I ordered some chrome lugnuts recently from a vendor (which I will not name) and was extremely disapointed in the chrome finish, very flawed. There's got to be a vendor out there who sells quality lugnuts at a decent price. I am looking for 1978 aluminum wheel lugnuts. Do you have someone you can recommend? thanks so much.

 

they get the snot beat out of them with lug wrenches and rust pretty easy.....the cheap ones off ebay dont seem to last long. we all are having the same problem

 

agree.....cant find ones that "stand up" either........
If ANYBODY finds some, please post and advise where.

Any vendors what to chime in?

dodosmike

 

Yes please do, I am in need also.

 

Yeah it sucks that McGard does not make the correct style for the auminum wheels. I have used their lugs on every other car and truck I had and never had any rust or chipping chrome.

 

Even the quality of the steel itself sucks. Threads will strip very easily with minimum torque.

If you're serious about nuts, then install 60° cones in the wheels and you are open to a host of quality nuts.

 

You can't safely use the 60* lugs with wheels that were designed for the "mag shank" lugs. The 60* lugs require a wheel with a 60* chamfer.....

 

That's what the cones are, that you have installed.

 

Please elaborate on these "cones"?
Pic?.
Link?

I just don't follow.....Wheel tech is not my "thing".

dodosmike

 

Yes, please let us know what these "cones" are.......

 

Might want to look at these: http://www.gorilla-auto.com/application.guide

 

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought that the lugs that GM used on their aluminum wheels were very similar to the "standard mag shank" lug nuts, except that the washer was integral to the nut, as opposed to the aftermarket "mag" nuts where the washers are seperate pieces.....however, I'll readily admit, it's been a LONG time since I worked on a C-3.

 

It looks like a 7/16" thread, short shank lug should fit then.

 

Growing up in the 60's with the old style mag wheels, I really learned to dislike the mag style nuts and washers. The original GM nuts were a little better, but the current replacements are pretty poor too.

Here is a link to the cones that can be installed in the alum wheels.
The wheels must be machined preferrably on a cnc mill and then the cones pressed in. then with longer studs many of the 60° nuts can be used including stainless. Done properly, there is no downside. But as I said due to price, you've got to be pretty serious.

http://www.prestigewheel.com/Imagewi510.asp

I have also had a friend make me some lugnuts on his cnc turning center, a cheaper option if you know someone. Sadly, he died very quickly last year form lymph cancer and another friend with a similar machine also died last year of a sudden heart attack. Got one friend left that still could do it. Next time I see him, I'll ask.

The Toyota Land Cruiser and Tundra use an identical lugnut as the vette but are in the popular 12 and 14mm.
Range Rover also uses them in 14 and 16 mm.
They all come with shanks of 20mm, 29mm, 22.5mm, 18.5mm and 22mm.
They are known as "flat seat" lug nuts
They rims could be adapted a little easier to match the metric shank.

 

Had trouble finding lug nets for my American Vector mags, Napa's web site has a huge selection and had just what we needed.

 

No doubt, that will work, but it's one hell of a job to have done properly, so the wheels will still run true, when the work is completed. I also think that it would be a safe assumption that while the cones themselves, are not all that expensive, the maching work to the wheels won't be.

As annoying as the "mag" nuts might be, they're an inexpensive alternative....as long as the shank diameter is the same as the GM nuts.

 

That's the whole point, most every inexpensive oldstyle magnut has the same cheezy chrome plating as the newer vette nuts.
To get quality plated nuts you have to convert.

 

Virginia Vettes.... sales@virginiavettes.com.

They are in your area.....

A very simple cure I have found to alleviate any induced harm while installing the chromed lug nuts is....I cut a finger out of a Kevlar glove and placed it inside the 4-way lug wrench, cutting enough to allow me to wrap it back around the outside of the lug wrench itself. I think any strong soft glove material will work...that just happen to be a glove I could waste. Try it...works for me!


Stay in tune....

 

NO, you purchase McGard's tough nuts....as long as the McGard's shank diameter is the same as the GM pieces. They're not inexpensive, as you phrase it, but as always, you get what you pay for.

 

As far as I know, the vette alum wheel has oddball sized holes (what a surprise ), so some sort of conversion is necessary.
There have been some sets of original GM, but they went for a few hundred dollars a set on eBay.


The stock wheels are hub centric, not really an issue.
So if you have a quality inexpensive alternative please post it.
That's what everyone is asking about.
McGard's don't fit