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Why are wheel nuts tightened so much that they're almost impossible to get off?

It spent ages re painting my alloy wheels . So if i need new tires i remove each wheel, one at a time outside the tire shop , and have the old tire removed and a new tire fitted. And i know i will open a can of worms with this - but i grease every one of my lug bolts . And this way i have never had problems removing any of my wheels in 50 years . I do it ,,you dont have to .
I used to know an HGV fitter of many years service - he always gave lug bolts a thin smear of Copaslip before torquing them up.
 
You should not do it....and it gives false torque reading as every manufacturers quoted figures are for clean dry threads. If they are torqued correctly there should never be an issue with getting them off anyway. I find it quite scary how light the pressure is actually required on my 2 foot wrench to get the correct torque! My 12 year old can easy do up and undo the 130 nm bolts on my car.
 
Do as you wish....and I'm sure they won't fall off!...but it's not industry standard or best practice. The only place to use it is as a very thin coat the face of the hub to stop the alloy wheel corroding to the steel hub.
 
I'll continue lubing my nuts and bolts , as I've done for over 35 years , never had issues . It's called anti seize for a reason.
 
As said....torque them correctly and they wont seize. Only over tight wheel bolts seize. You will be over tightening them every time with any sort of lube on the bolts of course due to the lubing effect giving a false reading on your torque wrench. If any manufacturer advised it I might think differently..but they don't.....but if you think you know better than then that's fine. I can't see any reason for using it and if anything you are making it more likely for them to loosen due to the lube you are using reducing how much both inner and outer threads lock together. It's this combined with slight thread stretch that keeps them tight on the first place. But as said ....your car, your choice. I'll leave it there.
 
As said....torque them correctly and they wont seize. Only over tight wheel bolts seize. You will be over tightening them every time with any sort of lube on the bolts of course due to the lubing effect giving a false reading on your torque wrench. If any manufacturer advised it I might think differently..but they don't.....but if you think you know better than then that's fine. I can't see any reason for using it and if anything you are making it more likely for them to loosen due to the lube you are using reducing how much both inner and outer threads lock together. It's this combined with slight thread stretch that keeps them tight on the first place. But as said ....your car, your choice. I'll leave it there.

Seizing I'd think is more down to the first 10 threads going rusty in my experiences. Same on the neighbors Audi Q5. Wheel bolts don't loosen themselves , behave yourself , I'll leave it there ,also. 😂
 
Sorry.....buy you just lost all credibility as soon as you said wheel bolts dont loosen themselves....they do and that why most manufacturers recommended regular checking of their torque for this reason. Trailers (like the caravans I sell for a living) are even worse and should be checked before each trip. Whether you have got away with it or not does not make it good practise....just remember this....it's friction between the male and female parts of the thread that keeps bolts right....so has your copper grease decreased or increased this friction? Correct ! I really have gone now!
 
It’s the taper seat, or conical seat on Mercedes, that prevents precession, and stops them loosening. Technically greasing the threads is wrong, but if you’ve ever snapped off a w211 wheel bolt you may decide to very lightly grease them. Keep it off the taper or conical seat and you’ll be ok.
 
If wheel bolts / nuts were supposed to have anti seize compound on them it would have been applied from the factory by the manufacturer , any time i have removed a wheel from a new(ish) vehicle there has been no evidence of anything on the thread , apart from sight corrosion.

It is unlikely that a wheel bolt will have a chance to seize if they have been removed for wheel rotation during proper servicing , maintenance , tyre changes , punctures , brake fluid changes , etc.

FWIW i have always made a conscious effort to ensure there is nothing at all on the threads of the bolts prior to refitting.

Just my 2p worth.

K
 
I recommend using Costco.

Fantastic prices
Nitrogen inflation
Wheels correctly torqued

What’s not to like?
 
How do they know the correct torque at Costco? Do they Google every car that comes in? Insist on checking the handbook for each car?

Most owners don’t know the correct torque for their car so I doubt they ask.
 
Sorry.....buy you just lost all credibility as soon as you said wheel bolts dont loosen themselves....they do and that why most manufacturers recommended regular checking of their torque for this reason. Trailers (like the caravans I sell for a living) are even worse and should be checked before each trip. Whether you have got away with it or not does not make it good practise....just remember this....it's friction between the male and female parts of the thread that keeps bolts right....so has your copper grease decreased or increased this friction? Correct ! I really have gone now!
I'll give it 48 hours. You'll be back. 👍
 
I recommend using Costco.

Fantastic prices
Nitrogen inflation
Wheels correctly torqued

What’s not to like?
I’ve not used the, for years but their standards were always high. If I re,e,her right they will only fire MO tyres on a Mercedes, if replacing just two tyres they fit them to the rear (on square set ups), etc.
 
How do they know the correct torque at Costco? Do they Google every car that comes in? Insist on checking the handbook for each car?

Most owners don’t know the correct torque for their car so I doubt they ask.
I'd hazard at guess that they'll have access to something like Autodata or Haynes Pro. Or those Michelin wall charts that list torque and pressure settings.
 
As said....torque them correctly and they wont seize. Only over tight wheel bolts seize. You will be over tightening them every time with any sort of lube on the bolts of course due to the lubing effect giving a false reading on your torque wrench
This is correct advice. Clean & dry at the correct torque & they will come off with no drama
The OP's nuts/bolts were obviously over torqued & he would still had problems with lubed nuts/bolts. His problem was with over torque, not rusty nuts/bolts
 
I am like so many of you , and if you , or i , need to remove a wheel after a puncture, i can do it without being stuck out in the sticks on some lane in the dark while it is throwing it down of rain .. I am a big believer in grease, i put a dab on every nut and bolt . Only ever had to get help to remove one lug nut that was on a car i had only just purchased . And yes all the 5 lug nuts were rusty .I soon fixed that for good .
 
Screenshot_20220604-102141.pngsorted .
 
I had a puncture last night at slow(ish) speed when I misjudged a sharp kerb and hit the corner of it trying to fit in a narrow parking place.
Anyway it was a complete and immediate deflation. When I got out the car to change the tyre it started to rain heavily( of course it did ).
During the downpour, I struggled for 20 minutes to shift one of the wheelnuts so I could take the tyre off.
I weigh a tad more than 25st. and my full weight on an extended lever only eventually manged to make it shift.
The wheels had been reshod with some Goodyear rubber in February by a well regarded local tyre shop.
I watched as the wheels were put back on the car with a compressed air gun.
Surely these are calibrated so that humans can change a wheel?
What's the answer?
My local well regarded tyre shop has signs up stating that any employee not correctly torquing wheel nuts when refitting wheels will face instant dismissal. Does your "well regarded" tyre shop do the same?
 

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