation, just doesn't like any other metals, actualy if you come across aluminium in it's raw state you will see that builds up a white chalky coat. "Yes I know not very technical I know. But you know what I mean. It covers the alloy and sets like glue. Especially on a thread with a steel bolt in it.B)
 

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