Wheel Bolts (again)

[hawkx617]

Hey Guys,

Apologies for the constant posting recently, however I’m getting a few bits done to the car and always value second opinions!

Having had a really bad experience with cheap wheel bolts in the past, I ordered a set of Bimecc bolts from a large and well known company. They’ve just arrived in non Bimecc packaging, and wondering if anyone here might be able to tell if they’re genuine, or Chineseium?

 

[Glosphil]

I assume those bolts are for non-OEM wheels as those bolts have tapered seats. Don't all Seat wheels have radiused seats?

 

[SRGTD]

@Glosphil - you beat me to it!

@hawkx617 - Sorry, but can’t answer your question re. whether the bolts in your pictures are genuine or not.

However, from your pictures, it looks as if your new bolts have a tapered / conical seat. I think most (all?) VAG OEM alloys use bolts with a radius / ball seat which matches the profile of the bolt hole in the OEM alloys to ensure maximum contact and clamping force between the bolt seat and bolt hole When tightened to the correct torque setting.

For safety‘s sake, it’s really important that bolts with the correct seating profile for the wheels are used; fitting bolts with a tapered seat to alloys intended to be fitted with radius / ball seat bolts would mean poor contact / clamping force between the mating surfaces of bolt seat and alloy wheel bolt hole, the consequences of which could include vibrations similar to those experienced with unbalanced wheels or worse case, the bolts working loose.

You can see the difference between a tapered / conical seated bolt and a radius / ball seated bolt the picture below; tapered / conical on the left and radius / ball on the right. If you’ve got OEM Seat alloys on your car, I’d suggest you remove one of the bolts and compare the seat profile of your existing bolts to the new ones you’ve been sent. If they’re the wrong bolts, then please don’t use them, even if they are genuine Bimecc.

 

[RUM4MO]

@SRGTD I think that he is okay on that front, if you check his earlier thread.

@hawkx617 Edit:- I'm sorry but I am not near my daughter's Leon Cupra so I can't comment on what Bimecc bolt heads look like.

Remember that some of these wheel bolt suppliers will be ordering in Bimecc bolts in bulk, so when they send out a set, they might just be part of a box/buy of bolts.

(What have you done wrt security bolt set, Bimecc also sell them?)
Have you checked that the wheel bolt counterbores will accept the original bolt caps, including the security bolt cap? - and allow the use of a bolt cap removal tool?

Another Edit:- ah, now it is me that has not read/taken in your latest posting on the earlier thread, so you do seem to have bought Bimecc locking bolts - and that is why you needed to build up the head size to grip the original security bolt caps!

 

[hawkx617]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Don't worry - they're not for OE wheels but are for a set of Bola CSRs! I went through a pothole (well, a canyon) a few weeks ago which destroyed two OE wheels, and at £600 per non-eBay replacement, I decided to just get a new set. I’ve checked and doubled checked seat, length, etc, and will also be making sure they’re all good once fitted.

@SRGTD part of the reason I was curious about whether the bolts were genuine is for the safety side of things - I’m a bit anal about stuff like this, and even with 150bhp think it’s important the one thing holding my wheels on is decent quality!

From what I’ve taken from the various FB groups I posted on, they are indeed genuine, but as @RUM4MO says, just ordered in bulk. I haven’t checked the counterbores yet (thanks Fedex for screwing the delivery up for the third time in a row), but I have my doubts - hence the ordering of black bolts. I keep the wheels clean so I’m not overly concerned about rust or anything, even if it would be a bit annoying. I ended up getting some McGard lockers - I’ve had good experiences with them in the past! The heads on those are 4mm smaller than the OE ones, so yes, if I end up using caps then I’ll have to build them up as per the VWROC forum. If not, then they’re black heads so I’ll just rock them as is.

it’s all a bit annoying really - I wanted a set of silver Revo RF018s, but couldn’t get them! Decided on black instead, which then came damaged from Demon Tweeks (along with the center cap unwrapped and pushed in, and the covered in dust), hence the Bolas. They aren’t the same quality or finish (and the Revos use OE bolts), but at least they’re silver!

