[Gwagensteve]

I've never really been that happy with the factory wheel studs on sierras. They just seem a bit, well, flaky.

Since I've fitted my Walkers, the stock wheel studs were too short. This isn't uncommon with alloys on sierras from what I have seen, and I don't like those deep shanked alloy wheel nuts - they seem soft and I don't think they are really a fix for too-short studs.

I've also had a hankering for "drag race" studs because I like the look of them, and I hate "acorn" lug nuts because I don't like the look of them. In case you haven't seen my car, I tend to put function ahead of aesthetics.

I had intended to upgrade to 14mm race studs (and fatzook has discussed this too) but there were a couple of problems with this idea.

A) My rims have a 60deg taper. This is a normal "car" taper and is shared with the stock sierra rims, but this is not the normal taper for a 14mm lug nut - they are generally a hemispherical nut. (Apparently VW style), a 45 degree "race" taper, or run no taper at all.

I wasn't able to readily locate 14mm open end nuts with a 60 degree taper

B) 14mm studs require opening up the hub holes to 14mm. That requires machining or hand reaming of the hubs and might well have caused problems with the step on the back side of the hub to prevent to hub spinning.

So I started doing some research into 12mm studs.

ARP studs in 12X1.25 (to match stock sierra wheel nuts) also require the hubs to be reamed out to 14mm, so there's no advantage there.

However, if you are prepared to change to a 12X1.5mm thread, and therefore change the lug nuts , it's possible to use a press in Honda fitment with a .485" knurl, the same as stock sierra.

So I hit up Jegs and mail ordered some ARP studs, P# 100-7712, and Mr Lug Nut nuts P#0306-5355-4

Which arrived in 4 days

In order to fit these, it's necessary to grind a flat on the head to key into the flat on the hub, and then they just tap in as per stock.

Advantages:

Strength.

Coarser thread is less likely to gall.

Any rim thickness is fine.

It would be pretty much impossible to loose a wheel - you'd feel the wobble long before you lost it. (This is why these studs are required for drag cars running under a certain ET)

There's a lead on the stud (and area with no thread) that locates the nut before the thread engages, so it's almost impossible to cross thread the nut.

The lug nuts are the same size as stock

The nut is taller and has a "bulge" so it sits on the socket and sits proud of the recess in the alloy rim.

Disadvantages:

You need a deep socket.

They cost money. Studs and nuts were $180 Landed. (Cheaper than loosing a wheel though.)

Before:



After:










This was so easy and is such a strong solution I think it might be almost the best mod I've done to date. I'm wrapped.

As an aside: VPW stock the ARP studs, but they don't list suitable lug nuts. As far as I could find, even Jegs only had one nut that worked for this rim combination. Worth mentioning. On paper, it's cheaper to source the studs from VPW, but I might be hard to find nuts depending on your rim situation.

Cheers.

Steve.

[ajsr]

those are some serious studs

[christover1]

Functional, strong and pretty, too.

[alien]

just don't dangle your scarf out the window while driving =) haha

cool though, the extra thread is practical. Are they a danger to rocks hitting there though and bending the sticky-outy bits? i know its a long shot of happening but still.

[Gwagensteve]

It would have to be a very funny shaped rock. I guess its possible, but it would have to be very unlikely.

[dank]

I'm having the same issue with my alloys. I've got seriously not enough thread on the standard studs....$180 seems excessive. There has to be other options out there.

[11_evl]

I used Hilux studs I think when I did rear disc

[Gwagensteve]

dank wrote:

I'm having the same issue with my alloys. I've got seriously not enough thread on the standard studs....$180 seems excessive. There has to be other options out there.

$9 for a ARP stud and wheel nut doesn't really seem that bad IMHO. there the last studs I'm ever going to have to buy for a sierra.

I am sure there are cheaper alternative, but it's hard to find one with all the right parameters. Reaming the hubs out to suit a different knurl diameter would turn a $5 stud and nut combination into a much more expensive (and time consuming) exercise.

Steve.

[Highway-Star]

This looks good!
I had been playing around with uber long Skyline studs a while back. From memory they were 1/2" knurl and could be made to fit with some light work to the hub. They are still 1.25 thread, however this all said, this solution looks simpler; and the cost is no different as the only genuinely cheaper alternate is if a factory stud from a wrecked car can be made to work. All aftermarket ones are in the vicinity of $10 each...

[fordem]

Gwagensteve wrote:

As an aside: VPW stock the ARP studs, but they don't list suitable lug nuts. As far as I could find, even Jegs only had one nut that worked for this rim combination. Worth mentioning. On paper, it's cheaper to source the studs from VPW, but I might be hard to find nuts depending on your rim situation.

Cheers.

Steve.

I believe 12 x 1.5 should be readily available from the nearest Toyota dealer.

[Gwagensteve]

Yes, I'm sure they are.

A) They are likely to be acorn nuts, not open ended, and from my recollection of toyota, they aren't bulge nuts either, which makes them a little bit more fiddly to fit and remove when you are using a deep socket.

