I've posted before concerning how much I despise these factory two-piece capped lug nuts that Jaguar inexplicably uses. Had two-piece capped-style lug nuts on my Dodge Ram as well and replaced them years ago with a nice set of one-piece McGard lug nuts, but McGard makes nothing that will fit these Jags.

I think I've finally found a one-piece chrome lug nut that will work. It's from Gorilla Auto in Los Angeles, it's part no. 73138T (the "T" stands for Toyota-style), and it retails in my neck of the woods for $3.99 each. The only change I'll have to make is to upgrade the factory lug nut wrench from 19mm hex to a replacement 21mm hex one.

Gorilla Auto's phone is (800) 262-6267, and be sure to ask for Tech Support if you have questions. Their website is gorilla-auto.com.

I've sent a photo of my stock lug nut to their Tech Support staff for final confirmation that their lug nut will indeed work in my application. I'll update this thread if I indeed order a set of 20 and see how they do....

 

That would be nice, do you have any pics of the lugs?

 

Go to gorilla-auto.com and look on page 7. Bottom row, left side, clearly labeled as 73138T.

 

If you despise 2 piece lug nuts so much why have you chosen another 2 piece design?

I've also got an inkerling that the 'T' could also standard for Toyota.

 

The body of this Gorilla lug nut is one-piece. I'm not counting the washer. Those washers have to float to be able to grip properly.

When I say two-piece, I'm talking about the lousy stamped-metal caps that are not part of the body of the lug nut. They are pushed on during assembly at the lug nut factory and tend to get loose and then fall off after just a couple of years (or less)....

 

I agree Jon, the factory lug nuts suck. I had an issue with one the first time I tried to remove the wheels for brake inspection on my 06.
I wonder if the nuts your researching for a 3.0 will work for the STR?

 

If the STR also takes a 12mm x 1.5" lug nut, then these should work for you if they work for me.

I'm still researching the quality of Gorilla lug nuts. I've never heard of them until I stopped in a new 4x4 auto parts store on a whim this past Monday and one of their counter guys took a look at the Jaguar lug nut in my hand and matched it up to the Gorilla parts catalog. But the store doesn't stock the lug nuts, they have to order them so there's no way to take it outside and mount it on the car to see if it fits. I prefer McGard lug nuts, I've had a set of them on my Dodge Ram for more than 6 years (they cost me $61 in the summer of 2003), they have a lifetime guarantee not to rust, and they haven't. In fact, they still look new. But I just got off the phone with McGard tech support once again and they still do not make a lug nut to fit the Jaguar and probably never will. Just not enough demand. McGard tech support suggested I try Hemmings to see if they have anything that might work. I'll try that this afternoon.

The Gorilla lug nuts carry a one-year standard warranty. Their Tech Support manager in Los Angeles tells me that they've never had a rust problem with these Toyota-style lug nuts and will gladly replace them if I order a set and they rust on me even beyond the one-year warranty. We've exchanged e-mails, and if I can get him to put that in writing, I may go ahead and order a set once they finally confirm that these will indeed fit my S-Type. But I'm still looking for a lifetime rust warranty like McGard offers. May not be able to find it, though....

 

I have a 2004 XJR that I bought in Aug. 2009. The car was meticulously maintained with outstanding service records. I noticed that the previous owner had it in the dealer for various warranty items over the years, and he complained on several occasions about a "clicking noise" when driving slow and turning. The dealer lubed this, that and the other, and on some responses, said they could not replicate the issue. I buy the car, and the first thing I notice is a clicking noise when driving slow and turning. I spent much time trying to figure out if it was a loose brake pad, wheel bearing, etc. I finally diagnosed the problem one day that it was several of those crappy lugnut metal caps rattling back and forth as the wheels turned. I took each one off, and I would estimate that 8-10 of the 20 lugnuts have loose covers that click around. This is a long way of saying that I agree that the design is pretty disappointing for a high-end luxury automobile. I'm in if you can verify the Toyota lugnuts will work.

 

I just went outside and removed a lug nut from my wife's 2004 Lexus RX330. It fit perfectly on the stock Kronos rims of her 2005 Jaguar S-Type 3.0. The only difference is that the stock Lexus lug nut takes a 21mm lug wrench whereas the stock Jaguar lug nut takes a 19mm lug wrench. So I would have to replace the stock 19mm Jaguar lug wrench in the trunk with a new 21mm one. I imagine those lug wrenches are fairly inexpensive at NAPA, Advance Auto Parts, Autozone, Pep Boys, etc.

