22mm Non-Marring Lug Socket Comparison | FerrariChat

22mm Non-Marring Lug Socket Comparison

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Bob in Makiki, Apr 24, 2019.

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  1. Bob in Makiki

    Bob in Makiki Formula Junior
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    #1 Bob in Makiki, Apr 24, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2019
    Hill Engineering makes a nice non-marring socket for our 22 mm lug bolts. Amazon also carries non-marring 22 mm sockets. I thought a comparison of the two might be interesting. Photos of both are below.

    The Hill Engineering socket is their part no. CS-01. It is available from Hill Engineering directly (in England) or from Ricambi America here in the U.S. It is an expensive socket, running about $85.

    Hill Engineering has taken an interesting approach - they have made this socket of aluminum so it will not mar your lug bolts. They write:

    “Our ChromeSaver Socket has been designed using a specially formulated aluminum that not often finds itself in the automotive industry. Working closely with one of the worlds largest Aluminum mills, we have managed to develop an aluminum which has over twice the tensile strength of 6082. Not stopping at the material specification, we have also manufactured the 22mm drive of the socket so that the actual drive area is driven on the 6 flanks of the bolt head rather than the corners.”

    You can read more about their socket here:

    https://www.hillengineering.co.uk/tools/wheel-related-2/chromesaver-sockets/cs-01

    Please note that the photo on their web site is wrong — it shows a 12 point socket, and the actual CS-01 socket is a six point socket (much better for this purpose) with rounded corners, as described above. The photo below and the photo on the Ricambi web site are correct.

    I found their socket easy to use with my torque wrench. It is a little over 2 1/2 inches long, so it clears the wheel, but to clear the fenders easily I found it easier to use a 3” extension.

    In sum, this is a beautifully made, and rather expensive, non-marring socket.

    Amazon sells a non-marring 22mm socket for about $10. There seem to be two sources, Titan and Ares. Out of curiosity, I bought a Titan 22mm and an Ares 21mm (for another car). As far as I can tell, the products are substantially identical, differing only in the distributor’s marking. The Titan seems to come in different packages with other sockets, which may be of interest to you if you work on other cars. The Ares company was very customer focused and sent emails to make sure I was happy with their product. Other than that, I can’t tell any difference between their products — they are so similar it makes me wonder if they get their sockets from the same manufacturer. I have no idea, but they look alike.

    These sockets take a different approach. The Amazon sockets are made of steel, wrapped in plastic. They also are six point sockets with rounded corners, so the drive area is on the flank of the sockets, like the Hill Engineering product. But I am left with the sense that the Hill Engineering product, being made of aluminum, will protect the wheel and the lug bolts. The Amazon products are wrapped in plastic to protect the wheel, but will be steel on your lug bolts, which I suppose could potentially scar the lug bolts. There are also some comments on Amazon that the plastic does not last. I think the Hill Engineering socket will last forever. On the other hand, you can buy eight of the Amazon sockets for the price of one Hill Engineering socket!

    The Amazon sockets are about 3 1/2” long, so I did not need an extension to clear the fender with the wrench handle. Some comments on Amazon are that the diameter of the Amazon sockets, with the plastic protective wrap, is too large to fit some wheels. I had no problem with my OEM wheels. For what it may be worth, the diameter of the Amazon socket and the diameter of the Hill Engineering socket appear to be virtually the same: 1.29” (varying a bit up and down the barrel) for the Amazon socket, 1.314” for the Hill Engineering socket.

    Photos are below. The black and silver is the Hill Engineering socket, the green and white is the Amazon Titan socket.



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  2. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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  3. Bob in Makiki

    Bob in Makiki Formula Junior
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    Yes, although actually I think both the Hill socket and the Amazon sockets drive as shown in your illustration above.

    In fact, having used the Hill socket, I can see slight grease marks exactly at the red points on your illustration above. Very cool illustration Wade!
     
