I recently changed my own rotors and brakes (and painted the calipers) on my 04 sedan. While replacing the wheels, I rubbed a tiny, thin film of Permtex on the bolts where the lugnuts go in and then torqued them to 76-77lbs (not the prescribed 80) since over-torquing is common when people use anti-seize. As a general rule, the same amount of torque usually produces more bolt tension if the thread friction is reduced by the anti-seize.

The jury is out (nothing definitive), even with mechanical engineers, track and cross racers, and auto technicians, on whether this is a good idea. I did it b/c this is how my Dad taught me, and it carries a certain logic where we live.

Question: Is anti-seize compound recommended for lugnuts? Why or why not? I live in the East coast, so salt and water are common 4-6 months out of the year.

Any thots would be helpful. Thanks

 

No need... Why not? Cause it's just another thing to clean off when you dismount your wheel (I personally like to wipe off existing antiseize on any stud if I see it or else it's just gonna attract dust and shavings).

For argument sake our lugs are closed end so water doesnt get into it.. However I've never had any issues with open end.. or lugs in general.

 

I don't see any harm in it, but I don't see the point in it either.

 

my thoughts the same way. obviously you have to lube up the caliper pin slides. But for the lugnuts, eh. I haven't done it and if i work on a car with them i leave them be. The main thing is to TIGHTEN up the lugs near w/e you feel you should torque them to. I just breaker bar snug them and one little more. Never warped anything on my watch that i know of.

 

I doubt you're going to have any excessive corrosion issues on your lugs based on where you live. And I doubt putting anti-sieze will have any impact at all, positive or negative. As CarBodyKits said, our lugs are closed, so the water has a very tight path to get on the lugs. And the water doesn't sit on them. The heat of braking will dry them off pretty quickly. And they're a very hard steel, which means at most a very, very thin layer of rust might form, but nowhere near enough to cause any lug removal problems.

There are some new processes used in making rifle barrels, generically called nitriding. There are a few different ways to do this, but the end result is a very hard barrel surface (Rockwell 70+) that's so hard it won't rust. Previously, AR-15 barrels would have to be chrome lined to achieve this same effect, but that could affect accuracy. The same concept applies to lugs, i.e. very hard metal is more resistant to rust/corrosion. The drawback is that hard metal is also more brittle, but the forces at play on a lug are nowhere near enough to cause them to break.

As far as anti-sieze is concerned, it might help in removing the lugs, but it's not going to prevent that thin layer of rust from possibly forming, and doesn't make it so slippery that there's any risk of your lug nuts working loose. And 76-77 is within the spec range for lug nut torque (72-87 ft lbs), and within the accuracy of most torque wrenches. I tend to set mine at 82 because I'd rather be slightly over-torqued than under.

 

In locations where daily driving during winter exposes any fasteners, lugs nuts too, to corrosive road salts anti seize thread release compound is something I would recommend.
It will not hurt anything.
Think about turning the fasteners on bare rusted metal or the film benefits of the coating.

 

Nothing wrong with putting anti-seize! I've used it in the past with previous cars, and no problems.

 

Lubricated stud(and antiseize has lubricating properties) will give a wrong reading on torque wrench. So your 77 indicated might actually be 127...or something else.

If you never had a problem it doesn't mean it is a smart thing to do. Like unprotected sex. One time is enough to mess you up for the whole life.

 

I've always used a very small amount of antiseize on the studs on every car I've owned. You only have apply it once maybe every 2 or so years and a little goes a long way. Rusty studs can give false torque readings as well. Using a little antiseize isn't going to throw the torque numbers off by much if at all. Lots of fasteners are covered in lubricant prior to installation. Using some sort of lubricant or cleaning the threads completely reduces your chances of cross threading and will generally give a more accurate torque reading.

 

This is very good for the guys that run open ended lugs

 

My understanding is that torque is based on the friction between the lugnut head and mating surface as opposed to the threads themselves. If this is the case and I put Permatex on the threads but keep the tip dry, the torque reading should be negligible (~5-8% off, which may be nothing, given the variability in calibration on most torque wrenches). Is this correct?

This is based on the compound used, with slicker compounds (low friction) making the torque even more pronounced (excessive by 20-30%) thus warping the rotor and stretching the threads. Permatex is not a low friction compound, so this is less of an issue. Wouldn't this change the torque specs in just a small amount but considerably reduce the break-loose-force once the connection has sat for a while?

BTW-- your 127lbs exceeds my full body weight by >15lbs. And what's with the unprotected sex???

 

Guys with open ends all know to blow air into their lugs after a wash to keep it looking good and to clean the studs off every time we take off the lug nuts. Anyways this has become more complex then what it is.. Just go by common sense...

Always clean your **** before putting it in
Add lube if you cant get it in
If it's going in and out just fine just be happy that it's working

- Eric

 

^lol

 

Do this in life and everything should be good for you.

 

All the dealers down here put anti Sieze on the lug nuts, I haven't had any issues.

My car came with some on studs/lugnuts and I have had no issues.