Aluminum Lug Nuts vs steel chromed OE?

[gmookher]

so I see many folks with nifty looking colored lug nuts.

is there a weight savings to be had?
a safety compromise for real high speed use?

who owns these already?
brands that are good?
ones to avoid?

thanks

[shu5892001]

Aluminum lugs are lighter (Rays and etc...), but they cannot be tightened using a impact gun

[xwd]

When I weighed the Subaru stock acorn ones versus some Muteki ones I had laying around I found the OE ones to be lighter, they aren't very big at all. I would get some mcGard spline drives if you just want black ones. If you want other colors you can get Muteki ones but realize the finish won't last forever.

Or if you have money burning a hole in your wallet the Project Kiks or Volk/Work ones are good.

I'd stay away from the really light cheap aluminum ones especially of you swap wheels often, they strip out easy and can get cross threaded pretty easy.

[shu5892001]

try to avoid muteki, drop engineering and similar lug nuts as they are prone to chipping. Aluminum ones are better in which the color only fade over time but don't really chip. I had muteki red ones for my mazda 3 and it turned to chrome after 1 season, I also used red rays extended lug nuts for my mada 3, it became pink after a season

[gmookher]

Originally Posted by dwx

When I weighed the Subaru stock acorn ones versus some Muteki ones I had laying around I found the OE ones to be lighter, they aren't very big at all. I would get some mcGard spline drives if you just want black ones. If you want other colors you can get Muteki ones but realize the finish won't last forever.

Or if you have money burning a hole in your wallet the Project Kiks or Volk/Work ones are good.

I'd stay away from the really light cheap aluminum ones especially of you swap wheels often, they strip out easy and can get cross threaded pretty easy.

short of kics dollars is there something north of mcguard y'all recommend?

[JACK 8URT0N]

Its not a weight issue, at least for me, it's finding the right seat to fit aftermarket wheels. I got Rays Lugs to fit my Rays wheels, but most any acorn seat would work with my wheels. There are a few different types of seats.

[xwd]

The McGard ones are nicer than most because they are two piece with a rotating seat, which means they won't be grinding against the lug seat on the rim as you tighten them. The really expensive Project Kics ones are the same. The Work RS ones aren't bad, Greddy makes some as well but they are aluminum so you have to be careful with them.

http://www.greddy.com/products/acces...cing-lug-nuts/

[RavSpec]

Caution !!!

Most stock wheels are ball seat. After marker lug nuts such as rays, work, muteki are 60'degree tapered and usually use on after market wheels only. Will not work on stock wheels !!!

[stevo_12v]

Make sure you put the RIGHT nuts on your car! LOL

[F3dzo]

Originally Posted by stevo_12v

Make sure you put the RIGHT nuts on your car! LOL

Hahahahhaha omfg like something out of a cartoon!!!

[xwd]

Originally Posted by RavSpec

Caution !!!

Most stock wheels are ball seat. After marker lug nuts such as rays, work, muteki are 60'degree tapered and usually use on after market wheels only. Will not work on stock wheels !!!

Every Subaru made for the last 20 years uses a tapered seat, so the aftermarket lugs work fine with stock wheels. The FR-S and BRZ are no exception. The stock lugnuts will work on aftermarket wheels as well, but the taper isn't quite as long as most tuner lugnuts.

[Vegas]

Aluminum (and titanium) lug nuts were originally a racing derived application to keep weight off of the car, especially un-sprung rotating weight. Since the life cycle of a racing lug nut is very low (often 1 race or 1 pit stop) any kind of galvanic corrosion, fatigue, thread stripping is deemed negligible in that application. For the street however, I've never really seen the point in running them as there are a lot of things to watch out for (risks).

* Be wary of imitators and knock off lug nuts from China. There is a long history of shiesty materials practices.
* I would not run cheap non-reputable alloy lug nuts on my car, not worth my life to save 4oz a wheel.

To answer your question directly, yes you can get corrosion between the steel and aluminum especially if you use these lug nuts in a salty environment like the ocean/coast or the snow. Aluminum while it does not rust, does corrode in these circumstances. (I see it every day in our fleet)

Other issues to watch for:

---Galling/stripping of threads. If you use an alloy lug nut be wary and adhere to torquing sequences and torque specs. Over torquing here can be your demise.
---Cross threading an alloy lug nut is very easy
---Inspect the lug nuts after each removal/ try to minimize removal
---Keep spares on hand

FWIW these lug nuts achieve "full strength" through thread engagement length. If you have a bolt and nut of the exact same material type and hardness (i.e. grade 5 nut and bolt), achieving full strength requires very few threads.

With dissimilar materials and 1 being softer or less hard than the other, achieving full strength requires a lot longer thread engagement or more threads. That is why the aluminum or titanium lug nuts have open ends and are a lot longer than the factory "acorn nuts". The equation for calculating this "engagement area" is in the Machinery's Handbook, and isn't too tough to follow.

Kics IMO make the best Lug for tuner cars, I'd stay away from aluminum lugs.

[TouchMyHonda]

Originally Posted by shu5892001

try to avoid muteki, drop engineering and similar lug nuts as they are prone to chipping. Aluminum ones are better in which the color only fade over time but don't really chip. I had muteki red ones for my mazda 3 and it turned to chrome after 1 season, I also used red rays extended lug nuts for my mada 3, it became pink after a season

Lol time to learn something new. Muteki's or any other steel lugnut will be safer to use than aluminum ones. the reason u had the steel ones fade colors is because they are either painted or powder coated and NOT anodized. Steel cannot be anodized which is a process that actually changes the coloring of the metals surface with a super tough micro thin coating. Paint and powder coat are just coatings and will deteriorate and erode.

However the process that is done to make the "Neo Chrome" finish can both be used on steel and aluminum. I have Neo chrome steel mutekis that are totally fine. This Look takes a different procces than anodizing but has a similar end result in changing the actual metals color appearance.

[shu5892001]

Originally Posted by TouchMyHonda

Lol time to learn something new. Muteki's or any other steel lugnut will be safer to use than aluminum ones. the reason u had the steel ones fade colors is because they are either painted or powder coated and NOT anodized. Steel cannot be anodized which is a process that actually changes the coloring of the metals surface with a super tough micro thin coating. Paint and powder coat are just coatings and will deteriorate and erode.

However the process that is done to make the "Neo Chrome" finish can both be used on steel and aluminum. I have Neo chrome steel mutekis that are totally fine. This Look takes a different procces than anodizing but has a similar end result in changing the actual metals color appearance.

When I had Rays extended lug nuts I didn't have any "safety" problems, I just had my mechanic use a torque wrench instead of a impact gun, and I don't think RAYS will make lug nuts that are less safe than cheaper muteki lug nuts. The reason why I say avoid muteki and similar ones because they chip badly, and I doubt anyone want red lug nut that look chrome after 1 summer. But I agree with people that kics are the best, which is what I will get this time for the FRS