Ball Seat Lug Bolt questions Options

[Literati914]

I've looked at PET and it's very vague on lug bolt specs. I recall that the 2L Fuchs used a bolt that has a 40mm threaded shank with 19mm Hex - and I think R14 radius(??). But what about the VW produced Steelies (Sport steelies in my case)? I can not find length requirements - though I have some rusty lug bolts that look the part and the threaded area is only 20mm which seems kind of short. Do these wheels also require R14 radiused bolts like the Fuchs? R14 seem to be a little hard to come by- I keep seeing aftermarket sellers referencing VW as R12 instead.
I could maybe have the one I got cleaned up and chromed but that a huge hassle of course.

[Superhawk996]

Imma’ gonna’ be a jackass for a second then I’ll try to answer your question.

Buy a radius gauge and don’t rely on the internet rumors for something your life may depend upon. This includes my advice to follow.



For a conventional ball lug, the radius of the ball corresponds to the the shank diameter of the lug. Example: M14x1.5 lug will have a ball radius of R14. Same for the early M12 VW bolts; they are R12. There are hybrids and exceptions to this general rule due to all the custom wheels out there.

It is my personal belief that all 914’s were M14 regardless of whether they were alloy or steel. I have been wrong before and still have things to learn about 914s.

But given its 50 years later and the 914 crowd being legendary for their cheapness, who’s to say someone hasn’t swapped something. I think (but am not sure) that the early VW M12 lugs were associated with the early stamped wheels with the much larger bolt circle

Someone here deep into early bugs will know.