Whenever you completely disassemble the wheels and tires – for example, your wheel spacers installed – it’s essential to have the lug nuts retorqued after the first 50 miles. This step plays a critical role in road safety. Every responsible driver should keep the wheel spacers correctly fastening between the vehicle hubs and wheels. This is done by having the proper amount of torque applied to each lug nut.
After installed, wheel spacers become the extensions of vehicle hubs that directly connect the wheels. Hence, they are vital components of the vehicle. In the automotive world, quality is equivalent to safety. If you’re going to make sure any part of your car is safe, stick to quality wheel spacers. Always ensure you are investing in trusted brand spacers. Genuine spacers are under the manufacturer’s warranty. This makes it worth every penny you spend.
Buy High-quality Wheel Spacers
Mostly, wheel spacers are bolted to the vehicle studs with the provided lug nuts. Then the wheels are attached to the new wheel studs with the OEM lug nuts. Two sets of wheel studs create a strong wheel connection that is firm enough to support the weight of the vehicle. Therefore, the wheel studs are among the most important parts which secure the wheels. Grade 12.9 wheel studs are considered to be the top-quality studs in the auto industry. They have a minimum tensile strength of 1220 MPa. The higher the tensile strength, the more tensile stress that the studs pressed in wheel spacers can withstand before failure.
High-end wheel spacers are always well-treat before leaving the factory. The Dacromet-coating wheel studs are considered to be one of the best corrosion-resistance studs. This type of coating gives salt spray resistances exceeding 500 hours, which makes it ideal for fasteners in the automobile industry. Most importantly, Dacromet coating does not induce Hydrogen Embrittlement, which means that high tensile components like wheel studs and lug nuts can be safely coated. Before shopping for wheel spacers, check the performance of wheel studs first.
Regularly Inspect the Lug Nuts
It is necessary to ensure that each lug nut has been torqued to the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications when first fitting a wheel. However, it also requires a second follow-up check. The lug nuts will undergo the stresses and forces of a car in daily use. As time goes by, such stresses can cause a slight shift in the seating of the lug nuts, which may result in tightening or loosening. Thus, after approximately 50 miles of driving, the lug nuts must be checked out and, if necessary, retorqued to the same values as before.
Re-torquing all lug nuts for your wheel spacers is a quick procedure, usually can be done within several minutes. But remember to keep the lug nuts clean before torquing. The presence of dirt, sand, rust, or grit between surfaces such as the threads of the nut or between a nut and the wheel can create “false torques”. The force applied overcomes the friction but doesn’t translate into clamping force. Make sure the lug nuts are not too tight or too loose. Then your wheel spacers mod will be safe and free to go.
