stainless steel lug bolts

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stainless steel lug bolts

Postby BUCK BITTING on Sun Aug 08, 2010 11:35 am

I have been unhappy with the look of my lug bolts latley, so I have been looking for a solution. I did find two companies that sell through E Bay offering stainless steel bolts. Has anyone tried using stainless, any issues? I was concerned with any reactions between the aluminum wheel and the Stainless? Also does anyone know the difference between SUS304 stainless and T304 stainless?
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby LUCKY DAVE on Sun Aug 08, 2010 7:27 pm

Don't even think about trying to use stainless steel lug bolts.
Stainless is the wrong material for the application in so many ways it makes my head spin, but here are a few:
Austenitic Stainless Steels (type 304, 304L, 347, 308, 309, 316, 316L, etc) all have roughly 70,000 psi tensile strength, the threads will gall easily, and these alloys make a fine battery when placed next to aluminum in an electrolyte (mild dampness is enough) rapidly corroding the aluminum.
The standard grade 5 steel lug bolts have tensile strength in the neighborhood of 250,000 psi, the alloy is much closer to aluminum on the galvanic scale, and the threads are gall resistant.
There are a number of other reasons not to use stainless steels in this service (stress corrosion and crevice crack corrosion for example) but you get the idea.
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby rshon on Sun Aug 08, 2010 8:19 pm

You know, I was just telling someone the other day that looking too closely at a car is a lot like looking too closely at a woman (or a man, if that's your thing). If you look close enough, you're bound to find some flaw that you don't like. :shock: It's more practical to be in love with the CONCEPT of the car, or the woman (or the man), as opposed to the details which will always degrade with time (we're still taking about cars, right?).

I recommend cleaning the factory bolts well and applying your favorite shade of metallic silver paint. Make sure they have dried a day before putting them back on and torquing them carefully. The only trick is producing enough kids to hold the wheels on the car while the bolts are off for painting.:lol:

p.s. Dave's right about the significant differences in yield strengths.
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby BUCK BITTING on Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:36 pm

Thanks for the reply, it just verifies what I had thought and read. It looks like painting will be the option, just need to find someone with enough kids strong enough to hold the car up for the day while the bolts dry. :D
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby lbevins on Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:04 pm

BUCK BITTING wrote:Thanks for the reply, it just verifies what I had thought and read. It looks like painting will be the option, just need to find someone with enough kids strong enough to hold the car up for the day while the bolts dry. :D


If you're into the aesthetic details... And what Porsche guy isn't?... Several of the "rattle can" brands (like Krylon) carry a color called "aluminum". I've used it many times on things like 914 brain boxes and other misc hardware. It looks awesome.

:beerchug:
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby kleggo on Tue Sep 28, 2010 8:56 am

BUCK BITTING wrote:I have been unhappy with the look of my lug bolts latley, so I have been looking for a solution. I did find two companies that sell through E Bay offering stainless steel bolts. Has anyone tried using stainless, any issues? I was concerned with any reactions between the aluminum wheel and the Stainless? Also does anyone know the difference between SUS304 stainless and T304 stainless?



call Darin or Mark, here

http://www.fdmotorsports.net/index.htm

they sell both Polished and Brushed Aluminum lug nuts.
They might also sell bolts.

good luck

Craig
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Re: stainless steel lug bolts

Postby BUCK BITTING on Tue Sep 28, 2010 4:40 pm

Thanks Craig, decided to go with the paint and not chance a problem with the stainless
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