Wheel bolts - where to buy from?

Viren · Post by **Viren** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 12:36 pm

I'm thinking of replacing the wheel bolts as they are now 70k old. Does anyone know a reliable place to get them from, considering they hold the wheel to the car would want them to be trust worthy and high grade!

mattyp · Post by **mattyp** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 12:47 pm

What is wrong with the originals?
Am not aware of this being a wear and tear item

sticky · Post by **sticky** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:06 pm

It"s not, unless head damage

Scooba_Steve · Post by **Scooba_Steve** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:10 pm

VRSteve · Post by **VRSteve** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:12 pm

Could change from bolts to studs.

http://www.hackengineering.co.uk/produc ... 1-5-5-lug/

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:32 pm

Not aware of bolts having a use-life, but they can start to look dull and tatty - I just rattle-canned the ones on my last Z when that happened though.

RayM · Post by **RayM** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 1:44 pm

I put the push on chrome look plastic covers on mine and they look really good... £5 for 20 on fleabay.

Bing · Post by **Bing** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:08 pm

RayM wrote:I put the push on chrome look plastic covers on mine and they look really good... £5 for 20 on fleabay.

Yeah, I used them on my last Z too, until I changed wheels.

cj10jeeper · Post by **cj10jeeper** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 3:28 pm

I would not waste my money on new bolts unless there was a specific reason to replace 1 or more

If I did then I would certainly buy from BMW to guarantee the quality and avoid anything Chinese that may have entered into the food chain

Viren · Post by **Viren** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:09 pm

Would the continous wheel on off not lead to the bolt losing some of its strength? I always use a torque wrench etc but interesting that it's not treated similar to say suspension bolts which people tend to replace.

Just a thought not saying it's something everyone must do but it is the bolt that holds the wheel to the car and must go through some pain over the years.

Smartbear · Post by **Smartbear** » Fri Jan 06, 2017 7:16 pm

Viren wrote:Would the continous wheel on off not lead to the bolt losing some of its strength? I always use a torque wrench etc but interesting that it's not treated similar to say suspension bolts which people tend to replace.

Just a thought not saying it's something everyone must do but it is the bolt that holds the wheel to the car and must go through some pain over the years.

They will be fine, the part is designed to withstand normal use

Rob

Babw · Post by **Babw** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 12:51 pm

I think you might have a point.

http://www.metalconsult.com/pdf/wheel_s ... ilures.pdf

If you have had a tyre changed/puncture repair etc more than likely they used an impact wrench which could have exceeded the torque capacity. Cyclic metal fatigue etc

I have definitely seen steel wheel nuts damaged by impact wrenches due to over torquing.

cj10jeeper · Post by **cj10jeeper** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 1:19 pm

I read that same article on fhe web yesterday and although interesting, the fact comes down to there being millions of cars on he road and when did you ever see one with all wheel studs sheared?

Even if one did fail the remaining will easily keep the wheel on safely. My old Renaults only used to have 3 to start with...

wspohn · Post by **wspohn** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:01 pm

If you have someone putting on your wheels and they aren't using at least a torque stick (steel extension calibrated to give at a certain torque value on an air wrench) or hand tightening and using a torque wrench, you need to find another tire shop.

Babw · Post by **Babw** » Wed Jan 11, 2017 10:10 pm

wspohn wrote:If you have someone putting on your wheels and they aren't using at least a torque stick (steel extension calibrated to give at a certain torque value on an air wrench) or hand tightening and using a torque wrench, you need to find another tire shop.

Have you owned your car since new?

I love this kind of response because usually with cars of this type you have the 1st owners who use them, sometimes abuse them and then trade them in after a couple of years. Then comes the second/third owners who look after them like their children. Watching over the shoulder of tyre fitters to make sure they use a torque wrench.

What I was saying is that the torque limit of the bolts might have been breached before the car was 2 years old, the bolts might have been significantly weakened. The bolts might fail 10 years down the line due to incremental metal fatigue accelerated by the initial overload (Youngs Modulus etc). At the end of the day a car is mechanical, unless you do all the work on the car yourself and even then it's practically impossible to ensure if all the bolts have been torqued up correctly.

I personally would much rather sit and have a coffee while my tyres get changed, then change the wheel bolts every few years rather than ask the tyre fitter for their certificate for their torque wrench but each to their own.

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