Well after all of the talk I've decided to go ahead and start one for all of those out there (like me) who had no idea it was possible until recently (thank you Rollnnn)...

Alright well to start us off, my roommate coincidentaly enough had a 80mm set lyeing around that he had on his BMW but decided he didnt like them (personally i think it was more b/c of how long they were than anything else but shhhh don't tell him)...

so to determine what kind of length I wanted to run I decided to install them on my right rear wheel just for grins to see where I stood on size etc. I already purchased a set of Muteki SR48 Gold extended lugs from eBay for $50 and jumped too it yesterday as soon as they came in.

Went ahead and jacked her up, removed the wheel, slapped some loctite blue on his studs and hand tightened them into the hub with an allen wrench. Didn't make them stupid tight b/c I did afterall might want to remove them if they proved too long etc.

Then, put my rim back on (btw sooooo nice not having to sit there and perfectly line the holes of the rim up with the holes of the hub!!!) screwed on the new Muteki nuts and then got out my torque wrench and tighten them all down to 70-75 ft-lbs.

Sure enough they were too long, stuck out a good 7mm when i attempted to measure them with some weird method I developed on the fly, haha...so i decided that I would not be buying them from my roommate (sorry Z) and went ahead and ordered a set of 65mm from Bildon Motorsports.

Now Im also not running any spacers on any sides so that ~7mm is a standardized ~7mm and I dont plan on running spacers anytime soon on the rears, however, given I had so much over lap I'm quite confident I'll be just fine with 65mm studs given the difference overall will be ~8mm down inside the Muteki nuts which sounds perfect to me. 70 would have probably been ideal however at the price I wanted to pay (~$2-3 per stud) I could not find them for that so I went with 65mm.

As soon as those arrive I will run the whole set on all 4 wheels and post some before and afters. I'll also post a before and after with the 80mm studs to give you some perspective if any of you decide to run this route!

Good luck and God speed fellas

PS I would like to thank my sponsors for today's posting
Rollnnn
Redstripe
Phister
and several more

 

here are the pics

 

nice write up dude! great pictures too.

 

If you're just trying them on, it would make more sense to skip this part, for the next time you do this, or for anyone else reading this thread.

Those lugbolts were looking pretty nasty!

 

Pssst, you guys that can't find the holes when bolting your wheels on

 

Thanks for starting this thread dude :P

I'd like to add that I never understood the benefit of doing this conversion and that after some poking/prodding, I finally get it.

If you change wheels and/or add/remove spacers frequently while using lug bolts, you will constantly have to also change your lug bolts to match, but if you use long studs and lug nuts, the extra length of the studs will not require new equipment to mount your wheels/spacers.

**So, if you're a big time wheel *****, this conversion makes TONS of sense!**

Also, I found that there were some sets of these lug nuts that were incredibly light! I found (from other forums) that some peoples were saving almost a pound per corner!

 

Thanks for pointing this out for our viewers man, I did it because I was not planning on them not working/being too long. It just so happened that they were but ya good point!

 

I think they look like crap. Doesn't someone make a faux cap or something to hide them?

 

I believe there are some extra long lug nuts that have closed ends... Maybe someone can chime in on that.

 

Interesting... Has anybody here been running like this for a longer period of time? Any issues with the studs not staying on, even if using Loctite etc.?

Needs closed end lug nuts, for sure, though.

Not that there really is need to take the wheels off that often, but still much more convenient when even such work is needed.

 

iv been running them for about a year and a half now with no problems...

They do make extended closed and open lug nuts just depends on preference. I have the open ends, i like the look

Yes you do save weight, these lugs are made out of aluminum and are lightweight lugs,(muteki are made out of steel, but still very light) you can totally feel the difference when holding them. As for when on the car i wont be able to tell a difference, but then again im no racer guy. From what ive heard in the jdm scene is that the weight savings even though very small, its a big difference and helps out..

 

well thats the whole reason in buying shorter studs that wont stick out...the muteki are extended lug nuts but when you have 50mm of stud to contend with, the mutekis are only 40 something if i remember correctly...thats why im not keeping my roommates but getting 65mm ones, so the only thing showing is the end of the golden nut!

 

Of course, if you want closed lug nuts, you may need to have more than one set, if you really have a variation in where they would be bottoming out against the wheel. Which almost defeats the purpose of the conversion.

I prefer open-ended ones, especially since I need ball seats, and really don't have the option of getting extended lug nuts.

 

Roll, how long are the studs on your setup?

 

I'll stick to bolts thanks!

 

fine be that way! lol

 

I dont remember. The front are longer, they were long enough to run a 20mm spacer up front and the rears are the right length to run a 10mm spacer. sorry. Ill try and ask Serge and see if he remembers...

 

Yes, we ascertained that on your first post here.

 

lol nuts FTW!

 

here's a pic of my rear wheel setup:

 

Your suppose to tq the studs to 25-28 lbs and let them sit over night to let them properly seat.

 

Glyn,
Just out of curiosity, what is the advantage, or MB reasons, for using wheel bolts instead of studs with lugs nuts. I am happy with the bolts especially since there is a small flange to hold the wheel in place while aligning the hole for the bolt. It is my understanding that some other cars that use bolts have no such flange and are a real pain to try to hold the wheel in place with one hand and try to start a bolt with another.

 

Yes you are correct...but like i said i was more interested in seeing the length set up vice viewing them as a permanent situation, but they did sit over night incidentally before I went to work the next morning, lol go fig

 

Converting to studs is frought with danger. Why anyone would use aluminum is beyond me.

Here is a guy who did his own conversion>


If you have trouble mounting the wheel, get a wheel mounting stud, and simply put the pole in the hole. You guys can do that right?

 

You do know that your tool kit should come with a pin that can be inserted into one of the lug nut holes that is there to help guide the wheel on and then can be unscrewed once you have a few lug nuts on.