Warning: For Those Putting on Winter Steelies

[idreamofmazda]

For those putting on winter steelies, for your safety, please re-torque your wheel-nuts. I re-torqued mine the next day after installing my winter wheels, but only after a bit of driving, and they were still tight. I re-torqued again a week later, and some of the nuts were a bit loose. And after another week, I check again just to be sure, and they were fine. So my re-torque after a short drive wasn’t enough, and should have waited a week.

By the way, I used a good torque wrench, set to 85 foot-pounds, which feels about what the factory has set to, based on how tight the originals were.

[Newlook]

Can you explain why we need to re-torque the nuts?
If they were put on with 80lb/ft of torque, should they be fine?

Now I start to worry my wheels would fly off...

[majic]

also.. when u go to a dealership.. and they rotate your tires they don\'t tell u .. oh come back in a week we\'ll re-toruqe the wheels.. :sarc

i think this is mainly for ppl w/o toruque wrenches who didn\'t tighten the wheels enough.. but i might be wrong..

[idreamofmazda]

Don’t know. I know Wal-Mart and Canadian Tire state to come back after 500k to re-torque, Tire Depot states this too, but only for aluminum rims. Perhaps the center hub size, not that I want to bring it up again, as this group has debated this already. I think because the rims were new, and the black paint left on the surface, which leaves a coating that does not allow full contact with the wheel nut. I have removed and installed many wheels over the years, and this was the first new wheels, and the first time the nuts were loose.

[firstmazda]

All I know is I don\'t want my nuts loose!!:p

[bluntman]

Must...resist...the...temptation

Too...many...jokes...aaahhhh!!!!

[Dudeit]

Your wheel nuts were probably loose because your rim is not hub centric. I purchased dealer rims and I checked my nuts after about 3 weeks and they are still tight.

[MajesticBlueNTO]

Originally posted by Dudeit


Your wheel nuts were probably loose because your rim is not hub centric. I purchased dealer rims and I checked my nuts after about 3 weeks and they are still tight.

the lug nuts on my non-hubcentric rims are still tight after 4000kms.

[Abstraction]

There\'s various reasons, one could be due to the heat and expansion/contraction of the lugnuts/bolts?

It\'s always a good idea to check your lugnuts shortly after mounting. I once stopped to help a guy in a celica who\'s wheel had fallen right off his car because his mechanic didn\'t torque his lugs properly after a break job. ended up giving him 3 of my lugnuts (he had 5 bolt hubs, and two of his lugs broke right off from the force of the wheel coming off the car. it was just crazy.