Broke 3 wheel studs!
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,461
Likes: 2
From: Allen TX
Broke 3 wheel studs!
I was driving home in my neighborhood and took a corner at about 20mph. I hear a popping noise and then a bad vibrate, get out to see that I have three wheel studs broken on the left rear. 
I hobble home since I was about 1/8 mile from my house.
I have been using wheel studs from Autozone and have always had problems with them seizing up or breaking. This has finally told me these wheel studs suck. Why does this keep happening, is it because I use 1/4'' spacers on the wheels?
Anyways...
What diameter are the knurls on the wheel studs I need. I am planning on buying some from Summit but I can't seem to find the right knurl diameter. I did a search and came up with .430 or .457" but Summit doesn't sell anything smaller than .480". What to do?
I hobble home since I was about 1/8 mile from my house. I have been using wheel studs from Autozone and have always had problems with them seizing up or breaking. This has finally told me these wheel studs suck. Why does this keep happening, is it because I use 1/4'' spacers on the wheels?
Anyways...
What diameter are the knurls on the wheel studs I need. I am planning on buying some from Summit but I can't seem to find the right knurl diameter. I did a search and came up with .430 or .457" but Summit doesn't sell anything smaller than .480". What to do?
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 215
Likes: 0
From: verona nj
I have been itching to add cragar ss or torque thrust D rims to my 73' for years now. After tons of research I decided putting these aftermarket wheels on would be a bad idea. Too many horror stories with spacers. I did decide to go with the Torque-thrust II wheels since they do not require spacers. Just my .02 cents.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,180
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From: out of nowhere
CrossedFlags77 - Hammer or press out one of you old studs and take it in to any performance parts supplier. They should be able to hook you up with some correct sized morroso's. They are much stronger than stock.
Fastbackl48 - If you order rims with the corect backspacing, you don't have to use spacers. A good tire & rim dealer can tell you what you need. You don't have to buy from them, just use their info.
Fastbackl48 - If you order rims with the corect backspacing, you don't have to use spacers. A good tire & rim dealer can tell you what you need. You don't have to buy from them, just use their info.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
Likes: 4
St. Jude Donor '03,'11
you're very lucky. spacers are bad news. I did the same thing once but not quite as bad. When i went to take the wheel off 2 studs snapped off when i put about 2 foot pounds of torque on them.
spacers = death
spacers = death
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,323
Likes: 3
From: I KNOW JESUS... HE'S MY GARDENER
Originally Posted by turtlevette
you're very lucky. spacers are bad news. I did the same thing once but not quite as bad. When i went to take the wheel off 2 studs snapped off when i put about 2 foot pounds of torque on them.
spacers = death
spacers = death
Mr. Gasket cheapos = death (in some instances). A combination of cheap studs + cheap spacers = broken studs.
See: http://www.wheeladapter.com/ for quality spacers (@ $40/ea.
)Some good reading here, too: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show....php?t=1106033
Last edited by SkunkApe; Jun 9, 2005 at 09:58 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Originally Posted by turtlevette
you're very lucky. spacers are bad news. I did the same thing once but not quite as bad. When i went to take the wheel off 2 studs snapped off when i put about 2 foot pounds of torque on them.
spacers = death
spacers = death
1. Ditch the spacers.
2. Get the right size wheels if clearance is a problem, or move what is in the way of the wheel / tire.
3. Get good studs. I would bet that GM still has them in stock.
4. upgrade to the 1/2" studs if you plan on doing any serious racing. If not there are plenty of cars on the road that live fine with the stock studs.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 29,745
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From: Exiled to Richmond, VA - Finally sold my house in Murfreesboro, TN ?? Corner of "Bumf*&k and 'You've got a purdy mouth'."
CI 6-7-8 Veteran
CI-VIII Burnout Champ
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Originally Posted by SkunkApe
Wrong (again...). Quality spacers are
Mr. Gasket cheapos = death (in some instances). A combination of cheap studs + cheap spacers = broken studs.
See: http://www.wheeladapter.com/ for quality spacers (@ $40/ea. )
Mr. Gasket cheapos = death (in some instances). A combination of cheap studs + cheap spacers = broken studs.
See: http://www.wheeladapter.com/ for quality spacers (@ $40/ea.