 

[Mr Pig]

Wheel bolts is something I'd only buy from a dealer. In fact I buy a lot of parts from the dealer as, once you get a discount, it's not as expensive as you'd think.

Aftermarket bolts are a bad idea. Last year I replaced all the under-tray screws on my wife's car with eBay ones. They look very similar to VW ones except the head is slightly thinner. Went to service her car last week and the screws were so rusty I struggled to get some of them out. One year!

And you want to risk shite bolts holding your wheels on??

 

[hawkx617]

Wheel bolts is something I'd only buy from a dealer. In fact I buy a lot of parts from the dealer as, once you get a discount, it's not as expensive as you'd think.

Aftermarket bolts are a bad idea. Last year I replaced all the under-tray screws on my wife's car with eBay ones. They look very similar to VW ones except the head is slightly thinner. Went to service her car last week and the screws were so rusty I struggled to get some of them out. One year!

And you want to risk shite bolts holding your wheels on??

Indeed, which is why I made sure to get decent Bimecc bolts and McGard lockers!

 

[RUM4MO]

Wheel bolts is something I'd only buy from a dealer. In fact I buy a lot of parts from the dealer as, once you get a discount, it's not as expensive as you'd think.

Aftermarket bolts are a bad idea. Last year I replaced all the under-tray screws on my wife's car with eBay ones. They look very similar to VW ones except the head is slightly thinner. Went to service her car last week and the screws were so rusty I struggled to get some of them out. One year!

And you want to risk shite bolts holding your wheels on??

Two things not right here, firstly, the OP is changing alloy wheels which usually means needing to change the wheel bolts from the type of seat that VW Group use to taper seat - so no option to buy bolts from VW Group outlets. Second, Bimecc are proper wheel bolt suppliers - so maybe they are even better quality steel than VW Group - who usually aim to keep quality only as high as absolutely necessary.

 

[Mr Pig]

Two things not right here, firstly, the OP is changing alloy wheels which usually means needing to change the wheel bolts from the type of seat that VW Group use to taper seat - so no option to buy bolts from VW Group outlets. Second, Bimecc are proper wheel bolt suppliers - so maybe they are even better quality steel than VW Group - who usually aim to keep quality only as high as absolutely necessary.

I think the OP's concern is whether or not he's got genuine Bimecc bolts. I don't know if these bolts are faked but it's a legitimate concern.

My reasoning when buying direct from a dealer is that you know you're getting genuine parts. I've bought VW parts off eBay and they were fake. The Chinese tend to fake the good brands, it costs the same to make a fake Duracell as it does to make a fake Varta battery. If Bimecc are a leading brand it's possible they do fake them.

Avoiding fake products is an absolute nightmare. I've ended up paying more to buy from high-street stores because I was able to identify the ones sold by on-line retailers as fake. I don't think authorities are doing enough about this. I recently was the focus of a fairly sophisticated attempted scam. When I contacted the innocent company that the scammers were using as a front they knew all about it but the police were doing nothing because they didn't have the resources.

 

[hawkx617]

@RUM4MO Yep - swapping from OE SEAT to Bola, so also swapping from radius seat bolts to taper seat. Bimecc are very well known, and I trust their products. Certainly if people use them on their Aventador SVJ's, my 150bhp Leon will be alright!

@Mr Pig I've spoken with Bimecc themselves and the markings do line up with being genuine - I trust the company that I got them from (Rimstyle) and they feel high quality in the hand, but just wanted to be sure due to the lack of original packaging.

I generally only buy OE/high quality parts - not just for cars but for everything. In my experience, if you buy cheap you buy twice - whether its a phone screen protector, alloy wheel bolts or parts for a shotgun!