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Hello all.
My '76 came with American Racing 5 spoke aluminium wheels when I bought it. I would have preferred the standard Rally wheels, but you can't have everything.
To change them back to original will cost me, here in France, about $1,800 after shipping, taxes, import duties, etc.......
So, for the time being, I'm stuck with them.
The funny thing is, if I take a wheel off and put it back on, I tighten the lug nuts correctly, drive it a few miles, then re-tighten them, (it might take about 1/8 of a turn), and then a couple of short trips later, one or two on each wheel will need another little snugging up. After that, they seem to be ok.
Is it because they're aluminum wheels? Has anybody else had to do the same thing?
As usual, thanks for your help and opinions.
Make sure you are cross tightening the lugs. If not, there is a chance that one is tighter than the rest, and the wheel is cocked slightly. Eventually the wheel will straighten itself out and the remaining lugs will be loose. Inn my experience, there is nothing worse than loose nuts.
The factory wheels were lug centric. Cross tighten the lugs and don't have the car fully on the ground to snug. Them up. You can put the full weight on the wheel for the final tightening. Hub centric
Make sure you are cross tightening the lugs. If not, there is a chance that one is tighter than the rest, and the wheel is cocked slightly. Eventually the wheel will straighten itself out and the remaining lugs will be loose. Inn my experience, there is nothing worse than loose nuts.
I do go from side to side, but maybe I should try it in more steps, tightening a little more as I go along.
The factory wheels were lug centric. Cross tighten the lugs and don't have the car fully on the ground to snug. Them up. You can put the full weight on the wheel for the final tightening. Hub centric
Explain this, please.
Hub-centric wheels: The center hole of the wheel fits tightly against the vehicle's hub. Most OE wheels are hub-centric because they are designed specifically for the vehicle.
Lug-centric wheels: The center hole of the wheel has a gap between it and the vehicle's hub. The wheel is centered by the lug hardware. Most aluminum aftermarket wheels are lug-centric
Oh-oh. I think mine have tapered fasteners. I wonder if they've been the wrong ones all along.
Here’s an image of one of my 200s wheels. Note the machined “flat” to which the washer on the lugnut mates to. Pull off one of your lug nuts and shoot a pic of both the wheel and the lug.
I posted that image of lug nuts to show you the different types, yours kinda looked like acorn tapers to me but it was hard to tell in your first photos. You might need mag nuts but I’ll let someone with those wheels chime in and let you know which ones you should buy.
My Nuts Coming Loose