  4. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    #4 f355spider, Apr 24, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 24, 2019
    I have a similar looking set (to the Amazon socket) from Griot's Garage in both SAE and metric (includes a 4" extension too). Used them for 10 years on my F355 spider without issue. I noticed Ferrari of Seattle used the same as the Amazon as well. I think the most important thing to consider to protect the chrome is using hand tools and not an impact wrench. I caught a tire installer using one, and he damaged three before I stopped him. I got Hill replacements from Daniel at Ricambi of course. ;)

    Everything Hill makes is incredibly over done to the highest standard. I have their oil filter socket. Its amazing. Used their throw out bearing and tensioners over course.

    PS: I notice Griot's Garage no longer sells the complete set, you can order either SAE or metric, but the metric set does not have a 22mm socket.
     
  5. tbakowsky

    tbakowsky F1 World Champ
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    Stuff a ziplock freezer bag in the end of a standard impact socket, push it over the wheel bolt and jam away.

    If you really want to avoid damaging the wheel bolts, do not use in impact gun.
     
  6. Motob

    Motob Formula 3
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    The nice thing about the Amazon non-marring socket is that the plastic sleeve spins on the socket. So while you are loosening/tightening the lug bolts, you hold the plastic sleeve with your other hand, and it protects the finish of the wheel around the lug bolt from any damage.
     
  7. Bob in Makiki

    Bob in Makiki Formula Junior
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    Interesting point, Brian. I had not considered that. In the two Amazon sockets I have, the plastic sleeve on the Titan turns, the one on the Ares does not. So, perhaps they are from different manufacturers after all! I am using these on my torque wrench. The additional friction from holding the plastic sleeve would throw the torque measurements all off, but I see how one could hold it while doing the initial tightening. My guess is that the plastic would not mar the wheels even if it were to rotate against the wheel, but your method would be even safer.

    Tom, your freezer bag technique is clever! But I'm still glad I bought the sockets; they seem a little more reliable to me than a freezer bag, although I think that's a great idea if you don't have a special socket available.

    As everyone notes, I am assuming you are using a hand wrench. The Ares does claim to work with an impact wrench, the Titan as far as I recall does not. But I don't know why anyone would use an impact wrench on a Ferrari. (Or any other sports car, for that matter.
     
  8. Jaguar36

    Jaguar36 Formula Junior

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    I hate marketing BS like this. 6082 (basically the UK equivalent of 6061 although it has a slightly higher strength) is not a particularity strong aluminum. Its just the cheapest most common alloy. There is no way they developed a special alloy for this socket. Aluminum alloys that are twice as strong as 6082 are extremely common and used all over the place.

    They're basically saying "We used something twice as good as the generic crap we usually use, so pay us a ridiculous amount for it!"
     
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  9. Portofino

    Portofino Formula Junior

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  10. jcurry

    jcurry Two Time F1 World Champ
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    maybe it's 'aerospace' grade lol
     
  11. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Thanks, but it isn't mine... found on the Web or here (FerrariChat) a few years ago.
     
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  12. 348paul

    348paul Formula 3

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    The green one form Amazon is a Steel socket with a plastic outer. Steel sockets can cause a lot of problems with the chrome cracking that you never see until the moisture gets in and rust the bolt from under the chrome. This was the whole reason for making the Aluminium one and for the information we pay about 4 times the cost for the material to make a better part than the " Generic crap" that is out there! :)
     
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  13. Wade

    Wade Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Good point (steel vs. aluminum)!


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  14. Bob in Makiki

    Bob in Makiki Formula Junior
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    Thank you, Paul, for a great socket, and for all the other wonderful Hill Engineering products you make!
     
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  15. AceMaster

    AceMaster Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Exactly
     
  16. dm_n_stuff

    dm_n_stuff Four Time F1 World Champ
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    I've been using the Hill socket for 10 years, maybe more. It's a fine piece of engineering to say that it has survived in my use for that long.
    D
     
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