B) I bet they are dearer than mine from Jegs. - US$1.50 each is pretty hard to beat.

Likewise, I'm sure wreckers are full of hondas etc with 12X1.5 nuts, but as I pointed out, the open end/bulge combination isn't common.

Steve.

[remydog05]

i cant quite tell but I think I have a couple more threads on mine than yours Steve?



This is a alloy that came off a Vitara and is 0 offset from what I can tell.

Im wondering if any of you think this is acceptable to be safe on my 31 road tires? (also keeping in mind it still has to be roadworthy and engingeered)
Im thinking its very much boarder line but I liked the idea of a light easy wheel to have on for the day to day driving with 31's.

As stated above it might be a candidate for the deep shanked nut mentioned in the first post??

[Gwagensteve]

Yep, it looks like you have another couple of threads over what I had - yours look borderline but OK to me. Might not get past an engineer though, depends on how obsessive they are.

I wouldn't run deep shank nuts. I think they are crap solution, mostly because they don't increase the # of threads engaged, only how easy it is to get to the nut with a wheel brace.

Steve.

[GRPABT1]

I'm thinking of doing this mod now to fit a set of thin wheel spacers. I only want about 10-20mm and I don't like the bolt in style spacers. What are your thoughts on this steve? I only want a tiny bit of extra width to stop my tyre rubbing on the spring which only happens rarely but annoys me. I've run longer studs and those style spacers on my commodore for years without drama.

[Boneheimer]

I don't understand why this hasn't been moved to good tech?

Thanks for the write up Gwagen

[Gwagensteve]

GRPABT1 wrote:

I'm thinking of doing this mod now to fit a set of thin wheel spacers. I only want about 10-20mm and I don't like the bolt in style spacers. What are your thoughts on this steve? I only want a tiny bit of extra width to stop my tyre rubbing on the spring which only happens rarely but annoys me. I've run longer studs and those style spacers on my commodore for years without drama.

I can't really see why that would be a problem. It's not legal, of course, but no problem just the same.

Steve.

[TZAR]

Therte was a certain falcon that came put with ultra long studs too, to fit some sportsman wheels.

The were 1/2 unc thread and were about 100mm long and had 19mm nuts that were about 24mm across the base( look exactly like your nuts Steve)

I have a packet somewhere and will try and dig them out for a Photo.

[dank]

I was having similar problems to Steve with my KPDLOCK Beadlocks so I did some further digging around and found a supplier that supplies an off the shelf OEM replacement stud which is 35mm longer than stock and comes with a replacement nut with 60 degree taper as well in M12x1.25

Here's a pic.



They are not what i'd call cheap either...around $190 for 20 studs. I'm swapping out the stud on mine in the next few weeks.

[sogone]

What size are the standard ones? My new Lwb has had the fronts replaced with after market items and even with lj rims I cant get more then half the acorn nut on. Not driving it till I source new ones that'll fit!

[dank]

Standard ones are 35mm long mate.

[Built4thrashing]

I wonder if these will fit the front of a GV....same size thread and stud patern......

anyone know the size and length of the NGV studs?

[Built4thrashing]

Just found these on ebay.....might be of interest to some.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LONG-SUZUKI- ... 4cfef8c579

[Gwagensteve]

According to my calcs, the knurl on those studs is 0.2mm too big to fit a Sierra. (0.485" is 12.3mm, not 12.5mm)

Might not be a problem, but it might. Not sure if vitaras/jimny's have a different stud to Sierra.

Steve

[Rookie_zookie]

U can use early Nissan wheel studs that what I did work well

[Rookie_zookie]

U can use early Nissan wheel studs that what I did work well

[Gwagensteve]

Can you provide a bit more information Rookie_zookie?
What model Nissan are they from?
How long are they?
How much do they cost?
Are they the same thread? (As in, do they require new wheel nuts)

Steve.

[tanshi]

i use pintara / skyline ones.
the knurl is slightly too big and needs clearancing.

they are around 15mm longer.

[christover1]

Built4thrashing wrote:

Just found these on ebay.....might be of interest to some.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LONG-SUZUKI- ... 4cfef8c579

I have ordered a few of these,
so will report back on wether they fit my 93 lwb Vitara,
and wether I wasted money or invested it.

[mnemonix]

I've done the stud upgrade Steve lists above to fit my beadlocks. Ordered from the suppliers listed above and had parts at my door in just days.

Install took about 20 minutes for 4 wheels, and on my maruti the studs didn't need modifying at all. They cleared without the "flat" being needed.
A very worthwhile and idiot proof upgrade.

[christover1]

They fit.
Bit longer than needed.
May trim them down, so normal wheel brace fits.

Shank size was fine, a little tighter than the stockers,
but pulled through with nut ok, and locked in ok.





Trimmed off roughly 20mm giving room to use my wheel brace, even on the stock rims.

Before, rear has longer (front) studs fitted to allow for the disc conversion.



After