Boys, check your Nuts !...and girls

M

mad4slalom

Senior member
when removing wheels yesterday i was quite surprised if not concerned how loose my nrs/side front wheelnuts were.(anyone know the spec torque for these) this is the first time I have had wheels off, and bearing in mind the amount of fast ish road runs and spirited cornering i have done since ownership i will be checking these a lot more often.recent inspection 2,btw, 1k ago, are wheels off and brakes checked as part of this ? :o
 
120BNM

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interestedly i managed to snap 2 of the ARP studs i use on my car on a roundabout yesterday with a heavy camber midway, i heard them pop, pulled over and see what happened and was able to pull out the studs and nuts by hand :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

my car now sits on stands in the garage with no wheels while i replace all the studs.... looking rather sorry for itself.


To be fair they have had a few years of sticky tyre use and lots of wheel changes...
 
Beedub said:
interestedly i managed to snap 2 of the ARP studs i use on my car on a roundabout yesterday with a heavy camber midway, i heard them pop, pulled over and see what happened and was able to pull out the studs and nuts by hand :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

my car now sits on stands in the garage with no wheels while i replace all the studs.... looking rather sorry for itself.


To be fair they have had a few years of sticky tyre use and lots of wheel changes...
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OMG :o I've not heard of that before
 
Even torqued to 120nm I always feel like they could do with being a lot tighter, but I resist temptation because of some twisted desire to stick to the rules. But I do check them regularly.
 
Bing said:
Even torqued to 120nm I always feel like they could do with being a lot tighter, but I resist temptation because of some twisted desire to stick to the rules. But I do check them regularly.
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Resist the temptation, the manufacturer's settings are recommended for a reason. If you continually over-torque them you will end up stretching the bolts and making them weaker.

I hate seeing tyre fitters, normally of the kwik-fit variety, banging the bolts in with an air gun - sometimes they pick up a torque wrench afterwards try the bolts and get an instant 'CLICK' - no wonder really as they've probably tightened them to about 200Nm
 
Yep, agree - there are some things you shouldn't mess with, and I also cringe when an air gun comes out :cry:
 
Beedub said:
interestedly i managed to snap 2 of the ARP studs i use on my car on a roundabout yesterday with a heavy camber midway, i heard them pop, pulled over and see what happened and was able to pull out the studs and nuts by hand :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

my car now sits on stands in the garage with no wheels while i replace all the studs.... looking rather sorry for itself.


To be fair they have had a few years of sticky tyre use and lots of wheel changes...
Click to expand...


I saw this happen on a trackday, except it was all of the studs that sheared from one hub leaving the car to spin half a dozen times on two wheels and a lower front wishbone with one rear wheel cocked in the air. The fourth wheel came bounding down the straight towards me! Glad it wasn't so dramatic for you - you're right though, it's the sticky tyres that are to blame.
 
Worth mentioning that with alloys you should back-off and re-torque the bolts about 50 - 100 miles after re-fitting and avoid the temptation of putting grease on the threads as this will lead to over-tightening. 120nm = 88 lbs foot, it's best not to get them mixed up :)

............. and don't do my usual trick of leaving the locking nut key on the last bolt and then driving off :headbang:
 
Ewazix said:
............. and don't do my usual trick of leaving the locking nut key on the last bolt and then driving off :headbang:
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Haha... Last march when swapping my winter wheels i did the exact same thing!

Only realised after i found the tool kit on the passenger seat after i drover 15 miles away... And remembered!
 
aquazi said:
Ewazix said:
............. and don't do my usual trick of leaving the locking nut key on the last bolt and then driving off :headbang:
Click to expand...

Haha... Last march when swapping my winter wheels i did the exact same thing!

Only realised after i found the tool kit on the passenger seat after i drover 15 miles away... And remembered!
Click to expand...


glad its not just me, :D
 
Ewazix said:
Worth mentioning that with alloys you should back-off and re-torque the bolts about 50 - 100 miles after re-fitting and avoid the temptation of putting grease on the threads as this will lead to over-tightening. 120nm = 88 lbs foot, it's best not to get them mixed up :)

............. and don't do my usual trick of leaving the locking nut key on the last bolt and then driving off :headbang:
Click to expand...

Apparently the manufacturer guidelines for our cars say do not re-torque, but I check anyway... Though advice varies from 100 miles to 500 miles after having the wheels off. As for the locking wheel nut, my problem is getting the wee fecker out of the rear wheel bolt recesses as they are so deep. And I have fat fingers :oops:
 
Mine also are torqued to 120Nm, and I check them about one a month and before/after any long journeys. On a previous car I was less anal about it, and found one had managed to undo itself after a couple of months, causing an annoying rattling noise - luckily it hadn't quite flown off.

BTW - I also change my wheel bolts after 20k miles, probably also a bit too anal. :roll:
 
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