How many lug nuts do I need to leave on cars?

Question

But I mean, if I had to take at least one off each wheel of each car, how safe would that be?

Answer 1

all of them...cause if you don't and you hit something it could damage your vehicle and others, when the wheels fall off.

Answer 2

All of them and make sure they are torqued properly....................

Answer 3

all of them to protect the load in the car, brakes do not work as well if the drum or disc is warped.  

Answer 4

All but if some are missing you can get by on 4 if in fact your car has 5 lug nut holes.

Answer 5

You should NEVER drive a vehicle with out all its lug nuts. If it was designed for 5 you keep five on, if 4 you keep four on. Missing one or more, could prove to be very dangerous.  

Answer 6

One on each wheel will git her done.

Answer 7

All of them should be on it.

Answer 8

depending on how many lugs it comes with you can get by with one less than it's designed to have for a SHORT TIME. Make sure they're torqued properly to prevent warping the rotors or damaging the wheel

Answer 9

At an absolute minimum, you should not have less than three, however, I would not risk driving very long without securing all of the lugnuts that are on your particular model of car.

Most cars have five lug nuts which would make you tighten in a sequence call the star pattern. It is called the star pattern because it is like drawing a star. You start with one lug nut, skip the next one and continue in that way until they are all tightened properly.  This is the same pattern that you would use for securing three lug nuts.

If you have six lug nuts the pattern is the same as when you had four just with two more lug nuts. No matter how many lug nuts you have do not just tighten them by doing one after the other going in a circle that will not allow the wheel to be tighten on properly.