Lug Nuts

[Doug S]

On 9/5/2023 at 6:22 PM, Wayfinder said:

It is recommended to get the bulge acorn style for the aluminum rims.

So I'm confused...Even though they are high quality and "fit perfectly", we probably shouldn't get them because they don't appear to be bulged acorn?

[Steve Morris]

On 10/30/2023 at 12:18 PM, Doug S said:

So I'm confused...Even though they are high quality and "fit perfectly", we probably shouldn't get them because they don't appear to be bulged acorn?

Correct. Bulged acorn nuts are for aluminum wheels, whereas straight lug nuts are for steel. Bulged has more surface area where they contact the wheel, reducing wear.

[Ronbrink]

On 10/30/2023 at 11:18 AM, Doug S said:

So I'm confused..

Join the club!

[Frank C]

On 10/30/2023 at 12:18 PM, Doug S said:

So I'm confused...Even though they are high quality and "fit perfectly", we probably shouldn't get them because they don't appear to be bulged acorn?

The “acorn” type lug nuts (intended for steel wheels) will fit (same thread size), but they have less contact area with the wheel.   The “bulge acorn” type lug nuts are recommended for aluminum wheels to provide a larger contact area (since aluminum is softer than steel) to prevent the aluminum surface from deforming and causing loose lug nuts.  

[Steve and MA]

The 16x6 wheels that came on late model trailers like our '22 LE2 have steel inserts pressed into the lug nut wells.  Should it matter whether the lug nuts are acorn or bulge acorn?   It seems either type would be fine for wheels that have steel inserts.  

[ScubaRx]

I've done off and on research on the Acorn vs Bulge Acorn Nut dilemma since I first posted about these lug nuts and questions were raised over a year ago. What Frank said is true, there is less contact area with the wheel from the nut. From what I've read, there is an approximate 6% decrease. Otherwise the fit is perfect. I was unable to find anything in solid Stainless Steel that stated they were of the Bulge Acorn design. I've driven over 10K miles after installation. I torque to 95 pound-feet. There has never been a time I've discovered a loose lug nut. I do check.

Bonus Information... that any good engineer would already know, but that I've only recently discovered, (I might have known it 53 years ago when I took physics at Ole Miss)

Alert readers will note my use of “pound-feet” instead of “foot-pounds”. Are these units of measurement Interchangeable? The short answer is NO. They are each separate, distinct units of measure.

The “pound-foot” (lb-ft) is a measure of torque. Torque is a measure of the force that can cause an object to rotate about an axis.

The “foot-pound” (or more accurately, “foot-pound-force”), is a measurement of work. Work is the measurement of force over a given distance.

[Patriot]

Per a previous post and very solid recommendation by @ScubaRx I ordered and installed these SS lugs last June. I carry a torque wrench and I too check torque specs while traveling. On our most recent 42 day 6000 mile trip out west all lugs maintained their proper torque setting. https://www.ebay.com/itm/144965685434

 

 

[jd1923]

Our old Hull #113 has needed service in many areas! And she still does. Serviced the axles recently and all of our original stainless-wrapped lugnuts were good, no cracks. Do realize, cracks in the stainless wrap are merely cosmetic. I cleaned mine up with the steel brush on my grinder and they look great. Maybe because ours has lived mainly in the dry SW?

[MobileJoy]

On 10/31/2023 at 6:58 PM, Steve and MA said:

 It seems either type would be fine for wheels that have steel inserts.

This might be correct. Whether it is or not, I recommend using the type of nuts that came with your OEII. In my case, bulge acorn is the type of nut that was delivered with my 2021 OEII. These are the nuts I used. They are chrome plated steel, not stainless. So far they are working well. Torque has been checked many times, and no loosening noted.

[Patriot]

4 hours ago, MobileJoy said:

This might be correct. Whether it is or not, I recommend using the type of nuts that came with your OEII. In my case, bulge acorn is the type of nut that was delivered with my 2021 OEII. These are the nuts I used. They are chrome plated steel, not stainless. So far they are working well. Torque has been checked many times, and no loosening noted.

When I had my Oliver serviced on Oct 20th, Oliver had no concerns about the SS lugs I mentioned I was using. I feel sure if there was a safety issue or concern service would have thrown a caution flag. All good.
All said its just nice to have options. I prefer SS over chrome plated.
Glad to hear your results and hopefully you will never have an issue with the OEM set cracking/peeling off. 👍🏻

[MAX Burner]

1 hour ago, Patriot said:

I prefer SS over chrome plated.

Same here.  

We replaced our cracked original lug nuts with a SS type described earlier in this thread - over 10k miles since, no issues after torquing to 95 lb-ft.  We examine our lugs as part of our pre-departure checks, too.

[Mountainman198]

On 11/1/2023 at 2:17 AM, Patriot said:

Per a previous post and very solid recommendation by @ScubaRx I ordered and installed these SS lugs last June. I carry a torque wrench and I too check torque specs while traveling. On our most recent 42 day 6000 mile trip out west all lugs maintained their proper torque setting. https://www.ebay.com/itm/144965685434

 

 

Same here.  I had a similar concern to what many have over the description given on the website when ordering.  Upon receipt I was happy to see that the seat on the new solid SS nuts was that  of the expanded, continuous style (like a bulge acorn) and not the scalloped style of a regular acorn.  I see no reason why these lug nuts would not seat and perform the same as the OEM lug nuts.  The only issue I had during installation was that the new nuts are larger, forcing me to buy a larger 6-pt socket for my torque wrench and breaker bar.

