If you’ve ever swapped a spare tire for a secondary tire, you know there’s more than one type of nut. You may even learn it the hard way when you realize your old wheel nuts don’t fit your new wheels. Ring nuts vary in size, taper and pitch. Depending on your wheel or application, the type of wheel nuts may vary – so how do you know which one is right for your application?
Hex nuts are the most common type of lug nuts. It has a hex head that threads onto the wheel studs to hold the wheel in place. Wheel studs are threaded studs that protrude from the hub (if you’re a Subaru owner, you’ve probably broken a lot of wheel studs). Hex nuts come in a variety of styles and vary in the shape required to properly fit onto a wheel.
Hex nuts are usually made from chrome steel, but you can also find lightweight materials such as aluminum (anodized in different colors) or titanium.
Also known as a ball seat lug. They have a hex head and a round/dome shaped end for the part of the lug that comes into contact with the wheel.
On wheels with raised lug holes common on European vehicles that do not use the lug bolt arrangement. Eye bolts will be described in detail later.
A conical seat is a very common type of clamp nut. You can tell this style by the tapered lug seat, which has a 60 degree taper that automatically centers the lug on the wheel when tightened. Unlike spherical seats, conical seats have a different angular shape. Because of their similar appearance, they are often referred to as acorn nuts.
Suitable for non-original wheels with 60 degree tapered bores. Usually made from steel, but can also be made from aluminum or even titanium for race cars. This is also the type of nuts currently used by NASCAR (until NASCAR moves to single nuts in 2021) and many other motorsports.
Shop style has a distinctive look with long threads and flat washer seats that allow them to sit flush with the wheel. Unlike spherical or tapered seats, magazine seats lie on the surface of the wheel.
This is most likely the type of nuts that came with your car. The seat flat washer magnetic type can be found on many OEM wheels with chrome finish.
Tuner style ring nuts have a 60 degree taper cone seat, but the main difference is that a special wrench/tool is required to install and remove the nut. Tuner nuts are usually much smaller in diameter than other types of nuts. Depending on the design, tuning nuts can make the wheel more difficult to steal by requiring the use of a special wrench, using more torque when tightening, and possibly minimizing the chance of stripping the lug nuts.
Hex head tuner nuts have a smooth surface and cannot be loosened or tightened with conventional sockets. Instead, installation or removal requires a special hex socket that fits inside the nut.
Although not as common as splined drives these days, hex nut tuners will be used in aftermarket wheels and for added safety.
This type has a conical seat with a splined groove along the entire length of the bolt and requires a special tool. While the wrench on the hex socket tuner nut is inserted inward, the spline wrench enters the outside groove of the nut. The requirement for a unique tool reduces the risk of removing clamp nuts and reduces the risk of theft. Gorilla eye nuts are one of the most popular brands of spline driven nuts.
Like hex tuning nuts, they are primarily used in aftermarket wheels for added security. Their smaller diameter usually makes them lighter than other types of nuts, making them a good choice for weight-conscious track enthusiasts.
Split nuts have threads the same length as the nut and do not have closed ends. This allows nuts to be threaded onto longer wheel studs where wheel spacers can be fitted without worrying about running out of wheel stud threads. The longer thread also provides more contact with the wheel bolts.
Many European cars use what are known as eye bolts. Eyebolts have a threaded shank attached to a tapered head. Eye bolts thread onto the hub, unlike eye nuts, which thread onto wheel studs that attach to the hub. Eyebolts attach the wheel and brake disc directly to the hub. This simplifies brake disc replacement, but makes it more difficult to align wheel and brake disc when installing a wheel/tire.
The eye bolt seat is very similar to the eye nut and can be found with a hex head or tuner with a spherical or tapered seat.
They are commonly found on European brands such as BMW, VW, Audi, and Mini, just to name a few. Many owners who tend to replace their wheels often end up replacing the eye bolts with an aftermarket wheel stud kit for convenience.
Once you know what type of lug nuts you need, always make sure you have the correct wheel pitch and torque specifications. Otherwise, the nuts may not properly secure the wheel to the hub. This can result in crossed wheel bolts, broken wheel bolts, or even cause your wheels to fall off the vehicle!
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Post time: Apr-29-2023