Wheel nuts are not universal. Sorry, what?

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MisterBigglesworth

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I went and got new tryres put on, only to discover the key for my lock nuts was missing. So they took the lock nuts off with their tool, but I didn't want to add another set of lock nuts on. I then went to a auto parts dealer to get 4 new wheel nuts....the guy says, no...sorry....they only have Toyota wheel nuts. Wait...what....wheel nuts are not standard across cars? I though they all used the same thread...just the wheel nut size differs?

Can anyone confirm this...are wheel nuts manufacturer dependent...so you can't, for example, put a wheel nut from a Toyota on a VW?
 
There's no such thing as a 'Toyota wheel nut', but wheel nuts aren't universal either. Some wheel hubs have studs with corresponding nuts:

View attachment 45791

Others have holes which take wheel bolts instead of nuts:

View attachment 45795

Neither length nor thread of either is standardised. However, any half-decent Midas or similar should be able to supply something workable if you take a sample with.
 
If we are just talking wheel nuts, the guy was correct in stating that they differ. The difference is not noticeable with the naked eye, but will cost you your life if you have the wrong ones fitted. The three different types as per the picture is obvious with the naked eye. It is when you have conical/tapered nuts, and they differ, where you will not see it with the naked eye. The taper might differ by 10degrees. If the taper on the nut is different to the taper of the wheel/mag, the mating surfaces will differ and the nut will not tighten properly. Basically, the surfaces touching, will only be a fraction of the total intended touching surface. It will then come loose and you will lose your wheel whilst driving.

The thread of nuts and studs could also differ, but that you will pick up when you try and tighten a fine thread nut onto a coarse thread stud.

2008922145713717.jpg

957-120712213944-3777278.jpeg
 
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Wow...ok, had no idea. I know you get different types, tapered, not tapered etc...but had no idea about making sure you have the right type. Will take off a nut and go into Midas and see what they have then, best way I guess. Thanks for this valuable info! :)
 
I'd suggest going to the agents. You don't want to have your wheel fall off causing your car to roll just because you wanted to save R9.50 by getting something that is fairly close, and a set of proper nuts shouldn't break the bank.

I don't know about other manufacturers, but on a merc, different models have different wheels bolts, and you can't use the bolts that hold the alloy rims on with the steel spare.
 
Scrap yard or agents.

Had a similar issue, ended up just buying lock nuts to replace my missing wheel nuts.
 
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