Moved this post from my lug nut thread for some more exposure, and its not technically 'aftermarket'. Deserves it's own thread.

Old lug nut


Ok, those of you interested in something a little less troublesome than trying to order the White Knight lug nuts, sending them out to a machine shop to shave off a bit of the shaft (not enough to even worry about structurally), DpezXK8 has fabricated a 'prototype' lug nut, constructed of single block of stainless steel. It is dimensioned off his lug nut from his 1997 xk8, and fits my 2003 perfectly also.

• This prototype is polished only on the cap
• 7/8" (22 mm) socket size (same as OEM)
• custom logo/monogram available

The details of the fabrication and pricing per set is still being discussed. We would like an idea of what you would be willing to pay for a full set of these, lets stick with a 'base' set (no customization) as a starting point. Keep in mind, dealer lug nuts are $23+ each, approximately. If they can be fabricated and sold for some amount over cost, I think we can make these available to our members.

It cost me upwards of $85 and 3.5 months to get my aftermarket lug nuts secured and fitted. It was a nightmare. These actually, are much nicer IMO.

For the pics -

 

everyone must've had a busy weekend, nobody looked at this (ok, 11 in 2 days)

 

It looks nice ,I don't think you would waste your money for trinket accessories .Do you have factory nuts to make a comparison and you should also buy valve stem caps ,they really bring a new fashion

 

Hey Matt,
They look very nice. I don't know of a reason to change mine, as I have not had any trouble out of them that I know of. Good luck with that door............
Brian

 

Are the new lugs designed to be used with the washer? The one piece construction and stainless is the way to go. I'm not sure about what I would pay...somewhere shy of $80 or $100 with logo. BTW..I got a nice set of Jaguar valve stem caps from Coventry that match the center cap for $20 including shipping.

 

Although I don't need them, I am always looking for upgrades, and enhancements for my cars. I would be o.k. with $100.00 (plus shipping) for a set of stainless steel, with our without a logo. They have a beefier look than the stock lugs.

 

These are very nice, but on a side note, the washer is very important. The much harder SS lug nut is going to gall and deform the much softer aluminum when the nuts are torqued. The purpose of the washer is to make solid contact with the aluminum landing without turning on it. Without a washer, eventually the lug-centric clearances on the wheels will deform enough that the wheel will be difficult to get on/off.

I would use these, but only with a washer, even if it is a thin hardened shim so long as it makes contact with the wheel and does not turn when torqueing.

 

That is a lot of work. They are very nice looking and I agree that $100 to $110 would be enough to entice me though mine don't see salt so they're in great shape.

The need for a washer makes sense but I also wonder about the fact that SS is about 2/3rds strength of normal steel. Are the threads going to stand up to full torque with a 30% margin.

 

Of course a washer would be included, we just haven't sourced a proper unit yet.

Hey Caddie, I didn't do a side by side of this particular fabricated one and the OEM, though I did add a pic of the OEM I took earlier to the OP.

Thanks for the input guys, if you have any more, or other suggestions, just add to the thread. The SS unit is costly to produce, especially the material itself.

 

I'd pay $100. for a set.

 

Found this. It might be helpful for price point.


http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/20-NE...ts_Accessories

 

I saw those steve when I was looking for my replacements, and if they would have had the correct thread, I would have purchased in a heartbeat.

Still looking at production pricing, but I would venture a guess they will be very close to these you just linked.

 

I checked out the EBay site and it listed those lug nuts for MY 2000 - 2009. Are the lug nuts different on the MY 1997 - 1999?

 

It is a little deceiving, those lugs are threaded 12mmx1.5; ours (1997-2006) is just 1/2" right hand. That'll get you every time, so be careful.

 

Ok, here's the skinny. I must preface this by saying I am not making any money from any efforts put into coordinating, testing, promoting, or otherwise determining the price on this product. I only did this in an effort to preempt any issues with our lug nuts that the s-type guys have seen on their 'two-piece, capped' nuts. I wanted to make sure there were options (at least a couple) where we wouldn't have to be forced to pay the dealer price of $23 per lug (which I did, w/o any choice by me, when apparently it was damaged during my wheel bearing replacement at the local indy mechanic shop)

So, these are our choices, so far.

(1) With any luck, find the White Knight lug nuts (see here), and you can get them in a timely fashion (took me 3 months remember) and then find a shop to shave a couple millimeters off of the shaft. I spent, in total, $100 and 4 months of time after it was all said and done, but I also did not compensate DpezXK8 for his time to do the work...we bartered. I would estimate another $25 on top of that per set. Plus, I had to buy another $15 lug wrench to keep in the boot.

(2) these custom Stainless Steel lug nuts. Material costs alone are $8 per unit, before they even get cut or polished. The price per lug comes to $12 a lug, or $240 a set (w/o any option or monogram), + $10 for shipping. Not bad considering the alternatives out there. A full set probably would only take a day to fabricate, so if time is an issue, this is definitely an option to consider.

Contact DpezXK8 if you wish to arrange an order. For other technical questions, simply reply to this thread.

 

I have the longer lug nuts that fir the Perseus wheel, can you make that style as well??? Thank you in advance

 

As a purchaser, I agree with the $100.- threshold....

As a machinist, these look handmade, rather than CNC'd, which is quite laborious, for one thing, stainless smears rather than cuts,
Blind internal threads in stainless are very costly to produce, at least in non-CNC mode.

Also...the OEM nuts have three stake points to retain the washer when Bozo's lil brother at Bubba's Tire Shop guns them off....
Without being staked on, there's an excellent chance the car will be returned to the owner sans (some/all) washers.

 

Hey Guys, here are some picts of the lugs. The first one I made for H20 was mostly by hand. I originally wasn't looking at making lugs because I new it would be expensive. I'm a US manufacturer and can't compete with China. I explained to Matt that they can make nuts for less than my material costs. But even with the expense of being made in the USA it just goes to show how much Jag gouges us for these things. If anyone is interested I would be happy to make them and yes they would included washers that are retained on the nut. I'll have to make the washer too as I haven't been able to locate an off the shelf one that would work. I'm not making any profit on these, just covering my costs. If you would like a different design, I'm sure I can do that too.

The hex is 7/8" with the 1/2-20 Right hand thread. Any others you buy will be 13/16" and won't work with your wrench in the trunk, so if you go that route make sure you buy a wrench.

Sorry about the slighly blurry picts on the lug picts but I was using my camera phone and it just didn't like it. The Lugs are all polished, not just on top. The first one I made had to many tooling marks to clean up.

 

Are these still being made?

 

I'm looking for 2001 XJR . Mine are 1/2" 20 Are these the same? I imagine the could be sent out to be stripped, chromed and show polished, all sides? you think?

Thanks!!