Locking Wheel Nut Trouble

[Dan_FR]

I have driven a car without correct spigot rings fitted actually..... The car drove absolutely fine once the alloys were lined up correctly, which is the sole job of the spigot - to correctly centre the wheel on the hub.

[r5gtt]

If the spigot was load bearing, you wouldn't be fitting these things to aftermarket alloy wheels  :

[r5gtt]

I have driven a car without correct spigot rings fitted actually..... The car drove absolutely fine once the alloys were lined up correctly, which is the sole job of the spigot - to correctly centre the wheel on the hub.

Again Dan is correct and the only reason why people use spigot rings.

[rich83]

So if i put anti seize on my hubs before I put my wheels on..... the wheels gonna fall off???

[r5gtt]

That will definitely not happen as I've used copper ease on my tt with 15mm spacers and extended bolts on the rear and 20mm spacers up front but as Dan_FR mentioned that you can over torque them and strip the threads if you're a novice.

[rich83]

You can. But then again you are not supposed to use anti seize on spark plugs but plenty of pros do.

[r5gtt]

Best left to the pro's rich83 trust me I'm not a novice yet I've over tighted wheel nuts on my own motor  it's so easy when copper slip is used as you think the bolts aren't tight and keep on torquing it down

[rich83]

IM not saying use it on wheel bolts. Im saying sometimes its used in situations where on paper you shouldnt.

[r5gtt]

IM not saying use it on wheel bolts. Im saying sometimes its used in situations where on paper you shouldnt.

I know you're saying on the mating faces lol

I'm just putting it out there so no one else does 

[flashp]

Copper slip is fine on the thread but it must not be present on the torque face which is the radius seat in this case. Not even a trace.
In fact, if the threads become corroded and need a degree of torque to overcome the binding then you will not be applying the correct torque to the bolt.

Default advice is use no grease because the average punter will have no engineering savvy or even care and nobody can be held responsible.
And if the bolts are removed much more frequently then this practice will most likely be fine.

My bolts were knackered when I bought my car and consequently so were the hubs, well they were after I spent 4 hours with a 5 foot extension bar removing my wheels. All at 35k miles. Peter Cooper never usually remove the wheels during servicing unless access is needed, a tyre change or a pad change. They even do fluid changes with the wheels on. That's main dealer servicing for you and another story