Locking lug nuts and wheel balancing

I took the liberty of weighing my Toyota brand locking lug nuts, comparing them to the regular lug nuts. Locking weigh .2 of an ounce LESS than regular.

Question: could .2 oz be enough to throw off wheel balancing? especially considering the weight offage being so close to the axle (which would reduce its effects)?

Background: im getting vibes in the steering wheel/ front end at speeds of around 55 and higher. got tires spin balanced on Friday, and alignment done yesterday. still have the vibes.

so next steps will be: add .2 oz lead tape to each locking lug nut, test.
then if that fails, road force balance. if that fails, anyone down for a tire fire?

 

your profile says you haven't installed your lift...you said you got it aligned, does that mean that it's now installed? what are the alignment #s, lift amount, and do you have new UCAs? i have the same problem as you, but i think my wheels need rebalancing, i think i threw a weight.

 

nah, lift is still not on, i want to get this vibe problem resolved before i tackle the lift and possibly more/different vibes. one thing at a time to try and minimize the headaches.

alignment #s are spot on for caster, camber, toe. dead in the middle of MFG specs.


this seems to be a common problem from all the searching ive done- (the vibes at ~55 and up). im 99% sure its the tires out of balance, but i want to eliminate everything else before i go sit thru another balancing job.

 

hmm, i'm out of ideas then. i would think that the locking nut weight difference is not enough, considder when you had a rock stuck in your tread at higher speeds. the rock more than likely weighs more than .2 oz. and is further away from the center yet it doesn't give you vibes...just an anoying click,click,click lol. it couldn't hurt to try the lead tape idea though.

one thing you could look into is mud/dirt in the wheels. i had some mud dry nin the inside of my wheels once, and it was enough to throw off the ballance. hosed it right out and the vibe went away. couldn't hurt to check the inside of your wheels for any debris.

 

When they balance a wheel, don't they use only a cone shaped adapter to hold the wheels in the spin balance vs lug nuts?

 

Lugs are so close to the center, I doubt they would make a difference. First thing should be balance on a Hunter machine. That machine will fix your problem or tell you why they're not balancing if it's tire/wheel related.

 

well i decided not to mess with the lead tape since the weight diff is so small and so close to the center.

i went back to the source and had them balance the 2 fronts again. (thankfully i have lifetime balancing) turns out the front left was off by .75 oz, so the guy who balanced em last Friday was apparently distracted by the awesomeness of my Tacoma.

Lesson: dont leave until you see green on the balancing machine. also do not accept tire shops B.S. that "oh you have mud tires, those never balance anyways"
They DO balance, you just have to be persistent and annoying enough.

Im happy I got this shit squared away so I can start in on this lift! One thing at a time..

 

im still wondering though, why would Toyota make locking lugs that weigh different from the regular lugs. at super high speeds or high performance vehicles with light wheels, i bet that .2 of an oz would start making a noticable difference.

 

Why, because Toyota doesn't give a S#%T or they would have put on locking lugs, locking spare and a locking gas cap.

As far as your lugs, this is from Toyota's site: "Each locking lug nut matches the dimensions and weight — and functions exactly the same — as a stock lug nut. Plus Genuine Toyota wheel locks are weight-matched to the stock lug nut, eliminating the need to rebalance your wheels following installation."

Come on, it's 2011 and they do not make a locking gas cap because of some stupid sensor light???? WTF, did I just go back to 1964? I have had one on all my prior Toyotas. Why not the 2011's?? What changed in the world of technology??? And the same for tailgates. They are a hot theft item if they have a camera in the. Even the ones without. Anything metal is being stolen. And once again, Toyota does not sell the locking tailgate after the fact. Wy is removable anyway. These trucks are not exactly built to tow a 5th wheel.

I have owned 9 Toyota's. This will probably be the last. Competition has caught and passed them. The are under powered, get crap gas mileage, and who needs a 6 disc CD changer? Yet they do not have a USB plug in the radio. Toyota is OVERRATED.

 

welcome.......wow,nice first post to.

 

But yet after knowing all this before your purchase you still bought it.