Use Different Wheels In Winter And Summer?

[1990LS400]

A friend did a favor for me last week when one of his snow tires, mounted on an aftermarket replica wheel, when flat on his Mercedes E320. He quickly found that the lug bolts (some Mercs use bolts instead of nuts) for his aftermarket wheels would not hold the OEM spare wheel to the hub.

When my friend told me his story, all I could say was I have driven through the past two winters on aftermarket wheels without bothering to throw a set of OEM lug nuts into the trunk that would work with my OEM spare wheel.

I immediately bought a set of OEM lug nuts to keep with the spare tire in the trunk. I didn't need to buy them, but I didn't want to have to remember to put an OEM set in the trunk when I change over to my winter wheels.

The same issue can arise with Lexus wheels. The Lexus dealer guy told me that the various Lexus wheel designs for a particular model and year do not all use the same type of lug nut.

Of course if your summer and winter wheels use the same lug nuts (or if you are a Densa candidate like me), none of the above matters...

[steviej]

Since the first day of my summer wheels I learned this.

My summer wheels have totally different lugs than the OEM. I keep a full set of lugs for the OEM spare and the lug key in a box in a gym bag with a set of jumper cables, safety flares, a flashlight, a blanket and the first aid kit.

this is good advice best NOT learned by experience.

steviej