One-Piece Lug Nuts

[Rand]

Originally Posted by supton
The lugs seem fine on my three Toyota's, and I do think they have that sheetmetal cover also. I don't often use the impact to remove lugs, certainly not install.


Its not so much the impact its the guy in a hurry that doesnt get it all the way on.. also sometimes they are turned up redictuously high.

I use impacts for about the last 5 years and I have never damaged one.. even with the beefy dewalt dcf899

I also put them on with the impact but the setting I use maxes out at about 65lb-ft then I finish with torque wrench.

The exception is the "tuner" wheels(for winter tires) I have on the 2019 cherokee those I break free with the breaker bar first. the long thin wall specality socket for the lugbolts looks very flimsy and kills all the impacting, I dont really want to blast it with the impact and snap it.

 

[billt460]

Originally Posted by Rand
Its not so much the impact its the guy in a hurry that doesnt get it all the way on.....

This ^^^^^^........ More than anything else. If the socket / nut is not a proper fit, and / or the guy doesn't make sure he has the socket all the way engaged on 100% of the flats of the nut, is when you will have damage. If it's not on all the way it will twist and deform the sheet metal cover. That will all but guarantee to make removal difficult, if not impossible. The other thing are these sheet metal covers are shaped and pressed on in a forming die, around the actual underlying steel nut. If the material covering the nut isn't positioned exactly right, and everything correctly lined up, the size and shape of the nut itself can be effected.

Then their socket will fit too loose, causing it to become distorted as soon as they apply a gun to it and start hammering away. These nuts are manufactured very rapidly. And it doesn't take much for something to get out of whack. Much like sheet metal magazines on firearms, that are shaped in progressive forming dies. You can get bad one's easily if the manufacturing process isn't monitored and checked constantly. Or the die itself isn't manufactured correctly, or maintained and checked on a regular basis. And the price of these things limits that. The whole reason they are being used in the first place is because they are cheaper to produce. Or so it is said.

Where I live rust is not an issue. But if I were concerned about it on the replacement plated one piece nuts, you could give them a shot of a wax type rust inhibitor during the wet, road salt filled Winter months. Then remove it during your first Spring cleaning you do on the vehicle. Road salt is a killer on metal surfaces. Plated or otherwise.

 

[theorist]

Rust is a huge issue where I live. My wife's 2012 Prius and my mother's 2006 Prius use lug nuts that look like the ones in your picture. We've had both since new and have put well over 200K miles on them. The lug nuts are some of the few things that I haven't seen any signs of rust on. Ours don't use any sheet metal unless you are referring to the washers. We've had no issue with lug nut swelling on our Toyota or Mazda nuts. I did have a problem with swollen lug nuts on an Elantra that we bought used.

I've always done our rotations and most brake work myself. I always use a cross style tire wrench and a torque wrench. I agree that damaged nuts may have a lot to do with impact wrenches, especially in the hands of hurried techs using them with sockets that are the wrong size. The nuts I really hate are the old open ended lug nuts combined with road salt.