Lug nut question for vintage aluminum wheels

I scored a pretty decent set of OG Rader wheels for my '64 Olds and I bought what I thought were the correct lug nuts for it. In the picture below, you can see that each lug hole is countersunk about 3/16 of an inch. The lug nuts came with washers which I thought would fit perfectly into each countersunk area but they're slightly too big. And if I run the nuts without the washers, it seems like I'm depending on a small shoulder to hold the lugs on against relatively soft aluminum.

Do I have the wrong lug nuts? Do I need to find washers that will fit perfectly in the holes, or maybe just file down the ones I have a bit until they fit in there? I've seen lug nuts with a shoulder built into them, but those all seem to have a Vee'd shape to them where as these would have to be flat. Any help here would be appreciated, as I am desperate to get these on my car.

 

Make the washers fit or find something that will. Loosing a wheel at any speed is a PITA.

 

You GOTTA' use washers,,,turn down what you have, make some that fit, or counterbore larger to use those. Is the lug nut shank a good fit to center up the wheel ?

 

Measure the diam. of the shank on the lug nut and the diameter of the recess to get the sizes you need for the washers. I bet that the lug nut guy on Ebay or your local flea market vendor probably will have them.

 

I had the same wheels, and I had washers that fit. I think I got 'em from WheelWorks in NJ. I'm sure they exist somewhere.

 

Shank depth seems perfect, I special ordered these to fit. I just filed off a little bit of one of the washers and it drops in there perfectly with just a little edge taken off. Should I just turn down each washer to fit in the hole? Any reason that won't work? I can paint the bare edges of the washers when I'm done to make sure they don't get rusty if that'll be an issue.

 

Couple of things here. A good wheel distributor or tire company that sells wheels should have a catalog listing all the various washers. You could check the McGard site as well. Shank length pretty important. Should have 7 to 8 threads catching on the stud and the shank should be back into the rim enough to allow for tightening and stretch. Don't want any bottoming out against the hub when tightened.
My memory is fading on these lugs now but it seems that the Keystone lug came with a washer in place with each lug that would fit precisely into the hole.

 

Try EZAccessory.com they might have the washer you need

 

You definitely need the washers to countersink in those grooves. ^^^ what he said on location of correct washers.

 

Squablow, all good advice on the washer issue. heres one I want to bring up for your safety. Its called Thread " length " engagement. Since we are pieceing together the correct washers and lug nuts, be concerned with the correct minimum of " thread length engagement ". Idealy you would want 1 1/2 times the diameter of the bolt or stud. Example, if you have 7/16" studs or .4375", you would want to shoot for .6563" or rounded off a .6250" or 5/8" of " thread length engagement ". TR

 

i don't think you can count on the nuts to make the wheel run true, the center should fit snug on your hub.

 

There are two different types of wheels that are made. Most stock wheels are HUB centric, as they are made for one type of car and they will be machined to fit that actual hub. Alot of aftermarket wheels built today, have a machined center hole, and then you can buy hub adaptors rings, that will match the diameter of your hub on the inside, and the diameter of the wheel on the outside. These are used to locate the wheel while it is being tightened, and are just along for the ride afterwards.
Most aftermarket wheels made from the 50's until the mid 90's (my guess) and all wheels that require a mag type lug nut are LUG centric. For these wheels, the shank on the lugnut is what centers the wheels. Also on alot of these lug centric wheels, the center bore on the wheel center is not machined, and is a rough casting.
Brian