[John Welte]

On 10/30/2023 at 11:18 AM, Doug S said:

So I'm confused...Even though they are high quality and "fit perfectly", we probably shouldn't get them because they don't appear to be bulged acorn?

Doug, I bought the SS lug nuts that ScubaRx mentioned made of 304 SS.  I was just in Hohenwald and had service and showed them what I bought.  They said that they would work.  They're not the bulged acorn.  They did install them and I didn't ask what torque setting they used.  I do have a torque wrench with me so will set it to 95 and see if any are less than that.  Someone earlier posted that they torque higher than 95.  We're in Kentucky heading to Oregon now.

John 

[Patriot]

40 minutes ago, John Welte said:

Doug, I bought the SS lug nuts that ScubaRx mentioned made of 304 SS.  I was just in Hohenwald and had service and showed them what I bought.  They said that they would work.  They're not the bulged acorn.  They did install them and I didn't ask what torque setting they used.  I do have a torque wrench with me so will set it to 95 and see if any are less than that.  Someone earlier posted that they torque higher than 95.  We're in Kentucky heading to Oregon now.

John 

Hi John,

I will chime in here. Back on Oct 20, I asked Jason about torquing my SS lugs he advised they were torqued to 110 foot lbs. I checked the torque on my lugs upon returning home from OTT (all good) and they were at 110 foot lbs.  Hope this helps.

Safe Travels! 

[KenB]

On 11/4/2023 at 2:11 AM, jd1923 said:

Do realize, cracks in the stainless wrap are merely cosmetic. I cleaned mine up with the steel brush on my grinder and they look great. Maybe because ours has lived mainly in the dry SW?

I'm going to disagree that the cracks are merely cosmetic.  In the parts of the country where we get snow and rain, water and ice melting chemicals get between the steel core and the stainless steel covers.  The steel core rusts and bulges the covers.  Now a socket won't go over the stainless cover or fit correctly, even if you pick a bigger socket.  Since the core can turn to a rusty mush, the cover falls off and you're left with a vaguely hex shaped nut that doesn't fit any tools in your box.  Your best attack is taking an undersized impact socket and hammering in onto the rusted, undersized, nut.  I've also used a pneumatic chisel and a plasma torch to cut them away.  I hope you have a full set of tools on the side of the road if you have a flat tire and bulged lug nuts.

Cracks in the stainless cover exacerbate this problem.

My opinion is from 25 years of teaching high school shop, including auto mechanics.  16 year old kids that bring their cars into the shop are usually driving rusty hand-me-down cars.   GM vehicles come to mind as consistently having an issue with these type of lug nuts.  I think I had to replace all the nuts on my kids Honda Element for the same reason too.

In the SW you'll probably never have an issue, but for anyplace with regular snow and moisture, in the long term they're a bad idea.  It's not just a cosmetic problem for many of us.

[Frank C]

1 hour ago, KenB said:

I'm going to disagree that the cracks are merely cosmetic.  In the parts of the country where we get snow and rain, water and ice melting chemicals get between the steel core and the stainless steel covers.  The steel core rusts and bulges the covers.  Now a socket won't go over the stainless cover or fit correctly, even if you pick a bigger socket.  Since the core can turn to a rusty mush, the cover falls off and you're left with a vaguely hex shaped nut that doesn't fit any tools in your box.  

Ditto to this.  I had this exact problem on one car that we owned.  The stainless cover of the lug nuts split and the base metal underneath corroded and swelled to the point that a socket would not fit on properly.  They were a huge pain the a** to remove.  Several had to be cut off.  

[jd1923]

9 hours ago, KenB said:

I'm going to disagree that the cracks are merely cosmetic.  In the parts of the country where we get snow and rain, water and ice melting chemicals get between the steel core and the stainless steel covers.  The steel core rusts and bulges the covers.  Now a socket won't go over the stainless cover or fit correctly, even if you pick a bigger socket...

Sure Ken, I agree now seeing your explanation. The pics I observed above, appeared to be only the wrap and the mating surfaces looked solid.

You supplied a sound reason for the cracking. Given rust within created expansion to cause the cracks, to the point of not allowing the 3/4" socket to fit, yep you got a problem. Given the interior threads would be as rusty, they could fail with time.

[MobileJoy]

15 hours ago, KenB said:

In the SW you'll probably never have an issue,

I also agree with the points made above. However, in my case when the trailer was being towed home from delivery by Oliver, I checked the torque on all nuts. My wrench slipped on one of them and that was enough to deform the skin. I was unable to get the wrench back on that nut while on that trip. To get it off, a socket had to be hammered onto the nut. At the time that this happened, I didn't realize the nut had a skin and thought the nut itself was deformed. I figured it out when I got home and decided right then to replace the nuts.