[italia366]

Hello!

Just got done with my first track day in the Camaro, and I absolutely love it. This is my 5th event total, but first with this car, and it is crazy how capable it is. Very, very happy with it!

No problems or issues thankfully, but I am encountering something I've not on my previous cars: my lugs need to be tightened before every session. I am on a OEM setup (minus Castrol SRF fluid), and am torquing the lugs to 140 lb ft with a 150 lb ft 1/2" inch drive torque wrench when the car is cooled down, so aka, right before a session. Surprisingly, several lugs around the car need to be tightened every single time, but especially my front left tire. My previous cars maybe has 1 or 2 that needed to be tightened over the course of a day , but never this many this frequently

Basically my question is - is this normal for the Camaro, and something you guys experience as well? Or, do I need to get a bigger torque wrench for better accuracy? I know torque wrenches typically aren't accurate at the low end of their range, but I wasn't sure if that also applied to the top end. Or is something else going on?

Thanks! Looking forward to day 2 tomorrow

[DaveC113]

I had that issue with some aftermarket lugs, haven't tried the oem lugs on track.

I installed longer MSI studs up front and got a set of MSI lug nuts, they've been great. Super high quality, well worth it for a track car.

[italia366]

Figured out it was an issue with my wrench, thankfully the car is fine!

[nasbagoat]

Do not toque a hot car if you can avoid it. Once everything is heated up and you retorque, you are stretching the stud out and weakening/reducing its ability to return to size when you remove the nuts.

[cdrptrks]

Not normal. I usually check torque before the first session (sometimes at home) with my 1/2" drive Harbor Freight torque wrench and often not again until after the event and I've have never had a single lug nut loosen significantly by itself.

I believe using aftermarket lug nuts with a smaller conical seating surface area than the stock lug nuts while using stock wheels could cause loosening while driving.

[arpad_m]

Originally Posted by italia366

Figured out it was an issue with my wrench, thankfully the car is fine!

That's very good to hear I never had any issue, but then I don't track the car, so that may not be relevant.

However, I do use and recommend a bigger torque wrench on these lug nuts. Mine has a 25 to 250 lb-ft range, because I don't think these wrenches are accurate enough at either end of their load range (heck, they may be off by a couple percent even in the middle). In addition, a larger wrench requires less effort to reach the desired torque, so human errors such as overtorqueing or tightening when the wrench is stationary can be minimized as well.

[nikerret]

Just another data point, my stock lug nuts haven’t backed off at all, from tracking. I don’t tighten after the first session, but I do check them at the start of every day (track days).

[Christian1LE]

Glad you figured it out, definitely not normal.