Do locking nuts screw up the wheel balance?

[chimchim]

I sold my stock steelies on my 97 EX but kept the lugs
I bought OEM 99 Si alloys and used my lugs to put on the rim. (The rubber ring that used to hold the rim cover is not being used)

I want to get locking lug nuts, but now I'm thinking that I'll need to get a matched set or else the balance will get screwed up. True?

 

[lj17]

matched set? do you mean oem lugs for a 99-00 si? i would think that you would be able to use locking lugs on the oem alloys, it seems like you can use them on just about every aftermarket alloy, and the rims should be just about the same in construction at the area around the lugs...

 

[handofgod]

I don't think Wheel locks will throw off the balancing of your wheels. Even if they were a dramatically different weight than the lugs, they're mounted to your car, not your wheel. Plus they're close to the center of the wheel.. a weight difference at the outer edge would be much more likely to unbalance your wheel.

 

[lj17]

well put. i think you would be fine using them.

 

[solostsracer]

You cannot use stock lugs on aftermarket wheels. Our wheels use an acorn style end whereas most aftermarket wheels use a conical type end.

And as someone said it will not throw off the weight much. It's so close to the center of the hub it wouldn't make a huge difference. Now if those lugs were on the outer most part of your tire then you would be seen thumping problems (besides driving problems And it would prolly look funny but you get my point

 

[chimchim]

Conical type? I thought there was just:
- mag lug (the cylinder type)
- acorn (our OEM type)

Is conical a third type?

I know OEMs are 12mm x 1.5 round acorn. Is there such thing as a 12mm x1.5 conical acorn?

As for "match set", I meant a full set of 16 lugs with 4 of them have locks. Since they are from the same set and manufacturer, the locking lugs are weight matched to the regulars.

 

[yomuppet]

From what I can tell looking at the various boxes of lugs on my floor, the OEM civic lugs are "bulge", and the conical ones of which you speak are "acorn". I could be mistaken. That's how my Gorillas and Mutekis are labelled (they're cone-set lugs, and are labled "acorn").

 

[solostsracer]

OEM lugs are ball/acorn type since the seat of the lug looks like a ball or acorn. The conical looks like a cone or tapered shape.