I have always used anti-seizing grease on my lug nuts but the other day the tire installers at Costco told me to stop this practice as it causes wear on the threads. I had never heard of this before. I have heard that it can cause you to over torque the lug nut but I am also unsure if this is true. What are your opinions on this and what do you do to your lug nuts.

 

I was told this was a good idea by my dad as a kid as well, with the reasoning that the nuts are less likely to rust on. I have the wheels off all of my cars at least once a year, so for me thats not a real reason TO do it.

As far as reasons NOT to do it, I heard the same thing from a long time tire tech and Ford mechanic. Overtightening is not your friend. He also said that the nut is more likely to come completely off instead of just backing off slightly with grease on, IE torque check 200kms after having the wheel off.

I have no experience (praise jeebus) with wheels coming off. Or with destroying wheel studs by rusty lug nuts (just ones with the wrong thread ).

Really though, I don't put it on anymore cause it makes a mess, and they don't come like that from the factory.

 

Not a good idea, not supposed to do it. You should get those wheels off regularly, say each 10k miles, not sufficient time for rust to form.

 

The rims get taken off every 7,000-10,000 miles for tire rotation so I guess it is not necessary to use anti-seizing grease on the lug nuts.

 

As a heavy truck and bus mechanic,we absolutely do not use antisieze on lug nuts. Early in my career,I did,and a truck nearly lost a wheel going down the road.The Technology and Maitenance Council,that writes truck maitenance practices, also recommends to never use antisieze for this reason.I have even seen this question on an ASE test. Lug nuts should be installed dry. If you feel a lubricant is needed, a better recommendation would be a drop or two of light penetrating oil instead.