Click noise after putting new wheels on?
 

Hellloooo. Lurker here. I have a 2016 370z on BC coilovers. 1.5ish inch drop not slammed on its nuts. I recently picked up some SSR wheels, 18x9.5 +22 and 18x10.5+22. I have extended studs. After putting the wheels on, if I drive straight and very slow like under 10mph I have click click noise that sounds like its coming from the wheels. As soon as I speed up a little like 2k RPM+ in first the noise completely goes away. Noise isn't present on stock wheels. The wheels have no cracks or bends or anything they're in great condition. The tires on it are very slightly stretched. Really not sure what the noise can be. I've cancelled out CV and Axle problems because lots of people run these offsets they're not crazy aggressive, and because I don't hear the noise on stock wheels. I don't see anything rubbing either, nor should there be with these specs. Now, I DO NEED an alignment. I have an alignment appointment a little less than a week away. Drove around 500 mi on the coil overs after installing and got wheels with tires because the stock wheel tires were on their way out. Has anyone had this issue where they have a click noise at low speeds after putting new wheels on? Car drives fine don't feel any issues.

Here are a couple of my theories, I am by no means an expert so please share insight on my ideas or if you have a different idea

Maybe my lug nuts are getting shitty? I used to impact them on at the body shop I work at. Maybe they have like a 1mm deformity cuz of that? They hold perfectly fine but they sit deeper within the new wheels unlike the stocks where they poked out. Could a baby deformities in the lug cause them to move a mm or so when driving slow because there isn't enough wheel speed to fully distribute the weight load? I think I read about this somewhere but dont even fully know if it works like that so let me know lol.

Second, even though the offset specs and wheel size are commonly run, could me needing an alignment cause a little extra pressure on axles to cause them to click? Not sure about this. Noise completely goes away at a slightly faster speed. As soon as im in second the noise is gone so could an axle even be the issue? Personally doubting this but fr not sure. Would the alignment possibly solve the issue? Lmk!

Third, I want to clarify I have looked a few times and do not see any rubbing and they shouldnt rub with these specs anyways. But will have alignment guys double check for me.

Lastly, could the tires the previous owner had on the wheel maybe cause this issue? They havent been driven on too much, but they do have a slight stretch to the tires nothing insane. I plan on getting meatier tires anyways because I dont like stretched too much, could this be a realistic issue?

Anyways guys thanks so much for reading and possibly helping out. Any questions or info that could help you guys help me please ask! Thank you all <3

Are you saying you used the same lug nuts on the stock wheels and the aftermarket wheels? The stock wheels use a mag-style lug nut while almost all aftermarket wheels will use a tapered seat. Are the lug nuts closed or open? Why are you using extended studs?

Hey! Thanks for your response. They are not stock lug nuts. Stock wheels used to have a wheel lock lug nut set. When I bought the car the owner lost the key. So I got all the old lugs off and had to use a lug gripper tool to get the wheel locks off. Then my friend gave me open ended tapered seat lug set to use instead. Those are what I have on the car now with the new wheels. But you bring up a good point! I have no idea if the lugs I have are 45 or 60 degree seat. Do you reccomend I get a new set of lugs? I’ll try to find out which degree seating I need for these SSR GTV02 wheels. Also I installed extended studs because when I got the wheels I noticed that there wasn’t too much thread on the studs because of the offset difference. I drove it on stock studs like 100 feet, and noticed that the lugs were real easy to take off. After installing extended studs the lugs hold very tight and did not loosen after a quick drive around town. Studs made no difference in noise, I originally thought the short amount of thread on stock studs were the issue. I believe the nismo have longer studs than base model (I have a base model). I installed the extended Z1 studs.

The lug nuts you are using are almost surely 60 degree taper which is what they should be. Not sure if there is a difference in stud length between base models and sport/Nismo models. Open ended lug nuts means they aren't bottoming out on the extended studs.

