2009 Audi A4 Avant: Lugnut Covers

No, they are not worth it. I had a GTI with the same type of covers and after swapping wheels once or twice (summer tires -- winter tires), I left them off. I almost forgot about them when I traded in the car because they were so forgettable.

My previous A4 had them and they looked good. I did not loose the removal tool however I lost one or two of these covers. I prefer good looking polished or machined real metal ones.

Would it cost that much more to put a full capped nut on there?

1. Why would the tool ever go missing
2. You remove your own wheels almost never so worrying about the 1 time in 10 years you change a tire is kinda a waste.

At the first tire change, I'd buy some lug nuts that match the wheel finish - or as close as I could get.

my VW had similar covers, and the dealership lost the hook tool the very first service, and then managed to lose half the caps the second service. It's a nice look, but it wasn't worth it.

Yeah, had the same thing on my GTI. And milt721, I think they're not lug nuts, they're bolts, so the selection of alternatives is probably limited.

I agree with blueguy, why would you loose the tool? I get my tires rotated every 5k and its not getting lost because I keep track of where its at

what I DID do when I had an A4, was tear them all off, since some cracked w/ age and others broke when tires were rotated. this is nothing more than vanity, although why Audi can't just install decently finished bolts on a 35k car is beyond me.

i am also not sure why I would expect the tool to get lost over time. If it is anything like a VW, there is a little space for it, likely under the trunk cover along with the wrench, screwdriver, tow eyelet and jack. No reason it should disappear. And if it does, I am reasonably sure you could get a new one from Audi or VW for less than 5$. Then again, I very rarely touch the wheels on a daily driver (like 99% of the population), and would likely have dealer service for a car this expensive, so it is a non-issue

Having worked at a local tire shop, I hated these caps with a passion. I was just a tire technician and never had a place to keep my tools so it was either hoping the VWs and Audis that came in had the special hook, or hoping all the pliers shared by all tire techs weren't misplaced from the shop's toolbox.

Hate 'em. They loosen with time and/or the tire "experts" lose or destroy them. How much more would it cost to provide actual polished/anodized/chrome lug nuts?

Non-issue after living with them on my Touareg for six years. I still have both the removal tool and all the covers even though the wheels have been off many times for flats, tire replacement and rotation and brake work. Not worth all this discussion.

Bet those are a lot of fun when they are frozen on.
In the middle of winter
on the side of the road
at night
in 10 degree weather

Personally, I'd either ditch the caps (covers) or like milt721 says, go out and buy new lugs.

What exactly is the point?

I'd rather see a single cover that snaps over all the bolts and can be popped off with a rubber-tipped tool of some sort.

Less likely to get lost, covers the bolt-holes from brake dust/water/dirt, and less likely to scratch your wheels trying to pry plastic out of each bolt hole.

Since these are bolts, does Audi provide a tool to screw into one of the holes to allow for the wheel to slip off easily (I know Porsche does this, I'm assuming others do too).

I'm impressed....no tasteless jokes about running afoul of public indecency ordinances !

No, these are a pain. Not a problem if you do your own wheel and tire work, but if you have a local tire shop or chain do the wheel changes to your winter steel wheels, or even a simple tire rotation, it is very likely that they will lose the tool for the owner. It happened to me on a couple of occasions, and I had to start the habit of checking for the tool before leaving the shop after work was done.

Worse still are those hateful non-standard bolts they use (one for each wheel) as an antitheft feature. Those I quickly replace with a standard bolt, since I don't frequent high crime areas anyhow.

With the little removal tool I can pop 'em all off in a minute, and the it just takes a minute to put 'em all back on. I honestly do it everytime I wash my car because they trap water (makes the car harder to dry). It's not that big of a deal, the car looks a lot more naked without them.

Why don't more cars have center mounted hubs (a la race cars)? That way, you only need to undo one thingy per wheel.

I rented a Silverado that had wheel covers held on by plastic lug nuts that threaded on to the REAL lug nuts. Talk about light-years beyond moronic...

My Tahoe has that as well, roadburner. And I agree, it's ridiculous - especially on any sort of working vehicle (would that trucks were still primarily in that category).

yellowbal, the problem with center locking wheels is that they require a huge amount of torque to properly secure. I believe somewhere in the vicinity of 250-300 lbs-ft of torque. This requires strength that the majority of the population doesn't have, or a really long breaker bar (3-4 ft long) which may be hard to fit discreetly in a vehicle. Additionally, if your parking brake doesn't hold very strongly you'll just end up rotating the wheel instead of breaking the center lock loose.

Not that regular wheel lug systems don't have issues. Caddy has upped the torque spec on the CTS-Vs to 150 lbs-ft or so to eliminate some wheel noise. Heaven help you if you're a small person without a serious breaker bar. Guess the advent of AAA/roadside assistance has made changing your own tire rare enough that it doesn't matter for most.

I have the same car and I prefer the look of the covers to the lugs. My lug cover tool has never gone missing. Not sure how you lose that if you put it back in the tool kit after each use. Some nice after mkt lugs would look good too.