Front wheel stud length and thread engagement

[GTTom]

Great point about the lug nuts. I did buy a package tires/wheels/lug nuts/TPMS, all at the same time so I assume the lug nuts are correct for the wheels. You never know though - the store is one of a chain I normally avoid but they sell Nokian tires which are the best snow and ice tire I've ever run.
Link to the wheels I purchased. I cannot find any specs on the lug nut type so there's another reason to pull a wheel off and take a look.

Links

Wheels

Nokian Tires

Yeah the more I look the photo of the tuner nut (assuming that's the one on the right) the taper length is too short. The Ford Bronco wheel lug nut typically has a taper length of around 1.25 inches (32mm). The tuner nut is too short and the shoulder is bottoming out against the wheel surface before it gets to the bottom of the lug nut threads. This all assumes the correct lug nut for the aftermarket wheel is the stock Ford lug nut. Also as mentioned, the link to the wheel you purchased says the hub bore is 108mm. The stock Ford hub bore is 93.1 so hopefully the dealer included hub ring adapter shims since ford wheels are hub centric where the hub helps support a share of the load. Most OEM manufacturers have hub-centric wheels, meaning the hub bore is nearly identical to the wheel bore, so that the hub shares a portion of the load. By not having hub centric wheels, the wheel studs are now forced to take all of the load. Also, if you aren't really careful, bolting the wheels on can cause a vibration as the wheel isn't centered on the hub based on the bore, but rather the studs.

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[FortMacGuy]

Yep, I got hub adapters for the wheels (108 mm : 93.1 mm), snug fit to the Bronco.
Next step will be in the garage, pulling a wheel to take a closer look. Funny thing is I'd never have known if the lug nuts didn't have open ends...

These are the exact lug nuts with 60 degree shoulder:

 

[Johnkn]

The wheels seem odd. I only see a single dealer who sells them, Kaltire..... I see zero info on the correct lug nuts for them....

Good luck

.

 

[GTTom]

Yep, I got hub adapters for the wheels (108 mm : 93.1 mm), snug fit to the Bronco.
Next step will be in the garage, pulling a wheel to take a closer look. Funny thing is I'd never have known if the lug nuts didn't have open ends...

These are the exact lug nuts with 60 degree shoulder:

Yep those are 21mm in height and the stock Bronco lug nut is 32mm. The aftermarket lug nuts are about .4 inches shorter though I don't know if that's from the bottom of the taper to the shoulder or the overall height of the lug nut. Why not just use the factory Bronco lug nuts. Assuming the aftermarket wheels use the same 60 degree taper you should be good to go.

 

[FortMacGuy]

The wheels seem odd. I only see a single dealer who sells them, Kaltire..... I see zero info on the correct lug nuts for them....

Good luck

.

Yes the wheels seem to be a house brand. Thanks for all the ideas and observations. It's got to be a simple answer, just need to look and measure hopefully.
I will be kicking myself for not buying somebody's take-offs on FB Marketplace. We bought the Bronco just before winter and I panic bought the winter tire package due to the weather changing. Ford OEM steelies would also have been so simple...

 

[Johnkn]

^^ You’ll drive through this.. Nothing is easy, LOL

Good luck, let us know what happens


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[Kevin Scarbel]

I finally got my winter tires sorted out - good thing because winter just hit with a vengeance. It's -15 Celsius (5 F), scheduled to dip down to -20 Celsius tonight.
I got aftermarket wheels that fit fine, but the front wheel studs do not reach to the end of the tuner style lug nut. I measure about 3/4" of thread engagement. Rear wheel studs cover all the exposed threads on the tuner style lug nut. The wheel is tight to the vehicle and I can't find any major differences with OEM lug nut and tuner lug nut as far as internal thread length.

Does anyone see any issues with the front lug nuts? I think it's fine but it looks different...

You're not serious, are you?

 

[Tricky Mike]

Yes the wheels seem to be a house brand. Thanks for all the ideas and observations. It's got to be a simple answer, just need to look and measure hopefully.
I will be kicking myself for not buying somebody's take-offs on FB Marketplace. We bought the Bronco just before winter and I panic bought the winter tire package due to the weather changing. Ford OEM steelies would also have been so simple...

Don't stress until you count the threads. More than likely everything is fine. These days you have to go out of your way to get anything that's not 60 degree seats.

Those wheels probably just have a thicker than usual hub, and there's a great chance they're drilled for up to 14mm studs, leaving enough room for an ET style lugnut if you need more peace of mind.

 

[FortMacGuy]

You're not serious, are you?

Actually, this time I don't know what I don't know so I'm going to ask the dumb questions. The last thing I want to do is have a wheel fall off driving down the road because I thought all was good.
Call me whatever but I value having 4 wheels on the vehicle, and it looks odd to have exposed threads on the lug nut.

 

[Montana Bronco]

You did the correct thing buying those Nokian tyres. Absolute best in the snow and ice, no other brand comes close.

 

[orion]

You did the correct thing buying those Nokian tyres. Absolute best in the snow and ice, no other brand comes close.

I could say the same about the Bridgestone Blizzaks...

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

For what it's worth the front studs are about a 1/8" shorter than the rear. And most acorn style lug nuts do not have threads going all the way the the end.

 

[Tricky Mike]

And most acorn style lug nuts do not have threads going all the way the the end.

Yeah there are probably millions of cars on the road right now with less engagement than this, you just can't see it because the lugs are closed.

 

[FortMacGuy]

After bringing the Bronco into the garage and measuring, all is good in the world.
Some findings:
Factory wheel stud is 1" (30 mm)
I measured the OEM wheel with a micrometer...
OEM wheels are .425" from face of hub to bottom of lug nut, basically to the first thread on the lug nut.
OEM lug nut has .500" of thread for an overall length of .925" from the face of the hug to the last thread on the lug nut.
Aftermarket wheels are .435" from face of hub to bottom of lug nut, same as OEM.
Aftermarket tuner lug nuts are .675" long for a total length of 1.100".
The wheel stud is only 1" so I have about .100" of lug nut thread showing, but the factory lug nut is fully threaded on the wheel stud.
As far as thread engagement, 8.5 turns is what I counted, and M12 x 1.5 should have 8.46 threads in .500".
Long story short, it looks odd but the amount of thread engagement is the same. Glad I checked and now my wife can go get groceries!

 

[GI_Jo_Nathan]

That's good.
Although I'm not sure how much of a fan I would be of open lug nuts in the winter. Could be better for all I know, it just seems like it would be introducing room for a problem to me.

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