crooner Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I have just bought a CITROEN c3 1.2 PURE TECH FEEL 2019 , It came with an inflator foam kit , but i prefer a spare wheel so i bought a full steel wheel & tyre to use as a spare, but i was surprised to see that the alloy bolts on the car can't be fully tightened on to a steel wheel , i had to buy steel bolts from dealer which fit perfectly . see photos, 1st photo alloy bolt not seated properly in my spare steel wheel 2nd steel bolts i had to buy from dealer ( fits flush ) in steel wheel 3rd photo both bolts sitting in my spare steel wheel ( you can see the difference ) 4th you can compare the difference , hope this information is usefull . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crooner Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 Sorry 1st is the steel bolt 2nd is the alloy it's the way they were placed in this my post Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.h Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 To me the alloy wheel bolt looks as if it should be ok on the steel wheel with the conical section tightening up against the wheel bolt hole. On the alloys they use the flat washer to tighten against the wheel. All the Citroens I've had with alloys and a steel spare are like that. It will be worth the effort to try the steel wheel and the steel bolts to make sure they are not too long. As an aside, alloy wheels corrode onto the hubs so it is worth the effort of removing them and applying a smear of copper grease on the wheel/hub contact parts. If not done they stick to the hubs and are difficult to remove and at a roadside with a puncture could make life difficult. To remove the wheels first time I have jacked up the car at that corner and slackened the wheel bolts. Then used a 4lb hammer to hit a piece of wood held against the inside of the tyre. Turning the wheel a few times to hit at different parts eventually works to free off the wheel. Then the bolts can removed and the wheel. Any rust on the hub is removed with a flat file and similarly on the wheel. A smear of grease on the wheel and hub flat area and the round section is enough to make life easy next time. First time the bolts are removed I also put a slight smear of copper grease on the bolt threads since these can also rust. The effect of the grease on the torque settings is not enough to be bothered about but if rusty that is a different matter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crooner Posted January 17, 2022 Author Share Posted January 17, 2022 28 minutes ago, paul.h said: To me the alloy wheel bolt looks as if it should be ok on the steel wheel with the conical section tightening up against the wheel bolt hole. On the alloys they use the flat washer to tighten against the wheel. All the Citroens I've had with alloys and a steel spare are like that. It will be worth the effort to try the steel wheel and the steel bolts to make sure they are not too long. The steel bolts fit the steel spare. I got a tyre fitter to put it on to check it would, it was him who pointed out that the alloy bolts don't go flush in the steel wheel,you can see in photo 2 the alloy bolt not able to drop into the steel wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul.h Posted January 17, 2022 Share Posted January 17, 2022 I still think the alloy bolts are right for the steel wheel when used as a temporary spare. They should not go in as far as the washer touching the wheel and should stand proud as in your photo. Anyway, you can still carry the new bolts with you. You could look in the car handbook and under spare wheel it might explain the bolts, I am sure I have read it in our car handbooks. There is a post here from another forum https://citroenc3owners.com/questions-about-a-citroen-c3-not-related-to-the-fu-f12/wheel-nuts-and-bolts-same-for-alloy-steel-or-not-t3608.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crooner Posted January 18, 2022 Author Share Posted January 18, 2022 Thanks paul, I'll feel safer keeping the steel bolts in the boot along with the locknut socket, if i should get a puncture Thanks again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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