Improved Racing Lightweight Racing Lug Nuts, Hard Anodized 7075-T6 Aluminum Lug Nuts Options

[79T/A]

Yes, the 12pt is unappealing. Hex would be much better.

[MoJoe]

Katech just posted up about the titanium lug nuts.

I see it now, thanks. Ours will be a little different, and we are experimenting with a few different black coatings on the titanium as well.

If I find out that theirs (Katech's) are made overseas (China/Taiwan/Japan/Korea/etc.), and yours are made HERE, I would GLADLY pay the price difference with a big smile on my face!! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

Katech_Jason on LS1Tech says theirs are made in China. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

[dailydriver]

Katech just posted up about the titanium lug nuts.

I see it now, thanks. Ours will be a little different, and we are experimenting with a few different black coatings on the titanium as well.

If I find out that theirs (Katech's) are made overseas (China/Taiwan/Japan/Korea/etc.), and yours are made HERE, I would GLADLY pay the price difference with a big smile on my face!! (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/2thumbs.gif)

Katech_Jason on LS1Tech says theirs are made in China. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif)

Yes, he finally answered me over there, but did NOT answer me on whether or not they will ever be made in a 6 point hex.

[ImprovedRacing]

Sorry for the delayed reply. I was going to say that there is absolutely no way they can make titanium lug nuts and sell them for that price unless they are made in China, but I guess they beat us to it. It looks like their lug nuts are an off-the-shelf version sold by a Chinese manufacturer. Ours would also be made overseas, but we are designing our own from scratch and looking into different types of coatings for titanium as well.

Just to be completely honest with you guys. The material alone in the USA would cost roughly $3-4 per lug nut. Then you need to add the machining cost on top of that, and machining titanium isn't cheap. It's completely crazy but the Chinese can make lug nuts like these for less than we pay for just the material alone here in the USA! There are foundries in China that they can buy the titanium from for a lot less than we can get it. Then you have to factor in that their labor is far cheaper, and there are entire factories over there that specialize in just making lug nuts, so they are completely optimized for that purpose.

We could make the lug nuts here in the US, but the cheapest we'd be able to sell it for is $20/lug. That's why most titanium lug nuts are around $500 for a set of 20.

I try to avoid making anything offshore and the only parts we have made overseas are typically small specialized components, like mounting brackets, springs, and hardware. Our products are all machined in the US because we can better control the quality and protect our IP (the Chinese will copy anything) and there are also logistical advantages. But those factors aren't important for minor things like minor hardware and brackets. There are certain things that just make sense to manufacture in Asia.

Anyway, our lug nuts would be 6 point hex. They would still be made overseas but would be our own custom design with a round knurled end for gripping the nut, and possibly a black coating similar to anodizing on aluminum. The price would be roughly $200 for a set of 20 (or $10/lug). We are very selective about who we contract manufacturing to and we maintain very high quality standards, so our products are of course still guaranteed to be high quality and come with a lifetime warranty. I'd really like to hear feedback on whether you guys would buy these or not. If there isn't much interest, we won't pursue it. I don't think it's worth it to pay $500 for a set of titanium lug nuts, but for $200 I think it is and that's why we wanted to make these. Aluminum is also fine but titanium is stronger and lighter and will hold up better in the long term.

This post has been edited by ImprovedRacing: Jul 7 2015, 08:17 PM