Check bolt length when swapping from steel to alloy wheels.

When swapping from steel to alloy wheels, the most important thing to check is the length of the bolts. An alloy wheel is thicker and will need longer bolts, otherwise the bolts will not be secure in the hub. Use the longer bolts with a steel wheel and they may either "bottom" in the hub and not clamp the wheel tight against the hub or poke right through and interfere with the brakes. If you buy a set of alloys from a specialist, they will select or cut to length the bolts for the wheel/hub configuration.

Asked on 24 March 2012 by DG, St Albans

Answered by Honest John

I know. I've been warning about this. Also the shoulders of the bolts for the alloys can be different. Then I bought a separate set for the steels on my Fiat and when I came to fit them, I found they were exactly the same. It's not consistent. But Mercedes-Benz owners have to be particularly careful when fitting space savers or steels, because they do require different, shorter bolts.

Tags: alloy wheels wheels and tyres

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