Can we talk about nuts for our answer?

So my nuts have gotten a little beat up over the years, and I think it's time to replace them...

Lug nuts, you sickos!

Looks like you can save about 1 lb per corner with aluminum ones, but how do they hold up?  Is it worth the weight?  How often do you replace them?  

Any recommended brands? I see the Mishimoto ones have a lifetime warranty.

I've been running alooominum lug nuts for years on the track Miata. No problems and the threads still feel nice and tight so I have no concerns about them.

For brands, there are a couple of Miata-specific vendors that I frequent ;)

Maybe I'm just not cut out for it but aluminum lug nuts has always seemed like one of the dumbest places to try to shave ounces from. The first thing we did on 944s was ditch the stock nuts for a $20 set of ebay steel nuts that lasted forever, whereas the stock ones ripped all their threads out if you even thought about installing them in a hurry.

Keith Tanner said:

I've been running alooominum lug nuts for years on the track Miata. No problems and the threads still feel nice and tight so I have no concerns about them.

For brands, there are a couple of Miata-specific vendors that I frequent ;)

Ah, thanks.. I didn't realize you guys had 'em handy..  I looked before I ordered the sway bar end links we talked about last week, but I didn't look in the right place :)

I'll get in touch with customer service and see if they can toss a set in the box, I don't believe the end links have shipped yet...

edit: apparently they shipped an hour ago.. Doh!

Keith Tanner said:

I've been running alooominum lug nuts for years on the track Miata. No problems and the threads still feel nice and tight so I have no concerns about them.

For brands, there are a couple of Miata-specific vendors that I frequent ;)

Did you know that the people who cannot pronounce aluminum properly can pronounce aluminium?  

Alooninum seems to be the favourite.

We have used them for years on our dirt track modified and late models. We replace them every year and keep the old ones for spares. Of course we take the wheels off after every race, not race weekend, every race. Dirt track surface conditions change a lot and four link suspensions have a lot to adjust. Just run them up snug and use a torque wrench. One kid that used to help us would hammer the crap out of them with the impact. That can screw up the mating surface. Over torquing is their worst enemy. Just like most fasteners.

I've also been using them for years without issues.   Stay away from eBay and Amazon brands, buy from one of the premium Miata vendors.  Don't use an impact... just snug them up and tighten with a torque wrench.  I also have ARP wheel studs on the car which help... cheapo hubs can have cheapo stud threading.  Replace them when they need it.

Yeah, there's already been an order placed with a certain place that starts with F and ends with lyin' Miata..  

I always torque with a wrench, not an impact already so it sounds like they'll last me forever, give or take.   I do have ARP studs as well.

Thanks guys!

The other option is to get the smallest steel nuts you can find. I had a set of open ended nuts for my FC RX7 that took a 17mm wrench that were just a few grams heavier than the typically much larger and more expensive aluminum ones. Not the place I'd go looking for weight savings.