Steel and Aluminum Wheel Torque Specs
Torque Specs
The average race wheel sees an awful amount of pressures and abuse in their short lifetimes and these few tips may be the difference between winning and losing.
We don’t think twice about torquing the heads or mains on our race engines but seldom do we see anyone doing the same with their wheels. Did you know that if you use an impact wrench and just hammer the nuts on, there is a good chance you will end up warping the brake rotors the next time out. It’s just like the heads on your engine, if all the bolts are not the same torque rating, you run the chance of warping them when they get hot.
The wheel manufacturers have torque specs but few people know or follow them. Torque your wheels using a star pattern rather than just tightening them up in order. Same with the beadlocks. If you just crank the bolts down, you run the risk that the tire will not be centered on the wheel correctly. Take your time and use the star pattern.
Steel wheels should have the lug nuts torqued to 85 ft. lbs. The beadlocks should be 18 ft. lbs.
Aluminum wheels should have the lug nuts torqued to 70 ft. lbs. The beadlocks should be 20-22 ft. lbs.