andy_meng1024

The weather is getting better and better here so I decided to change out my OEM rims for the 547R I bought. When I test drove the car in the garage I heard some kind of clicking noise from both the front wheels during acceleration and braking. If I accelerate really slow then there's no noise. I tried to check the tire pressure but it's really hard to get a correct pressure without leaking air. I'm thinking the rivets might be loose but can't find a thin wall 9mm socket to work on it, either. Any opinion is appreciated. Thanks.

Benz-O-Rama

Are you using your ball-seat OEM lugbolts or the correct taper-seat lugbolts?

andy_meng1024

I'm using the ones from my OEM rims. Where can I find the taper-seat lugbolts? Only the front wheels are making the clicking sound and I made sure they're at 100ft/lb torque a couple times.

charles pearson

I had a similar issue before, turned out that my lug bolts were too long. Had to order a shorter set of lug bolts to fit my wheel.

andy_meng1024

What length did you go with? I think the OEM ones are 14mm x 1.5inch. Is it okay to drive like this for a day or two (city driving only)?

charles pearson

Bro to be honest, I cannot remember the length size, however you should contact the wheel manufacturer and request shorter ones, you need to ensure a correct seat fitting for your wheel as well or they will loosen up on you as you drive, that happened to me also. There must be a wheel shop in your area that specializes in wheels that could have a set readily available for you. As far as you driving, you will be OK for a minute, but that noise would agitate the hell out of me.

Another option is to do what I did. On my SL I reversed the set up, now I have studs threaded into the hub, instead of lug studs I have nuts. Ever since my wheel lugs came loose while driving 80 plus on the interstate in GA, I got paranoid about that.

andy_meng1024

Thanks for the advice. I'll see if I can find a set shorter lug bolts local. Since the OEM is 14mm x 1.5inch, I'm thinking 14mm x 1.25inch should work fine. I was shocked and thought my car was going to fall apart when I first stepped on it today. How did you convert to use lug nuts? Does any wheel shop have the ability to do it? I like how the lug nuts worked better on my 350z than the lug bolts I have now, too.

charles pearson

Any reputable shop should be able to do the job, it only cost me a $100 to get it done. All that it entails is having studs threaded into the already existing holes of the hub were your studs screw into. When you put after market wheels on your car, you cannot go with the OEM studs Bro, it has to be a stud for that wheel. Occasionally you can interchange studs from wheel to wheel, but it would be ill advised. The best thing to do is have a set sent with the wheels when you purchase new wheels, that way you know they fit that particular wheel. Also find out your offset before ordering new studs, I believe that makes a difference as well, especially if you have a low offset like 20mm or so. Google your custom wheel shops. If you prefer, PM me with the specifics and I can get you squared away here with custom wheel shop. Better yet here's the link: http://www.customwheelsboutique.com/

andy_meng1024

PM sent. Thanks a lot for the help.

okbarnett

you have to know the right ball or cone seat bolts. you have to measure the stud lengths and find out what you need with those wheels.
You probibly have a combination of both problems. I would say to go to a wheel dealer and let them figure it out.

andy_meng1024

I found that HRE normally uses cone seat bolts and the length on my OEM bolts are probably too long, too. I just ordered some Gorilla 17018 with one day shipping from Amazon so hopefully they'll get here on Wednesday. Thanks to everyone posted, you guys are always a good help.

charles pearson

I have good news for you, I spoke to my guy here at the custom shop and he has the proper studs for you in stock. All you need to do is call him and tell him what type of wheel you have and your problems will be solved. PM sent to you with contact info if you would rather speak to me first.

HRE WHEELS

Hello Guys,

The offered solutions sound like good possibilities. If you could, please give me a ring to let me know if these worked and to let me know exactly what you found.

MY information is listed below with my direct line.

andy_meng1024

Glad to know HRE has someone on our site to help. I have a question for you. When I tried to put air in my tires today, the hole seems too short to get the air in. Is there an easy way to do this? Thanks.

andy_meng1024

I ordered some Gorilla last night. If those still don't fix the problem I will give him a call. Thanks a lot for the help.

charles pearson

Good deal!! Let me know how it turns out.

quaalude

You need to get a valve stem extender, which can be purchased at Autozone for $4 for a set of 4. All you need is one though as you just screw it on and fill the tire and remove. The HRE valve stem is too close to the face and won't let you put the air nozzle on. HRE usually includes them with the rims unless you got them from someone.

Also, you are correct in that your lugs are too long and you need conical lugs. Stick your stock bolts into your stock wheels and measure the threads that sticks pass the face. Then measure your HRE wheel hole thickness from the seat of the cone to the face. Add the two together and then you got your thread length.

andy_meng1024

Sure man! Thanks.

Nice. Looks like I'll be heading to Autozone the first thing in the morning then. Got any picture of the prelude?

andy_meng1024

Got the Gorilla lug bolts today and just installed them to 100 ft/lb torque. I measured the length of the bolts and both the Gorilla and OEM have exactly the same length. It fixed most of the noise and shaking (cone shape instead of ball seat); however, when I brake hard I can still hear a tiny bit of clicking coming from the front wheels. Anyone has any idea? Gorilla 17018 are used by a lot of people with HRE wheels and were the shortest I could find. I'm thinking maybe it's caused by the rivets not tightened enough but I can't find 9mm socket with thin enough wall to tighten them.

HRE WHEELS

It sounds like you just simply need one of our valve stem extensions. It'll give you about an extra 3/4". Give me a ring and I will send you one at $0.

andy_meng1024

I sent you a PM. This is the customer service people love. Thanks a lot.

andy_meng1024

After I changed the bolts I could still hear some clicking so I bought a 12pt 8mm socket just to make sure all the rivets are secured. On one of the front wheel about 1/3 of the rivets were less than 10 ft/lb torque. I tightened all rivets on all four wheels to 25ft/lb torque which is recommended from HRE and now I have absolutely no clicking sound at all.

Havoc

Great responce Guy!

That is awesome customer service. I now know who to call when I have wheels issues.

Glad to hear you fix the problem.

HRE WHEELS

So I just got back from the Texas Mile. Is everything good now? BTW, 249.7 mph on HRE's at the Mile