Lug nuts keep coming loose - replacement recommendations? (Volvo content)

My Volvo V50 has developed an annoying tendency to loosen its lug nuts. When I got the car, it had the infamous two-piece nuts that swell. After wrestling those off, I bought a cheap set on Amazon and moved on. They thread on fine and look correct, but after the third episode of this happening, I checked one randomly and they don't seem to be making very good contact at the taper (these are the factory alloys, so no question of compatibility with an aftermarket wheel). And yes, they are always torqued to 90ft-lbs. with the same torque wrench I use on my other cars that do not have this problem.

I checked FCP Euro, but they only have what seem to be two-piece replacements or these, which are open at the end and not ideal for a four-season car in the Northeast. Anyone got a good source for non-crappy one-piece M12x1.5 closed-end lugnuts that will actually fit properly and stop my wheels coming loose? 19mm hex preferred to retain compatibility with the factory lug wrench, but not mandatory.

Did you happen to get ball seat lug nuts from Amazon instead of conical seat?

In reply to iansane :

Nope, they're conical seat. My suspicion is that the combination of indifferent casting and heavy chrome plating is putting things just out of whack enough to cause a problem.

M12x1.5 is super common. I would look into a name brand like Gorilla. They have 19mm od nuts. Hell, even Vatozone has them in the shelf.

I don't trust Amazon, especially for load bearing items like lugnuts.

Appleseed said:

M12x1.5 is super common. I would look into a name brand like Gorilla. They have 19mm od nuts. Hell, even Vatozone has them in the shelf.

I don't trust Amazon, especially for load bearing items like lugnuts.

I second this. Gorilla is good stuff.

I've had good luck with Gorilla and White Knight brands.

V50s have a larger hole in the wheel than is common.

You need the proper nuts, not generic tapers.

Streetwiseguy said:

V50s have a larger hole in the wheel than is common.

You need the proper nuts, not generic tapers.

Well that explains a lot (and raises the obvious question of why?). I never looked that closely at the taper on the old ones; I was more focused on the stupid chrome covers that had bulged out and made them hard to remove. I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and order some from FCP Euro.

Streetwiseguy said:

V50s have a larger hole in the wheel than is common.

You need the proper nuts, not generic tapers.

That's usually taken care of with the bulge seat. How big are the holes?

In reply to iansane :

I'm going to check and will report back.

These are the ones I ordered (the Febi and Volvo versions look more or less the same).

Holes are 21mm, with 25mm at the wide end of the taper. Current lug nuts are 22mm at the widest point, so definitely not correct. No idea what the advantage of using a non-standard setup is, but I'm sure Volvo had their reasons.

In reply to 02Pilot :

That's a big hole! Wonder if that wheel also went on cars with m14 lug studs. That's definitely not a lot of overlap.

Good solve, GRM people!

Torque should be 103 ft-lb if you have bolts.  I assume the V50 has bolts, they weren't very common around here.

The stock lug bolts are weird but they are kind of nice in that the friction at the head happens between the hardened bolt head and the hardened taper piece.  It's a known quantity vs. the taper of the wheel.  It's a very over toilet trained engineer solution to a Problem.

Any time I have had lug nuts coming loose, it was down to two factors: Not tightening the lugs in more than one step (snug all five, going around the pattern until they are all equally snug, then torque to spec, is fine) and the other is corrosion buildup on the hub face of the wheel.  That can fret off and then you have loose lugs.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Nuts, not bolts. And I always go around twice, snug, then torque. Just did brakes on all four corners, and the wheels are clean, so it's not the hub either. It's got to be the incorrect nuts. Or voodoo. Never rule out voodoo.

In reply to 02Pilot :

Volvo and Voodoo share a large number of letters so this is a given.

From today's New York Times Spelling Bee:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

In reply to 02Pilot :

Volvo and Voodoo share a large number of letters so this is a given.

How did I not see this earlier?! Also, the chicken bones I found under the front seat have suddenly taken on new meaning.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I know all sorts of trivial Volvo facts.  

Occasionally, like in this case, it's useful.  Mostly, those facts just take up the room in my brain that could have been used to remember peoples names.

The trivia I sure don't know, is why they decided to punch great big holes in their 40/50 wheels.  Some sort of tribute to Odin?

I had this happen on my MINI (bolts, not nuts tho) it was only happening on one wheel tho. I had just rotated the tires and somehow had put one on with the rotation reversed. Swapped it around to the right spot and it cured the problem.....

Just to close this out, I got the new correct lug nuts from FCP Euro. Side by side, the difference is quite obvious. The correct ones have a floating collar that the originals (the chrome-capped Ford ones that rust inside and bulge so you can't get a socket on them) did not.