GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

Just did the summer/winter wheel swap on my new to me 04. The stock wheels are the 16" alloys with this lug nut:



The bottom is tapered, and seems to fit the steel wheel fine. Everything is mounted up, I just want to make sure these are ok to use on the steel wheels.

The steel wheels should use the tapered type of lug nuts, as that is what they are designed for, not the mag style lug nuts. They match the taper on the wheel resulting in a larger mounting surface rather than trying to use the flat lugs on an angled surface. That results in a very small contact point. The mag lugs hold the wheels in place all along the washer, also a larger mounting surface.

Now I know the spare tire wheels have the tapered type of lug holes too, and we use the mag lugs with them if we have to, but that is just a temporary mismatch of lugs and wheels.

I would just go grab a bunch of hub cap tapered lug nuts from a salvage yard from a Corolla or Camry. They should sell them for like $10-15 for all 20.

I understand what you are saying, but it isn't a "flat lug against an angled surface". The bottom of the mag lug is clearly tapered. Just want to make sure it is tapered enough, or, at the correct angle.

Any other experience/opinions?

I'm going to order a set of steel wheel lugs today anyways, just wanted to know others' experience. BTW, this is a car that was serviced exclusively at the dealership. Tires/steel wheels were purchased and mounted there, and they used the mag nuts on the steels.

It is probably OK, especially since it has been used for years. They probably designed the mag lug nuts with an end taper that way on purpose. I tried to install some generic mag lug nuts without the same tapered end on mine, and they bottomed out.

FWIW, this is like the regular steel wheel lug nuts. As you can see, they have a pretty big mounting surface:
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I'll post a side by side pic tomorrow when I get the new ones in from the parts store.

lol, turns out the nuts are M12x1.5, same as many other vehicles I own. Only found this out after getting the new nuts. I probably have at least 50 or 60 spares out in the garage.

Anyways, as you can see in the pic, the taper on the alloy nut is the same, and it engages the full dimension of the steel wheel lug opening. Yes, the taper is larger on the new nut, but the actual contact area will be the exact same. So, feel free to use your stock mag nuts on your winter steel wheels. They will work fine. As will my shiny new nuts.

If this is thread jacking let me know and I can start a new thread. Will the lugnuts that come on the steel wheels fit the 16" alloy wheels? The overall diameter of the lugnuts with the outside threads for hubcaps makes them larger, atleast they appear to be. Didn't know if they would fit in the openings on the alloy wheels.

Sonders wrote:If this is thread jacking let me know and I can start a new thread. Will the lugnuts that come on the steel wheels fit the 16" alloy wheels? The overall diameter of the lugnuts with the outside threads for hubcaps makes them larger, atleast they appear to be. Didn't know if they would fit in the openings on the alloy wheels.

No I would not use the steel wheel lug nuts on the factory alloy wheels. I don't think they will fit the wheels and they will not secure them properly. The alloy wheels are designed to use the mag style shaft lug nuts that secure the wheel with a washer. The washer in the lug nuts above is what holds the wheel in place, not the tapered part of the lug nuts like on steel wheels. On my picture (the first on in this thread) you can see that the end is not worn down or shiny, since it does not contact anything on the car.

Thanks for clearing that up trb. Guess I need to find a set of mag style lugnuts then