1987 Ford Bronco Lug Nuts

Lug Nuts

Lug nuts are essential hardware for any vehicle, securely fastening its wheels to the hubs. While lug nuts typically last for a vehicle's lifetime, they may incur wear and tear from harsh weather conditions, over-torquing, or damage from using an improper lug socket, requiring replacements. 

Additionally, different vehicles/wheels require alternative lug nuts. If you’ve recently acquired aftermarket wheels, you’ll likely need aftermarket tapered lug nuts to center the wheel over your vehicle’s hub to prevent vibrations and damage! Aftermarket lug nuts also come in various designs and finishes. Several enthusiasts not only change their lug nuts when necessary but also install aftermarket lugs for a pop of color!

What Lug Nuts Fit My Truck, Jeep, or SUV?

Lug nuts aren’t one-size-fits-all all. Vehicles come with several lug configurations, including thread pitch, lug count, seat style, and more! 

Thread Pitch

A lug nut’s thread pitch denotes the size of the fastener and the distance between individual threads. For metric fasteners, thread distance is measured in millimeters, whereas standard fasteners (SAE) measure thread pitch in threads per inch (TPI). For example, an M14x1.5 lug nut refers to M14 sizing with 1.5 millimeters between threads. 

Before ordering lug nuts, ensure that the thread pitch matches your vehicle’s lug studs!

Lug Count

Next, you’ll need to verify your vehicle’s lug count. Vehicles come in several lug patterns, including 4-lug, 5-lug, 6-lug, and 8-lug. Some vehicles may even feature seven or ten lugs per wheel, though these measurements are far less common. When ordering lug nuts, determine the total number found on your vehicle to ensure you’ll have enough!

Seat Style

Lug nuts come in several seat styles/shapes, including conical/tapered, radius/ball, and flat. Before ordering lug nuts, ensure the seat style matches your vehicle’s wheels. While OEM applications may use any of the aforementioned three styles, most aftermarket wheels require tapered/conical lug nuts to center the wheel over your vehicle’s hub. 

Tapered/conical lug nuts come in 60 and 45-degree configurations, though 60-degree lugs are far more common on standard passenger vehicles. 45-degree lug nuts/lug faces are rarely found on any application outside of racing/motorsports.

Lug Style

Lug nuts come in various designs, including extended, open-end, and closed-end. As long as your vehicle features OE or factory-style wheel studs, we’d recommend conventional closed-end, standard-length lug nuts. Open-ended and extended lug nuts are typically reserved for race applications utilizing extended wheel studs. Open-ended lugs are also ill-advised for daily-driven vehicles, as the open-end introduces moisture and corrosives into the lug threads, resulting in rust and seized lug nuts.

Other styles, aside from those listed above, include:

• Conical lugs (most common design)

• Ball seat lugs

• Flat Seat lugs

• Mag Seat lugs

• Tuner Style lugs

• Small Diameter Spline Drive

• Extended Thread (ET) lugs

• Lug Bolts

• OE (original equipment)

• Hex Drive

How Can I Protect My Wheels from Theft?

In recent years, wheel theft has become a major concern for most enthusiasts. Nothing’s worse than leaving your house one morning to find your truck or Jeep’s expensive wheel/tire setup missing! 

We recommend installing premium wheel locks, like the Rugged Ridge Wheel Lock Nut Set, to help prevent and deter thieves. Other lug styles, like spline-drive or spiked, utilize special sockets for removal. Most thieves skip the extra labor involved in removing these lug styles, instead moving to more susceptible targets.