Lug Nuts Grinding into Alloy Wheels

[alexr]

Hi All,

First post on here! I've very recently had a very strange experience with my 2009 Mazda 3 GS Sport. I took it into the dealership for a scheduled service which included a tire rotation. In the middle of the service they call me to look at the car, and I see that all five lug bolt holes on all four wheels have been ground down, presumable by the lug nuts. So much so that the holes were all wider and metal shavings were visible. It was almost like someone had bored wider holes in the wheels.

Now it's odd because I bought the car new, and besides the dealership I'm the only person who swaps tires, when I switch over all-season/winter tires (the winters are on steel wheels, also purchased frmo the dealership). I use the same lug nuts for both, and have never changed the nuts in the 5 years I've owned the car. I chang tires simply by jacking the care up, putting a tiny bit of WD40 on each bolt, and putting the other wheel on... I haven't been torquing, just tightening the nuts up with Hulk strength. And when I last swapped them over in about April, there was absolutely no visible damage.

Has anyone heard of this happening before? The guys at a tire shop reckon they only see this when the incorrect lug nuts are used, but these have never been replaced from the original ones. Could the nuts have just worn through the surface over time for some reason? Perhaps I was over-/under-tightening?

I'm replacing the tires (they were getting a bit worn anyway), wheels and wheel hardware anyway, but it would be good to know what might have caused this!

Many thanks!

 

[Donutz]

Are they stock wheels and stock lugs? I would recommend using a torque wrench to put your lugs on. In terms of shaving the metal, I haven't seen that, but I have seen the paint get scraped off. This is due to the surface of the lug nut contacting the rim, and then applying the last turn or two to torque the nuts down. Its during these last couple of turns that the paint is scraped off. It's possible that you are unknowingly over-torquing them. If this is truly the cause of your issue, using 2 piece lug nuts should resolve it.

 

[alexr]

Thanks for the reply... Yes they are stock wheels (16") and lug nuts. It's odd because when I went into the tire shop they immediately suggested that I was using the wrong lug nuts - mine are one solid piece with a tapered collar, but they suggested I should have been using ones with an integrated washer. I've been using these same lug nuts for 5 years though, so it's strange that they would suddenly do as much damage as they have.