I have been using the same lugnuts for the past 4-5 years. But recently I had the problem of them coming loose. Is this something that happens often when racing? Or are they just a wear item? A product of really stiff suspension? Id imagine a combination of sorts...

Now I always tq my lugnuts to 80-85 ft lbs. But I checked them by finger the other day while at school thought they were fine, and thought the wheel bearing was on its way out. But, today I got scared and decided to do a more thorough inspection, and found that the lug nuts were indeed loose.

Iv never had this problem until recently. Its scary that they come lose at semi-random, considering I do a lot of interstate driving.

Anyways I will be replacing these lug nuts asap. But wanted to know others experiences and maybe some tips.

 

80-85 is very loose. Try 95-100 thats what I do and I been using the same ones for 5 years. And make sure you use ARP studs or OEM.

 

I was just going by the factory service manual. Id hate to do any damage by over torquing.

 

80-85 is what honda oem says to do it on. thats what i always do and Never strip. but you should che3ck constantly.

my budy bought a brand new pair of mugen lugs for his itr brake setup. within a week he lost a lug from them coming loose. IDK why it happens but its something that you should definitely check often. after i got the lugs from him... woot 4 lug... i have yet to have an issue with them.

 

Yeah I mean iv done a couple autocrosses on these wheels and havent had a problem, and have the wheels on and off occasionally. Im just going to keep a closer eye on my lug nuts from now on.

 

i've been using the same Work lug nuts for street and autox for about a year and a half with no problems. i always tq them to 80 ft/lbs, esp before and after a race. i've noticed that after just about every event, they tend to loosen up just a bit. maybe because of heat and strain from turns but its never loose enough to concern me.

 

if your using brand new (or newly painted) wheels, youll have to click your lugs before every session till the lug seats scuff in. other than that, if your lugs are backing off i'd try new ones. i havent had any issues with daiyama lugs on oem studa or skunk2 lugs on arps. the daiyamas are actually real tight on arps.

 

Like lobuck said, the seat surface of the wheel or lug nut could have slick paint on it, causing the lug to come loose when strained. After a couple times of torqing them you should be ok because the paint on both should chip off.

If that's not it, are you using the correct seat type on the lug nuts onto the wheels?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .:Made in OC:. &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If that's not it, are you using the correct seat type on the lug nuts onto the wheels? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Ding ding ding! That's a possible cause of problems. You need lug nuts with the same shape of the seating area as your wheels have - a ball-shaped (radius) seat for most Honda/Acura wheels, and a tapered (cone) seat for most aftermarket wheels, as shown below.

I always set my torque for 80 ft-lbs, including track use, and I don't have problems. A couple of other possibilities... It's possible your torque wrench is off; I recently found that one of my torque wrenches was tightening less than the others, with the same setting (80). It's also possible that the threads on your lug nuts may be getting worn - although when they do, they typical symptom is that they don't screw on as easily and smoothly as they normally do. Since you're about to replace yours, you may find that the problem goes away with the new ones.

 

I have correct lug nuts. The wheels have recently been repainted and only been tq'd a few times. I did not know that about the paint.

My lugs seem fine, I inspected the threads and they look ok(a little worn), but to be safe im going to replace them.

 

I always try to mask the seats whenever I paint wheels for that very reason.

 

i use the same lugs for my dd wheels as i do my track wheels, until now the last event i was at i torqued my lugs to 100 ft lbs and when i drove the car home on my race tires put the car up and all 16 of my lugs where loose, very scary thought, but they never loosen on my DD wheels. so i am picking up a set of lugs specifically for my race wheels

 

I've always torqued mine to 90 but I ALWAYS retorque them after every venture on the track. The heat from braking tends to loosen them over time. Usually after 2-3 heat cycles the nuts keep their torque but I still check... just in case.

 

I always torque mine to 84 with street and track wheels, stock and alum lugnuts and I've never had any comes loose. I check them after each session too.

 

Yes, it's a good habit to check before/after every session. You don't want this to happen:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kyMDNzhfwn0

 

I torque to factory spec. I check before every session, they useually don't loosen too much.

If they are getting ALOT looser after a session, and it is getting worse, it may be a sign your studs have reached the end of their life and are about to break. This happened to me last month. The lugs wouldn't hold a torque on one wheel. 4 sessions later, the stud snapped.

Get ARP studs and check for factory torque before each session, is my suggested method.

 

Do you tighten by hand then torque the lug nuts? That sounds to me like the only possiblity that this could happen to you.

Make sure that the lug nut is seating properly before lowering the car to the ground to torque the rims.

 

I do to a point, I dont get them as tight as possible by hand but I get them to sit in the seat.

This is the first time its happened to me, im not too worried. The car has been through many autocrosses without any problems like this.

Im willing to bet its the repainted wheels. I havent autocrossed on them yet and have been through a couple of months street driving.

Lots of good info in here.