Thread: What the lugnut torque on aluminum slots?

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I am going to put some aluminum slots on my 62 Galaxie and was wondering what the torque is on them.

Thanks,
Bobg

Your wheel manufacturer or dealer should have given you that info, as I can imagine that there can be a lot of differences. My aluminum wheels are tightened to 62 ft lbs. A local tire dealer uses 70 #'s.

part of it depends on the size of the bolts as well. 7/16" or 1/2". I have 1/2" and specs are 75-85lbs. billet specialties says tighten them and then a week later re-torque due to the expand and contract of the aluminum. Less torque for the 7/16" studs.

Red

Then there's the VA station that did my last state inspection. I had to take an 18" breaker bar and jump on it to get them loose. I tried to measure the break-loose torque, but my torque wrench wouldn't go that high. My impact woudn't even break them loose. How did I know it was the inspection station? Because only one front and one rear were that tight.

Are your slot mags drilled specific to a lugnut pattern?
Ford, Chevy etc.

Or do they have the oval holes that are used with standard round washers and regular mag lugnuts?

If the latter and you use the standard thin washers supplied with most lugnuts you'll find the washers 'cone-in' and develop a taper which makes you end up with less torque than you started with.

Use the thick - about 3/16" -Centerline style washers for the oval hole wheels.
They work well and the torque setting will stay where you left it.

You should re-torque aluminum wheels a day or two after the initial install.
They tend to loosen a bit due to settling in etc.

I've been running slot mags of several different widths for the last 15 years and in fact had an eight lug set on my 77 4x4 3/4 ton Ford pickup for about 7 years.

On all of them I use the recommended torque setting for the size lug involved.

Never had a problem.

As mentioned above, one of the key issues here is to re-torque after using. As Denny said " check the wheels after a short drive to see if they loosen up any". This is very important. The rule I follow is that after about 25 miles, check and re-torque if necessary. If you fail to do this, it could be catastrophic, like one or more of your wheels coming loose or off.

Had that happen to me after having new tires put a car years ago. And result was three broken or bent lugs, damaged fender and wheel. Cost to repair nearly $2,000. Could have been worse, no lives were lost or damaged.