To be blunt the lug nuts for the 21" wheels are junk. They have a stainless foil cap of some kind that is easy to damage. After much searching I found these, which seem to be an exact match but solid steel. They could be chrome plated I'm guessing. I've ordered a pair to try them out. If they work I'll post confirmation.
Curious to see what you find. Someone on TMC also recommended these, but I have not had a chance to try them out: Amazon.com: Gorilla Automotive 61147CX Chrome 13/16 (14mm x 1.50 Thread Size) Hex Lug Nut, (Pack of 4): Automotive
Thx, great idea. A couple of mine were mangled... by Tesla service center replacing a blowout winter 2012/13. They replaced them with a smile - but since I've now bought aftermarket winter wheels/tires that SC will no longer rotate, I'm gonna have others touching the lug nuts once a year, and it's just a matter of time before they get mangled again. Looking forward to your findings!
Probably won't help, but I see that the T-Sportline folks sell caps for the TM lug nuts (more specifically to color match their wheels). Would this suffice?
Caps won't do the trick. - - - Updated - - - Those look like they'd work too. Ordered a set to try them out as well. I mangled two of my Tesla lug nuts yesterday and managed to get them back and properly torqued but with great difficulty. So I have to replace at least two. If these work I'll replace them all. - - - Updated - - - They are most certainly two piece and that's the problem. If the socket is not perfectly placed over the stainless cap it's very easy to mangle them.
Lug nuts with caps just don't hold up in the long run--the caps invariably loosen even if you treat them with the upmost care. Use an impact wrench to loosen them and they really go to pot quickly.
Might be more about weight than cost. And I know it might sound stupid to obsess about the weight of lug nuts, but all this little stuff does add up. O
Perhaps they don't show rust as quickly when they are capped with stainless steel. I wonder if chrome lugs just don't hold up to modern tire shops with their ubiquitous impact wrenches. Some people say that stainless steel is prone to galling. With high torque settings, I suppose there could also be a problem with different "stretch" characteristics between lug and stud.
I received the Gorilla chrome plated lugs today. They are much higher quality then the Tesla stock nuts. As soon as I get my car back from the sound deadening shop I try them our and report back.
To test the fit, I installed four of the Gorilla Automotive 61147CX Chrome 13/16" (14mm x 1.50 Thread Size) Hex Lug Nuts on one wheel today. The fit was perfect, so I've placed an order for another 16 and will replace all of the stock lug nuts. Here's a side-by-side comparison of the stock Tesla nuts and the Gorilla ones. The cone tapers are exactly the same but the Gorilla cones extend further, probably because they don't require the small rim for the easy-to-damge stainless cap. As you can see the stainless caps on the two piece Tesla lug nut are all buggered up. Why Tesla puts such junk on expensive wheels is beyond me, but the Gorilla nuts are $11.85 for a set of four, so replacing all of the Tesla nuts will cost about $60, well worth the savings in the anxiety the Tesla nuts create when they get banged up and are difficult to remove or tighten down. Here are the four Gorilla nuts on one wheel. One stock lug nut shows.
Just replaced all of the lug nuts today with the Gorilla nuts. Easy to do and the quality of the Gorilla nuts is far superior to the Tesla OEM.
wow that bolt looks rounded.....how old are those bolts? are any other owners having this issue? are you using impact or manual to remove lug nuts?
Pardon my ignorance on this subject, but I don't know what these measurements are referring to. More importantly, is the difference significant - i.e. one that could potentially affect the safety of the car?