w124 alloy wheel bolts - HELP!

[BlueQuinn]

This has got me really worried. Can someone please either tell me it's all fine, or tell me what I need to do to fix it.

I bought a set of locking alloy wheel nuts for my W124 and went to fit them tonight.

These are the ones I bought
QUALITY ALLOY WHEEL LOCKING BOLTS - MERCEDES BENZ E-CLASS W124 (1985-96) [5K] | eBay

The bolts are 40mm long and have rounded shoulders as per this pic from the auction

When I went to fit them I had a bit of a shock.
My car has 8 hole wheels. The spare is a 15 hole, so I guess they were changed at some point.

In the toolkit I found 4 original bolts, presumably to go with the 15 hole wheel. They matched the locking wheel bolts I bought.
This is them next to the shiny ones I took off the car.

As you can see both bolts I took off the wheels are much shorter, and have 45 degree angular shoulders. Furthermore the ones I took off the rear have actually been cut to make them even shorter. When I tried one in the 15 hole wheel it finished exactly flush with the wheel - it would be incapable of bolting that to anything.

What's going on here? Do 8 hole wheels need different bolts? How much thread exactly is holding my wheels on?
The full-length locking ones seem to have gone into the wheel to the same depth as the chrome ones, so there was nothing stopping them being fastened tight.

 

[brigadier]

The first one (longest) is correct for 8 hole wheels. I had the same, which also fit amg monoblocks.

 

[haggis2768]

It may be that your 8 holes are copies.AFAIK genuine mb wheels use the rounded seat type.
Although confusingly this is not always the case, I have a set of 190 ego copies that use the short mb steel wheel bolts!
The shortened bolts on the rear of yours may be to stop them catching on handbrake( hub internals) Don't mix them up with the fronts.

 

[brigadier]

In the case they are not mb 8 holes the original bolt may indeed be too long. Best to take off wheel and check how much thread protrudes at the back.

 

[BlueQuinn]

OK, just been out to check. I can't take the wheel off tonight as I am off out, but it looks like they are replicas. The valve hole is in the wrong place.

So, I guess I'd better remove the locking wheel bolts. And either not bother replacing them or find short ones that will fit.

Does anyone want a set of Evo 5 bolts thatcham approved locking bolts, used once?

 

[BlueQuinn]

I took a wheel off and they are definitely not Mercedes originals.
I don't know who did make them, as there's nothing in the casting that looks like a manufacturer. But they do have a casting that says they are 7Jx15, which means I can fit the wider tyres.