Wheel bolts and alloys

metz · Post by **metz** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:22 pm

Hey Guys,

Just about to fit alloys to my mk3 and what i'm wondering is...can i use the original wheel bolts or do i need to buy special ones for the alloy wheels?

called into motorworld 2day for a price on some locking nuts (nice and expensive!!) and the chav behind the counter (he really did have burberry hat on) told me i needed to buy proper bolts, as he didnt and his wheel came off on a country lane..." it was a laugh though" Oh yea imagine the smile it must bring to your face when a wheel drops off as your hurtling along at 60mph +!

Anyway..the question buried in that lot is do i need new bolts?
If so what size?

cheers

Tris

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:38 pm

did you ask him if he threaded and tightened them properly?

metz · Post by **metz** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:40 pm

I didn't want to confuse him further mate

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 4:44 pm

LogIK · Post by **LogIK** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:22 pm

Yes. You can use the original lugs that came with your steel wheels.

The only down side is that they look quite ugly. So what I did, rather than buying 12 new alloy wheel lugs, I just bought some caps that go on the ends of the original lugs that make them look like alloy ones.

I got the caps off eBay for about a fiver for 16.

But if your lugs are behing centre caps, then you won't need the caps, as they will be hidden out of view anyway.

metz · Post by **metz** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:26 pm

Yea they are behind the centre caps on the p's
just spent an hour priming and spraying them gloss black

better get some locking wheel nuts before i put them on though!

cheers for the answer Logik

LogIK · Post by **LogIK** » Fri Jul 30, 2004 5:45 pm

Sorry, I forgot you had those P's. Can't wait to see them on your car!

So, yeah, just use the original lugs and get a decent set of locking nuts like McGuards or something.

Karl_CLCoupe · Post by **Karl_CLCoupe** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 6:42 pm

Judging by the pics you got it sorted then? I'm hoping pretty much like you I can use my original bolts. I already have the McGards on (they set me back Â£30 from 'frauds). The hub seems thicker on the RAs though, so possibly not as much of the bolt can screw into the hub. Might see whether I can get the bolts scrubbed up or polished maybe?

Karl.

D4V1D · Post by **D4V1D** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 10:18 pm

if your bbs' are art thing like mine you wont be able to use the original bolts as their far to short. i bought some longer ones and they werent much help either. when u pocked em throught the wheel they were fine but by the time they met with the thread on the hub they only got to about 2 turns.
whats worse is i didnt put them on, tyre shop did. so off i go to santa pod (from london), down the strip 10 or 11 times, then back home, then drive around for another week or so before i discover what there like. back to steels for another while then...

metz · Post by **metz** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 10:36 pm

you were lucky there mate,
On fitting my wheels the other day me and matt noticed the passenger front wheel nuts were all loose, which explains the wheel wobble under braking, as its fine now.

I could have killed myself and anyone else near me if that had come off....*lesson learned* check wheel bolts regulary.

Tris

madmatt · Post by **madmatt** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 10:52 pm

use a torque wrench early 4 stud vws should be torqued to 110 nm 5 stud vws should be torqued at 120 nm and then it 180nm for sharans and transporters LT's should be torqued at 180 nm and retalked after 30 miles

metz · Post by **metz** » Sat Jul 31, 2004 10:55 pm

110nm is about 2 grunts and a groaning sound right?

pettsy · Post by **pettsy** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 3:21 am

metz wrote:110nm is about 2 grunts and a groaning sound right?

lol, thats how i measure it until i get a torque wrench

if i were you i'd get 2 sets of locking bolts on them p's. then if anyone tries to steal em they've got two sets to beat

madmatt · Post by **madmatt** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 1:06 pm

but make sure its the type u carnt remove with a GAITER GRIP (a socket with retractible pins in) and dont get the stupid vw 3 pin ones u find that the pins snap out of the key get some for a polo 5 might be on the expensive side though but am sure i can get ya a deal as i work for vw

Tahrey1043 · Post by **Tahrey1043** » Sun Aug 01, 2004 4:07 pm

Mmmm, learned that lesson after things got a bit noisy/wobbly on braking/decelerating/lane changing on the M6 after doing a tyre rotate... went into slipstream mode (so theres a nice big truck to bounce off going a lot closer to my speed, a lot closer than the stationary armco) and got off at the next services, getting on to hard shoulder and doing 10mph all the way in to the car park as soon as i thought it was walking distance.

Good job too, the front left bolts were all loose as f***!!

That taught me! Out comes the jack and the wrench, do it all again PROPERLY... wedgin 'em as tight as possible!

It pays to get a decent wrench tho, which that incident and far too many times pulling muscles trying to undo bolts with crap tools taught me. I still cant quite work up the financial nerve to blow Â£40 or more on a torque wrench, but i have got a decent "basic" one from halfords - Â£4.99, with a reasonably long rubberised handle that can be extended to about twice as long, and swappable 17/19mm heads. Makes such a hell of a difference to the overly cheap, too-small cross-shaped "spider" i had before (why did i buy that anyway?? must have been the nice blue colour) or mum's piffly little thing that came in her rover toolkit (which had the wrong size end anyway and so had to jerry up an adaptor)

Getting bolts off that were put on at a garage is no longer a case of having a person at each end of the spider, one resting their weight on it, the other pushing up hard as possible, causing each other injury, coming close to rounding the bolts and definately bending them a bit, and putting em on tight is a lot easier.
Pull out the handle, a little bit of "extra" grunt, -crack- it comes loose and away you go. Putting them back at a safe (but removable) torque is much the same - turn em with the short length of handle till they wont go any further (still tighter than the spider could) - one grunt... pull it out, and give an extra tweak and a half... second grunt and a groan

Rock solid!
(it was 2+G for the spider as well, but that was probably only half as tight!)

Which is why, when I realised last night that i'd only done the bolts short-handle tight on the right rear before setting the car down (painting underseal on the tank) and forgot to finish them off when it was settled, I just gave them a quick hand-check, and was happy to drive home first in a normal manner and tighten them properly this morning instead as they were still very tight. If it had been a similar situation with the old cross-brace, and i hadnt realised, i'd have been in a hedge with at the very least a bent rear panel within a mile and a half.

The only disadvantage is that with the single-handle jobbie, cant spin the nuts on/off while they're loose anywhere near as quickly or cleanly. Requires doing two at a time with fingers now, with some tissue on standby...

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Wheel bolts and alloys

Wheel bolts and alloys

or just do it properly

locking nuts are a fine thing