Pete7874

Not sure who torqued the lugs in this car last time - probably a dealer when they were putting on new tires when they certified it, but they were way overtorqued. I took the factory wrench from the trunk and stood and jumped on it with my entire body weight (granted, I only weigh about 150 lbs), and they wouldn't budge. If I had to change a tire on the side of the road using the factory supplied wrench, I wouldn't have been able to. WTF??

Luckily, I was at home and had a longer wrench that allowed me to apply more force, so I was able to get them off.

OK, end of rant.

Now, does anyone know the proper torque for lugbolts on this car? I used 90 lb-ft since that's what my other german cars called for, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't off by too much...

Thanks.

Carsy

I think you are in the ball park . The W 203 wheel nuts torque is 81 lb/ft.I cannot find the 204 figures.

I have found that over the years if no lubricant is applied to the lug threads they wear & can strip. I always apply a little grease to the thead & lug/wheel face .

I then back off a little on the torque as the torque setting is designed to be dry.

I have my wife driving this car in the country areas & it makes it easier for her to change out a puncture.

Make sure you wash your threads when changing wheels as they accumulate dust with this grease.

Illusive

I called the dealership about this when I was swapping wheels and was advised to torque up to 80lb/ft. Torqued them up to spec and this year when I went to swap wheels, they were really, really tough to get off. Took two people to loosen them off. I did this not too long after I got home from work, so heat might have been an issue, but I was surprised at how tight it was. I might end up carrying a breaker bar with me just in case!

Ron Jr

I always have a breaker bar with a set of 1/2 inch deepwell impact sockets in my trunk.

Pete7874

OK, I just found it in the manual. It says:

96 lb-ft (130 Nm)

Azn_C300

^
This. I have a click torque wrench and set mine to 96 lb-ft.

Derspeed

Third on the 96 lb-ft.

bigigg

i set mine at 90 lbs

jctevere

Is anyone else on the stock lug nuts experiencing very bad wear? After this recent winter the salt corrosion has been terrible. They are all white and faded and disgusting looking... Also, my front and rear license plate brackets have experienced corrosion from salt I guess as well? Anything to help make these chrome or shiny metal look like new again?

Azn_C300

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