Lug nuts vs wheel bolts
A lug nut screws onto a stud fixed in the hub; a wheel bolt passes through the wheel and screws into the hub itself. Most cars on this site use nuts; every Mercedes-Benz and most Volvo, Polestar and Genesis models use bolts. Either way the job is the same: start them by hand, then tighten them in a star pattern with a torque wrench.
Sources checked
The difference
Lug nuts screw onto studs that stick out of the hub. The wheel slides over the studs and hangs on them while you start the nuts, which is why manuals with nuts talk about the studs: Polestar’s Polestar 3 manual says never to put lubricant on the threads of the wheel studs, and Ram’s say not to oil them.
Wheel bolts pass through the wheel and screw into threaded holes in the hub. In Polestar’s words, the wheel bolts hold the wheel in place on the wheel hub; Mercedes-Benz’s manual warns that damaged hub threads have to be replaced, along with the bolts.
The tightening is the same either way: start each one by hand, lower the car, then work round in a star (or, in Mercedes-Benz’s word, diagonal) pattern with a torque wrench set to the manual’s value. The lug nut guide has the steps, and the torque wrench guide covers the wrench.
Fitting a wheel held on by bolts
With no studs, nothing holds a bolted wheel in line with the holes while you start the first bolt. Mercedes-Benz’s GLC Coupe manual solves it with an alignment bolt:
- Unscrew the uppermost wheel bolt and screw the alignment bolt into its thread.
- Unscrew the remaining bolts and take the wheel off.
- Slide the new wheel onto the alignment bolt and push it on.
- Screw in the bolts and tighten them by hand, in a diagonal pattern, holding the wheel firmly against the hub as you tighten the first so the rim’s paint isn’t damaged.
- Unscrew the alignment bolt and hand-tighten the last wheel bolt.
- Lower the car and tighten the bolts to the specified torque.
Genesis’s GV80 and G80 manuals do the same with what they call a centering pin. Polestar’s adds that wheel bolts may need tightening again several days after a wheel change, because temperature changes and vibration can loosen them slightly.
Which cars use which
Going by their own owner’s manuals, 338 of the 443 models on this site have lug nuts and 88 have wheel bolts: every Mercedes-Benz, most Volvos and Polestars, every Genesis but the G70, the Infiniti QX30, the Fiat 500, the Dodge Dart and the Jeep Renegade. The manuals of the other 17 print “Lug Nut/Bolt” without saying which.
| Make | Wheel bolts | Lug nuts | “Nut/bolt” |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acura | – | All 15 | – |
| Alfa Romeo | – | – | 4C |
| Buick | – | All 13 | – |
| Cadillac | – | All 23 | – |
| Chevrolet | – | All 35 | – |
| Chrysler | – | 5 models | Pacifica and Voyager |
| Dodge | Dart | 8 models | Hornet and Viper |
| Fiat | 500 | – | 4 models |
| Ford | – | All 36 | – |
| Genesis | 7 models | G70 | – |
| GMC | – | All 11 | – |
| Honda | – | All 17 | – |
| Hyundai | – | All 21 | – |
| Infiniti | QX30 | 23 models | – |
| Jeep | Renegade | 6 models | Cherokee, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee L, Grand Wagoneer and Wagoneer |
| Kia | – | All 21 | – |
| Lexus | RX | ES, GX and TX | – |
| Lincoln | – | All 15 | – |
| Lucid | – | All 2 | – |
| Mazda | – | All 16 | – |
| Mercedes-Benz | All 24 | – | – |
| Mitsubishi | – | All 10 | – |
| Nissan | – | All 26 | – |
| Polestar | Polestar 1, Polestar 2 and Polestar 4 | Polestar 3 | – |
| Porsche | 10 models | 918 Spyder | – |
| Ram | – | 4 models | 1500 Classic, ProMaster and ProMaster City |
| Rivian | – | All 3 | – |
| Subaru | – | All 5 | – |
| Tesla | – | All 5 | – |
| Toyota | – | All 8 | – |
| Volvo | 39 models | C30, C70, S40 and V50 | – |
Each model’s page quotes its manual, and says nuts, bolts or “nut/bolt” to match.
When the manuals’ words disagree
Owner’s manuals aren’t always consistent about the word, so the table settles a few cases:
- “Lug Nut/Bolt”: the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Fiat and Alfa Romeo manuals print one heading for both. Where a model’s manual also says “wheel bolts” on its own, as the Fiat 500, Dodge Dart and Jeep Renegade’s do, it’s listed under bolts; where it mentions nuts or studs, as Ram’s “Do not oil wheel studs” does, under nuts.
