I'm putting American Racing Torque Thrust II wheels on my Dart and am not sure what to torque the lug nuts to. The instructions that came with the wheels say to torque to factory specs if you know them otherwise torque to 75-85 ft./lbs. when using 1/2" lugs. The front disks are 73's so they are 1/2" and the service manual spec is 65 ft./lbs. The rear drums are 69 Dana drum brakes. I texted American Racing and asked them if I should do the 65 or 75-85 and got a text back saying they don't suggest torque specs (even though the instructions do) but suggested I do the factory spec. What torque did those of you with Torque Thrusts use?

Internet says 75-85 with a 1/2" wheel stud diameter. I have always went with 90 on cast aluminum car wheels.

If the wheels are new then carry a wrench and socket with you and stop and check them every so often until they appear to stay tight. Some grades of cast aluminum are not that dense so you may find the lugs not holding their final torque value initially for the first few miles until the lug nut seat surfaces get worked in. I have never found one completely freewheeling loose on the studs, but have had a couple lug nuts that were in the process of backing off a few foot pounds after a few miles so don't be surprised if you discover the same thing.

I set the cheap torque wrenchs I use to 81 (3 foot lbs increment markings). Retorque the next day

75 with the Americans on the last Vintage TransAm car I crewed.
Recheck after every session showed they didn't loosen up.
But it's a peace of mind thing to recheck, even on a street car.

Seem to me proper torque here would vary for which style of nut you are using. Mag wheel or tapered, and then the type of what/where (threads/contact surface) the lubricant or anti seize used.

I have always installed lug nuts dry. No reason to use oil or anti-seize in the dry high desert climate out here.

Long ago, I read that ARP said that fastener torque is about stretch; that's why stretch gauges are used on con-rod fasteners.
The amount seems related to fastener size, though one sees exceptions, such as cylinder heads.
I've always put a little oil or anti-sieze on lug threads, especially if they might get wet; I've seen many of the studs corroding over time.
Maybe that's overkill, but I like smooth thread engagement.

Well, just washing your car alone initiates galvanic action with all the different metals at play.

Wash your car often, or drive in the rain, and you'll find a lot of aluminum wheels will often have rust stains transferred onto the back of them from rotors or drums so water can in fact get in from the rear side. That said I have never had a lug nut, that I have installed myself, be affected enough by rust to bother with any lube. Idaho level rust you would find on a wheel stud, or inside a lug nut, is going to be so lightweight in nature that it wire brushes off with minimal effort if you even cared enough to mess with it. Have yet to see a wheel stud here that has rusted bad enough that the threads were starting to develop pitting to the naked eye. Now take a car that came from SLC Utah or the Oregon coast, ect. and the story may be far different.

The wheels require the conical style lug nuts.

i have american torq-thrust originals [straight spoke] on the front of my charger.
i made a 1/4" hub-centric spacer so the spokes would clear the calipers.
the front studs were changed to longer ones with bullet noses, and the nuts are open ended with the new style bulge seat.
i have them torqued to 85ftlbs with just a touch of copper anti-seize.

I had my Torque Thrust wheels modified to take a shank style lug nut. I thought it would be safer to run slicks with. 90- 100lbs.