The clicking noise doesn't seem to be related to the change of wheels. Is the clicking loud or soft? Fast or slow? One time or repeated?

Clicking can be heard with windows down. If windows are up I wont hear it. By no means does it sound like a banging or clashing noise. Its sounds like running over some brittle leaves. The clicking doesn't really sound rotational with the wheel. Click clickclick click until I go above 2k rpm in 1st then it stops. Keep in mind, after I heard the click, I did put the stock wheels back on, and the clicking stopped. Put the SSRs back on, and clicking started again.

Heres a video of the clicking noise: https://vimeo.com/640185670
In the video I did run over two big ol' leaves (abunch in my complex) so dont confuse those noises with the actual clicking I'm referring to in the vid lol. P.S. In the car is sounds like it comes from the front, standing outside the car you can hear it from the rear too.

Weird..
Are you using hubcentric rings?

I actually do not since I just got the wheels. But I do understand I need them and just ordered them. I did make sure to tighten lugs evenly in a star pattern making sure the wheel is flat on the hub. I've heard of not having rings causing some vibration issues at higher speeds (btw no vibration issues here), but personally never heard of not having them causing a clicking noise. Like I said, not an expert tho lol. Do you believe that it could cause the noise? Ever heard of that before on here? Regardless once I do get them I will update if it fixes the noise. Hope it's that easy of a fix lol!

Hmmm, a puzzling puzzler...

The hubcentric rings, or lack thereof, aren't causing the clicking noise. I was trying to picture what could be moving to cause the noise. It sounds like lightweight sheet metal like a heat shield or brake dust shield. Do you have tpms sensors on the SSR wheels? If so, how are they mounted? I have my sensors banded on the barrels which can result in noise if they become loose.

No TPMS sensors. I’ve also read about a shield causing some type of noise in other threads. But unless I’m smoothbrained I genuinely don’t see anything touching or rubbing, everything looks to me like it has clearance. The strangest part about this whole thing is that the noise completely disappears after 10mph. Not like the wind is louder than the click, like it actually just stops clicking once I go fast enough. A puzzler indeed.

Just a thought....
Is the thread depth of the lug nuts deeper than the length of the extended wheel studs with the non stock wheels on?

Want to make sure the lug nuts are not bottoming-out due to the studs being a bit too long so that the wheel is actually loose.

As I said, just a thought....

He's using open-ended lugs so that's not the problem.

OP, is there any rhythm to the clicking? Does it speed up when you go faster, or is it consistent until it goes away? Hard to tell from the video.

I think it would be worth having someone else try to help you pinpoint the location of the noise while driving. Have them stand on the outside of the vehicle while you drive by. Or even better, if they have a bike, have them cruise next to the car near each wheel while driving slowly.

I wouldnt say there isnt a consistent rhythm to the clicking that happens every time. Sometimes it sounds like click, click-click, click. Sometimes its click..click....click. When inside the car, it sounds like it's coming from the front. But both me and a friend listened to it outside the car as it slowly cruised by and it sounds like it comes from the rear too. If it's happening on multiple wheels would buying a different set of lugs be a smart move to eliminate that option incase they're the problem because thats something that could affect all the wheels?

Note: Originally when I got the wheels I had stock studs. There wasnt enough thread to drive them safely fast in my eyes, but I did creep 50 feetish in the complex and the clicking occured then. Regardless of me thinking studs were causing the noise, I installed the extended studs and the click was still there, but atleast lugs tighten and do not loosen after driving now. The open ended acorn lugs I have now were being run on the stock wheels before too, could that affect the structure of the lugs since the stock wheels were supposed to use the mag seat type?

Acorn lug nuts are the wrong type for those wheels. You need 60-degree tapered seat lug nuts. Don't think that is contributing to the clicking noise but just saying.

Oops, I do have 60 degree tapered (they look like the random muteki’s I see on google) didn’t mean to describe them as acorn. Maybe I’ll get a new set anyways, just trying to try all the cheaper solutions first I guess