Hi all
Where alloy wheels have a tapered seat I commonly see these fastened with nuts/bolts having seats of a different taper or even with the rounded seats used on steel wheels!
Seems to me that if an engineer has designed a wheel with a particular angle of taper there must have been equivalent tapered nut/bolt. For example a standard tapered nut usually has a "steeper" taper than most wheel seats resulting in contact only being made with the wheel for a very small depth.
My Honda dealer even told me that when fitting alloy wheels they use the standard steel wheel nut (with a rounded seat). This too contacts the wheel over a very small area.
Doesn't anyone design a nut or bolt to match the seat of the wheel? Otherwise I cannot see how (from an engineering point of view) it is safe!
Thanks