Got Aftermarket Wheels? You May Need To Use Hand Tools To Protect Your Lug Nuts

Got a nice set of aftermarket wheels with decorative lug nuts? You may need to invest in a set of hand-held socket wrenches. Here’s why.

Impact Air Guns Can Destroy Lug Nuts

Because technicians have a limited amount of time to work on each car, they use impact air guns to remove lug nuts. An impact air gun is a great invention that works great on standard lug nuts, but it can wreak havoc on fancy wheels with stylish lug nuts.

It’s because a typical stylish lug nut is composed of a decorative chrome cap that’s welded or crimped to a standard steel nut. If an impact gun is used on one of those lug nuts, a gap will likely form between the cap and the steel nut. It’s because impact guns create too much force for the chrome cap and can warp them.

When there’s a gap between the cap and the steel nut, water and dirt can get in. The water may eventually freeze and then bend the nut and cap out of shape. This leaves you with a damaged, misshapen lug nut.

What Happens When Your Lug Nuts Are Damaged?

In a nutshell, swollen lug nuts cost you money. They become so deformed that you can’t use a standard lug nut wrench to remove them from the wheel. You would need a socket wrench that is the next size up from your lug nut wrench.

If you don’t have a socket wrench on hand to remove the swollen lug nut(s), you can’t take your wheel off. It can be quite problematic in an emergency situation, such as a flat tire on the side of the road. You also wouldn’t be able to rotate your tires. Needing to remove your wheel when there’s a swollen lug nut holding it in place is quite a difficult situation that’s often expensive to fix.

The 2 Best Ways To Prevent Damaged Lug Nuts

To avoid the headache that comes along with swollen lug nuts, there are two different solutions you can try:

1. Replace The Decorative Lug Nuts, OR

This eliminates the problematic decorative caps while keeping your aftermarket wheels looking great. You can replace the decorative lug nuts with stainless steel lug nuts or chrome-plated lug nuts.

2. Protect Your Lug Nuts With Lug Nut Covers

If you don’t want to replace your lug nuts, you might want to add our silicone lug nut covers to your lug nuts with decorative caps.

Our lug nut covers will keep moisture from getting between the lug nut and the decorative cap, reducing the risk of corrosion that can ultimately lead to swollen lug nuts. And, because our silicone lug nut covers are available in a variety of colors, it’s easy to add some style to your rims while also protecting them.