- Hyundai: some 2020–2023 Hyundai Santa Fe manuals and the 2022–2023 Hyundai Kona Electric’s print “wheel bolt torque”, while other years’ manuals for the same models call them lug nuts or wheel nuts. They’re listed under nuts.
- Genesis: every model’s manual except the G70’s prints “wheel bolt torque”, and the GV80’s and G80’s have you hang the wheel on a centering pin, though the same pages also mention studs. They’re listed under bolts, and the G70, whose manual says wheel nut, under nuts.
- Volvo: the 2007 and 2009 Volvo C70 manuals say to tighten “the bolts”, where the later ones list types of wheel nut; Polestar’s Polestar 3 page calls them wheel bolts, then has you remove the lug nuts. Both are listed under nuts.
When the type of nut or bolt changes the torque
Some manuals give a different value for each kind of nut or bolt the car may have, so check which yours has before setting the wrench:
| Model | Value for each type, from the newest manual that lists them |
|---|---|
| Cadillac CT4 | M12 wheel nuts: 100 lb-ft (140 N·m) V-Series Blackwing, M14 wheel nuts: 140 lb-ft (190 N·m) |
| Cadillac CTS | Blue tint nuts: 110 lb-ft (150 N·m) Silver tint nuts: 140 lb-ft (190 N·m) |
| Chevrolet Camaro | Blue tint nuts: 110 lb-ft (150 N·m) Silver tint nuts: 140 lb-ft (190 N·m) |
| Ford E-Series | Conical lug nuts: 150 lb-ft (200 N·m) Two-piece lug nuts: 140 lb-ft (190 N·m) |
| Mercedes-Benz C-Class | Long wheel bolts: 111 lb-ft (150 N·m) Short wheel bolts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
| Mercedes-Benz CLE | Long wheel bolts: 111 lb-ft (150 N·m) Short wheel bolts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
| Ram 1500 | Cone nuts: 130 lb-ft (176 N·m) Flanged nuts: 129 lb-ft (175 N·m) |
| Ram 2500 | Cone nuts: 130 lb-ft (176 N·m) Flanged nuts: 129 lb-ft (175 N·m) |
| Ram 3500 | Cone nuts: 130 lb-ft (176 N·m) Flanged nuts: 129 lb-ft (175 N·m) |
| Volvo C30 | Lockable wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 1 wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 2 wheel nuts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
| Volvo C70 | Lockable wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 1 wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 2 wheel nuts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
| Volvo S40 | Lockable wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 1 wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 2 wheel nuts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
| Volvo V50 | Lockable wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 1 wheel nuts: 81 lb-ft (110 N·m) Type 2 wheel nuts: 96 lb-ft (130 N·m) |
Replacements
Fit only the nuts or bolts the maker approves for your wheels. Mercedes-Benz’s manual says to use only wheel bolts approved for Mercedes-Benz and for the wheel in question; Genesis’s says that replacement wheel bolts must have metric threads, to avoid damaging the studs. The Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram manuals and Ford’s say to use only the nuts and bolts they recommend.
Questions
Do wheel bolts and lug nuts take the same torque?
Not as a rule. Going by each model’s newest manual, the cars on this site with wheel bolts take 74 to 133 lb-ft and those with nuts 65 to 479 lb-ft. What matters is your own car’s value, not which kind it has.
Should I oil or grease wheel bolts?
No. Polestar’s manual says not to grease the wheel bolt threads, and Mercedes-Benz’s says never to oil or grease the threads, because oiled or damaged threads can let the bolts or nuts come loose. Polestar’s says the same of lug nuts on studs.
What is an alignment bolt or centering pin?
A guide that goes into one of the hub’s bolt holes, so a wheel held on by bolts has something to hang on while you start the rest. Mercedes-Benz’s manual calls it an alignment bolt and has you screw it into the thread; Genesis’s calls it a centering pin. On a car with studs, the wheel hangs on the studs themselves.
How can I tell which my car has?
Look it up below, or read the wheel-changing pages of your owner’s manual. With a wheel off, studs sticking out of the hub take nuts; threaded holes in the hub take bolts.
Sources
- Mercedes-Benz: GLC Coupe Operator’s Manual (C254 MBUX, built from June 2026): Changing a wheel, PDF pages 692–694 (checked October 23, 2026)
- Genesis: 2025 GV80 Owner’s Manual: Changing Tires (checked October 23, 2026)
- Polestar: 2025 Polestar 2 Owner’s Manual: Wheel bolts (checked October 23, 2026)
- Polestar: 2025 Polestar 3 Owner’s Manual: Changing wheels (checked October 23, 2026)
Spotted a number that doesn’t match your manual or a source? Tell us; corrections are logged on the sources page.
The other manual pages quoted here are linked from each model’s page in lug nut torque by vehicle.