)all SPACERS = death.
Adapters - and they are different - are better. I am running VBP adapters for my wheels. There is no such thing as a "quality spacer". The web page even calls them adapters and not spacers.
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Le Mans Master
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 5,269
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From: Orlando Florida
St. Jude Donor '05
Originally Posted by turtlevette
you're very lucky. spacers are bad news. I did the same thing once but not quite as bad. When i went to take the wheel off 2 studs snapped off when i put about 2 foot pounds of torque on them.
spacers = death
spacers = death
Crossedflags, from what you say it sounds to me that you're using 1/4" spacers that move the rim off the axle's hub. I have to agree with turtlevette , these are junk = death....
A hubcentric adapter (or spacer) does not distribute any load on the studs while cornering...
Maybe your lug nuts were not tightened correctly which made it a lot worse...
I agree with TT, upgrading to 1/2" studs is a good idea - the original studs are 25+ years old anyway.... and yes, the AutoZone studs are trash, there is a lot you can buy there without problems - but there's also a lot of junk in these stores that shouldn't be sold to the public...
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,323
Likes: 3
From: I KNOW JESUS... HE'S MY GARDENER
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,323
Likes: 3
From: I KNOW JESUS... HE'S MY GARDENER
Originally Posted by turtlevette
skunk,
looks like we need to teach you the difference between spacers and adapters.
looks like we need to teach you the difference between spacers and adapters.
Drifting
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,323
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From: I KNOW JESUS... HE'S MY GARDENER
Originally Posted by BSeery
The web page even calls them adapters and not spacers.
Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 18,126
Likes: 174
From: WI
Originally Posted by turtlevette
you're very lucky. spacers are bad news. I did the same thing once but not quite as bad. When i went to take the wheel off 2 studs snapped off when i put about 2 foot pounds of torque on them.
spacers = death
spacers = death
...redvetracr
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 10
From: Scottsboro Alabama
[QUOTE=litevette
Fastbackl48 - If you order rims with the corect backspacing, you don't have to use spacers. [/QUOTE]
I have to disagree with this statement. Backspacing and offset has nothing to do with caliper clearance. The design of the wheel itself determines whether or not it will clear the caliper. There is a measurement you can take off your rotor-hub-caliper to give the wheel manufacter to determine whether a wheel will fit.
Fastbackl48 - If you order rims with the corect backspacing, you don't have to use spacers. [/QUOTE]
I have to disagree with this statement. Backspacing and offset has nothing to do with caliper clearance. The design of the wheel itself determines whether or not it will clear the caliper. There is a measurement you can take off your rotor-hub-caliper to give the wheel manufacter to determine whether a wheel will fit.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 1,146
Likes: 10
From: Scottsboro Alabama
Originally Posted by SkunkApe
They make custom spacers as well. Gotta read further than the first page. Send 'em an e-mail for your application and they send you a quote.
I installed long Moser studs also.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 3,053
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St. Jude Donor '03,'11
Originally Posted by redvetracr
Gee, I have been using 1/2" spacers on my race car for 10 years without a problem.....Of course mine are solid aluminum NOT cast.
...redvetracr
...redvetracr
with non hub centric spacers the studs take the shear shock loading. Hitting a pot hole on the street can subject the studs to 50 - 100 K pounds of impact loading.
I ain't doing it again and i'm skeptical of adapters too.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,461
Likes: 2
From: Allen TX
The wheels and spacers were on the car from the very beginning when I bought the car. They have these on them...
So those seem to be the culprit. Does anyone know the knurled diameter of the stock wheel studs? I dont have time or the skills and I am sure my dad would flip if I told him I was going to redrill the holes to accept larger studs.
Oh yea by the way does anyone have a set of stock aluminum wheels they want to sell for cheap? Need true and straight wheels, doesnt matter if they look pretty cause I will paint them black.
So those seem to be the culprit. Does anyone know the knurled diameter of the stock wheel studs? I dont have time or the skills and I am sure my dad would flip if I told him I was going to redrill the holes to accept larger studs.
Oh yea by the way does anyone have a set of stock aluminum wheels they want to sell for cheap? Need true and straight wheels, doesnt matter if they look pretty cause I will paint them black.
