Thread: Extended Lugs???

I went to install my Muteki lug nuts.

Got out my brand-new 1/2" Kobalt ratchet (came with an extension, and 16 sockets for $25, life-time return at the store with Lowe's), and my extra-deep 22mm and 17mm Kobalt sockets purchased separately. Ready to swap out my old ugly, short, OEM lug-nuts and retire them after 18-years of reliable service.

Should be a pretty easy project to change out the lug-nuts....

FAIL.

I do not own an impact driver of any sort. Don't have any pipes or pipe scraps laying around my farm either. Plenty of wood, but no pipes of any length.

I'm a pretty large and strong human, but I could not budge a single lug-nut. I tried on three (3) of them, on two (2) separate wheels. Not a chance.

Which reinforces WHY I should be wrenching on my Classic. Apparently Joey's just slams those lug-nuts home with all the torque they can put on them with their air-powered tools.

I looked up breaker bars. Seems the 1/2" by 25" breaker bar is very highly rated on both Amazon and Harbor Freight.

Amazon at $23.99, 4 1/2 stars rating:

Amazon.com: Neiko Heavy-Duty 25-Inch 1/2-Inch Drive Chrome-Vanadium Steel Breaker Bar: Home [email]Improvement@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com[/email]/images/I/31rYDHYlhoL.@@AMEPARAM@@31rYDHYlhoL

Harbor Freight at $10.99, 4 1/2 stars rating:

1/2" Drive 25" Breaker Bar

Since I also need pretty much everything necessary to change my own oil (outside of a 14mm wrench, oil, proper crush washers, and a filter), I am going to head over to Harbor Freight shortly and get myself that breaker bar, an oil pan, creeper, 3-ton jack, jack-stands, oil filter wrench, and whatever else is on my list.

Couldn't swap my own damn lug-nuts. ......



BTW....this looks like a very good, affordable torque wrench at Amazon. The Harbor Freight torque wrench (El Cheapo) was not very well rated. Everything I read says Craftsman torque wrenches suck (surprised me), and the Kobalt one is $94.99. Snap-on is a bit pricey ($130 and up), I'm sure it's worth it to a working mechanic, but seems a bit overboard for me and my needs.

The Gorilla Automotive TW605 on Amazon got 4 1/2 stars at $49.90.

Amazon.com: Gorilla Automotive TW605 Torque Wrench: [email]Automotive@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com[/email]/images/I/21Pz3n2EWZL.@@AMEPARAM@@21Pz3n2EWZL

Seems like a pretty good affordable bet.

I like my craftsman tq wrench, never had a problem with it.

Also is anyone running extended lug nuts on normal studs? The point of this being wheels have a low offset and the holes in the wheels are pretty deep. Just curious if this would cause a problem.

On stock wheels (well, NX2K and some old school rwd 200SX wheels), with the ARP studs, the Muteki SR48s come exactly to the end of the threads on the studs, exposing only the rounded tip. (This happens to work *perfectly* for me since now the threads on the lugs are protected from gravel rash on the rally car)

I suspect you'd have a fairly large empty space at the end of the lug because the stud wouldn't extend all the way, even with the deeper wells. To me, it looks kinda goofy (and I've seen enough of the local ricers do just this to their Civics to know what it looks like). But functionally it would be at least as good, if not better (the threads in the Mutekis are looooong) than "standard" open ended or deep lugnuts.

Alright, thanks. I figured it could'nt really hurt. The holes are just so deep it's gonna be a pain to use a regular lug nut I think.