I also called the closest Toyota (not Lexus) dealership parts department to price one of these factory Toyota lug nuts. It's about $11, much too pricey to justify buying 20 of them for our S-Type. So I'll continue to research Gorilla's quality and I'll check out what Hemmings may offer as well. If anyone else finds other reasonable alternatives, please post here....

 

I can't help with the fit question but do have experience with the Gorilla hardware. They were / are supplied with wheels from Discount Tires Direct. I got a set as the install hardware for the Dodge. They are very well made and I would not hesitate to recommend them. I also think Tire Rack sells them as well but didn't need lug nuts when I bought a set of wheels from them.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Jeff. How long have you owned the Gorilla lug nuts on your Dodge, and are they still completely-rust free? As I recall, you don't take that Dodge out of the garage very often, less than a couple thousand miles a year, so your application may not be a good real-world example....

 

Why don't you use these?? Seem pretty cheap?? They do not have the separate washer so maybe not the correct ones? They are listed for the Jaguar S Type. They carry all kinds of lug nuts so they should be able to match up anything we have.

http://tinyurl.com/yhw5go2
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It's very simple why I would never use those. They are conical lug nuts. Our lug nuts require the washer base (some call them "shank base"). Conical lug nuts probably won't hold the wheel for long and could become very dangerous....

I've been looking for a solid chrome lug nut that will work since September. Trust me, very few manufacturers make them because there is very little demand. So you really have to be careful and research potential lug nuts thoroughly....

 

Actually it goes out less than 500 miles a year.... I will say this, since it sits in a garage with my daily driver it is like parking it down at the beach. It is constantly exposed to salty damp air in the winter. I have to move it a few times since the surface rust on the brakes and such gets real bad. So far, no rust on the lugs though, and they have been on for over four years.

 

The Lincoln LS suffers from the same problem. The Lincoln guys found a solid replacement that came on late model Chrysler Sebring. Part #MB579290. About $4 each.
Take a look at the picture. The torn up lug nut is the stock two piece LS lug nut.
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Is anyone actually using them on their Jags and what size lug wrench is required?

 

I believe jag changed the lug nuts with the 2002 facelift. So if anyone is using the LS / Chrysler ones it would be on the early S-Types, I think.

This site has a how-to, and does qty price reductions: http://www.brandsport.com

I don't have a lug nut to hand right now but would've guessed it was not the kind Jon's listed. Can anyone confirm (for the facelift)? (Not to cast doubt but er, would be good to have confirmation that's all.)

 

I'm looking for a long term solution too, I had two lugs nuts distort and become unusable when switching wheels for the winter.

The nuts on my 2003 appear to be the same design as the pictures earlier in the thread.

 

As of this morning, the Gorilla lug nuts from California are my only choice, but I'm going to investigate the late-model Sebring lug nut that tbird6 mentioned in his post above.

My experience with Chrysler lug nuts, however, is that all the ones I've owned or dealt with have been of the same crappy, two-piece, acorn-style design that our S-Type lug nuts use. This was true for my wife's 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee, my 1998 Dodge Durango, my 1999 Dodge Ram, and my daughter's 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. In the decade since, perhaps Chrysler finally learned that a solid one-piece lug nut just makes good sense and costs only pennies more when you're talking about the kind of volume the vehicle manufacturers go through. The Durango and two Grand Cherokees are long gone but when I decided to keep my Ram for the long run, I trashed the crappy stock lug nuts and replaced them with solid McGard lug nuts and never looked back. Wish McGard made something that would work for our S-Type but they don't.

I'll look into the Sebring lug nuts. They are priced right, and if they are indeed one-piece chrome and have the proper shank base that our S-Types require, they may be the answer.

Thanks, tbird6. By the way, do you have them on your LS and if so, have you tried fitting one on your S-Type?

 

Good Point Jon89!! In fact the part number posted is for 2004 and up Sebring I think. The earlier Sebring models did have the same crappy two piece lug nuts that fail. These are supposed to be solid and not have the sheet metal cover on them. The lug nut size is 21mm or 13/16". Quite a few guys are using them on the LS.
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