What is the point of lug nut spikes?

The spikes are designed to protect the lug nut from normal wear-and-tear and weathering damage, such as rust from heavy rain. The spike design helps flick moisture away while the wheel is spinning, too. Warning: Truck tire spikes are immediately noticeable, and that is intentional.

What are the green arrows on lorry wheels?

Yep, a visual checking aid to show whether the wheel nuts are coming loose. The arrows should be more or less pointing at each other all of the time. If you see one that is pointing at a different angle then you know that it requires further investigation.

What sound does a loose tire make?

Make sure the wheel nut are tight. When you hear a loud humming noise when you turn, it’s usually the wheel rubbing the brakes or the wheel bearings that are loose. When the car is moving, there is a Knocking sound.

How many nuts should be on a truck wheel?

In general, heavy cars with high torque engines require more lug nuts with increased diameter. Focussing the forces, accelerations comming from the uneven roads have to be considered, too. At personal cars, 3 to 5 lug nuts are standard; at light and heavy trucks a higher number occurs.

Why do 18 wheelers have spikes on their wheels?

They are meant to catch your attention and deter you from staying close to a truck’s blind spots, which are the worst on either side of the truck and trailer. If your instinct is to back away and give the big rig more space, then the spikes are doing their job as designed.

What are the plastic strips on semi tires?

On some trailer wheels, a separate long plastic strip might be added to the wheel, from one nut, that extends to the sidewall of the tyre. This is to provide visual reference that the wheel is turning and helps diagnose sticking brakes on trailers that have many axles.

What sound do bad wheel bearings make?

The classic sounds of a bad wheel bearing are cyclic chirping, squealing and/or growling noise. You can also tell that the sound is related to wheel bearings if it changes in proportion to vehicle speed. The sound can get worse with every turn, or it can disappear momentarily.