You might have noticed that larger vehicles have more lug
nuts than smaller ones. Take a look at a large 18-wheeler truck and compare its
wheels to those of a normal sedan. Where the latter has about five small lug
nuts, the former has six or more. Lug nuts are used to hold your wheel on your
vehicle securely and safely. However, does the number of lug nuts you have on
each wheel truly matter? Can you drive your car with only four of the five nuts
if one breaks off? The answers to these and more are below.
Understand Why Lug
Nuts Exist
Lug nuts aren’t just there for fun. These little parts of
your car are among the most important. Without lug nuts to hold them in place,
your wheels would just slide off the moment you started moving. These nuts come
under extreme amounts of stress because of their position and purpose. Because
heavier vehicles place heavy loads on their lug nuts and studs, they need more
of them on their wheels.
A Missing Lug Nut
Causes Wear
Car manufacturers design lug nuts to handle a very specific
load. This load is designed to be distributed evenly across each lug nut in the
wheels, without any changes. If you drive without one or some of the nuts in
your wheels, you’re forcing that load to be distributed across the remaining
nuts. This forces them to work much harder than they were ever meant to. Over
time, the remaining nuts and studs start to show signs of wear and tear. You
can drive for a few days without one lug nut, but you should inspect your axles
and studs when you replace the missing lug nuts.
Your Wheel Hubs Need
All the Lug Nuts
When lug nuts are missing on one of your wheels, the wheel
hub starts to feel the imbalance in pressure. The instability of the wheel hub
results in more pressure being applied to the bearings of the wheel with the
missing lug nut. This causes the bearings to wear down faster over time. If you
haven’t done so already, know that the repair of your wheel bearings can be a
pretty expensive task. Driving with less than the adequate number of lug nuts
for your car can be very costly indeed.
Vehicles Need Lug Nuts
for Stability
Among the many dangers of driving without all your lug nuts
is the tendency of your car to start wobbling like a roller coaster ride. The
pressure on your wheels is meant to be evenly distributed across all four
wheels and their lug nuts. With one missing, your pressure doesn’t get
distributed evenly, especially when you’re turning, braking, and acceleration.
In time, the added pressure and vibrations can cause your other nuts to shake
themselves loose. In some instances, your lug studs could snap off due to the
pressure. The bolt holes on your wheels could elongate too. When any of this
happens, your wheel could fall off, resulting in a crash.
Are you currently missing one of your lug nuts? There is no
excuse for driving without one. You need to replace any missing lug nuts as
soon as you can. While you’re waiting for one, drive extremely cautiously. Keep
your speed low, accelerate and brake slowly, and take corners less
aggressively. Any missing lug nuts can result in instability, broken studs,
worn bearings, and worn lug nuts. If you don’t know how many lug nuts you have,
check on them now and remember to check regularly for missing nuts if you don’t
have an indicator.
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