Aluminum vs Steel Lug Nuts Pros & Cons?

echoparkpanda

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Generally looking at the availability of lug nuts, there's an abundance of aluminum lug nuts but me being a bit paranoid about how "soft" aluminum can be, are always looking for steel lugs, but I'm open to hear why people will choose one over the other. Are the weight savings that significant to use aluminum and how does durability and quality hold up comparing lugs made from the two materials?
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swah_fk7

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Generally looking at the availability of lug nuts, there's an abundance of aluminum lug nuts but me being a bit paranoid about how "soft" aluminum can be, are always looking for steel lugs, but I'm open to hear why people will choose one over the other. Are the weight savings that significant to use aluminum and how does durability and quality hold up comparing lugs made from the two materials?
Steel seems to be the go-to for all of my older brother's race cars. Aluminum tends to be soft and strip almost always unless hand tightened.
 

BarracksSi

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Aluminum pros:
- Light weight
- Anodized colors
- Brand name
Aluminum cons:
- Soft
- Colors might fade
- Brand name markup
- Can dielectric-ally corrode onto steel lug studs
- Lower torque specs

Steel pros:
- Durable
- Brand name (sometimes)
- Won't suffer dielectric corrosion
- Higher torque specs
Steel cons:
- Limited colors (basically just chrome or black)
- Heavier
- Brand name markup (sometimes)

Durability wins for me every single time when it comes to lug nuts. This is not the right place to save weight on a car. If you always take your wheels on and off yourself, you can ensure that they're torqued to spec. But as soon as your car goes into a service bay at a shop, you'll never know what the wrench jockey will do to it.
 


 


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