Alloy Wheels - Wheel nut torque-Question

Emmit

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I have/am going through the process of renovating the alloy wheels on our Burstner.
Could any knowledgeable Funster advise as to the torque settings for the wheel nuts, please.

As usual, thanks in advance.
 
A very loose 'rule of thumb' we used back in the 70's, assuming original fitment wheels and supplied vehicle tools, was use the wheel brace supplied and you should be OK.

Of course different people have different strengths, but it generally worked.

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"the wheel brace supplied and you should be OK."

There in lies/laid the problem.

There was no brace supplied.

Thank you for your replies. They've been tightened up enough for me to get a torque wrench on them in the near future.
Thanks for the figures. (y)
 
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Hi Emmit

We own a Dethleffs with 16 inch alloys. Just looked for you and the manual states:

Steel. 180 Nm
Alloy. 160 Nm

Hope this helps!
 
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The torque setting is for bolt size has nothing to do with the wheel material so it's 180nm for steel or alloy wheels

torques-L.png

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"the wheel brace supplied and you should be OK."

There in lies/laid the problem.

There was no brace supplied.

Thank you for your replies. They've been tightened up enough for me to get a torque wrench on them in the near future.
Thanks for the figures. (y)
Bridgestone do an app called re-torque, very useful, according to that a ducat maxi is 180nm, it also notes not to lubricate bolts.
 
Maybe at 180nm the extra 20nm is over stressing the alloy ? Why would the handbook say 160nm. Steel and alloy expand and contract at different values when heated/cooled , maybe it has an impact on the torque setting? Have had alloys on all my vans ( 4250 Autotrail and 3500 Adria Twin and now Elddis CV20) without any issues. Don’t disagree , about the value for the bolt itself , but just my opinion.
 
Maybe at 180nm the extra 20nm is over stressing the alloy ? Why would the handbook say 160nm. Steel and alloy expand and contract at different values when heated/cooled , maybe it has an impact on the torque setting? Have had alloys on all my vans ( 4250 Autotrail and 3500 Adria Twin and now Elddis CV20) without any issues. Don’t disagree , about the value for the bolt itself , but just my opinion.
If you look at a steel wheel the contact surface with the bolt taper is much smaller than that of a alloy which is much bigger so spreads the load more.
I would rather take the vehicle manufacturer spec rather than the converters but everyone to there own never read any adverse affects of either 180nm and 160nm most everyman's torque wrench and many garages will not have calibrated wrenches anyway.
 
Hi some years ago I worked for a local recovery company, attending breakdowns and punctures. I was told to tighten nuts to 65 lb/ft but that was mainly on cars.
 
Call into a decent tyre fitter and ask nicely. They have a look up table for cars and vans (but not American RV in my experience).

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Re. garages with their pnuematic wheel guns, a motorhome on the campsite I'm on had a suspect wheel bearing and the called out mechanic using his spider wrench and scaffolding pipe totally sheared of the square end of the wrench trying to undo the wheel bolts!
Imagine that at the side of a motorway, any way mine are at 160nm (alloy) can't remember where I got that from probably the manual but never been a problem.
 
If you look at a steel wheel the contact surface with the bolt taper is much smaller than that of a alloy which is much bigger so spreads the load more.
I would rather take the vehicle manufacturer spec rather than the converters but everyone to there own never read any adverse affects of either 180nm and 160nm most everyman's torque wrench and many garages will not have calibrated wrenches anyway.
I was under the impression that the chamfer on the bolts for steel rims were different to alloys and should never be used on the wrong rims?
 
I was under the impression that the chamfer on the bolts for steel rims were different to alloys and should never be used on the wrong rims?
I would agree with that.

It also depends on the finished article. Fiat can supply a Ducato which is converted into a PVC. They can also supply the front end which is either standard or Maxi and at the time they onow not what the builders will attach to it. This will have a big effect on loadings etc.

My A class has 2 plates under the bonnet. The Fiat one says 5500kg gross, the Alko plate say 5000kg. I would trust the builders figures in this case.
 
I would agree with that.

It also depends on the finished article. Fiat can supply a Ducato which is converted into a PVC. They can also supply the front end which is either standard or Maxi and at the time they onow not what the builders will attach to it. This will have a big effect on loadings etc.

My A class has 2 plates under the bonnet. The Fiat one says 5500kg gross, the Alko plate say 5000kg. I would trust the builders figures in this case.
Yes but alko use fiat hubs on both single and double axles so same torque figure applies.

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I was under the impression that the chamfer on the bolts for steel rims were different to alloys and should never be used on the wrong rims?
If you have alloys or steel wheels they use the same bolt.
 
That's odd. My car has a steel spare, but no different bolts!
 
2019 Burstner Fiat heavy chassis 16” alloys 160nm dry bolts

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Pfft. You don’t need a torque wrench. Just get a high torque battery powered rattle gun and wizz them up, on the highest torque setting, for at least five seconds after it starts rattling your fillings… this must be correct as I’ve seen many tyre fitters at high street establishments doing this! 🤪
 
Hi
Pfft. You don’t need a torque wrench. Just get a high torque battery powered rattle gun and wizz them up, on the highest torque setting, for at least five seconds after it starts rattling your fillings… this must be correct as I’ve seen many tyre fitters at high street establishments doing this! 🤪
Harvey!!!

Stop spreading alarm and disaffection!!!

That's exactly the status of the wheels on the Chez Booth van right now.

Before it's next use, I'm driving it gingerly to my garage to release the nuts and tighten them back up to something like the correct torque.
 
If you have alloys or steel wheels they use the same bolt.
I don’t think they do ? Sure I saw a thread where your alloy wheel bolts are too long for your steel spare ? Think they hit the disc / hub when fitted , it’s on my list to query when the van goes in for service to Fiat dealership 😲
 
My PVC came with alloys and a steel spare the converter didn't supply different bolts to be used when needing to use the spare.
And as for using a rattle gun
1. I wouldn't be confident that the gun would loosen them again at the side of the road, because I suspect wheel bolts can become tighter as the wheels turn, just as they could become looser in some instances and the batteries in my experience are not reliable to keep enough charge in the tool when not used for awhile.
2. I believe the rattling action effectively over tightens the bolts as routinely demonstrated when owners try to loosen their wheel bolts after a garage has used such a tool, there's no way a extension scaffolding tube should be needed to loosen wheel bolts, the torque must be extremely high to have resulted in that!

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