Wheel studs

[volcomskater773]

i keep breaking them. like i just broke two at once. anyone know possible causes?

[OutToWinPAHC]

are they the extened ones? Wheel spacers?

[samxini]

i keep breaking them. like i just broke two at once. anyone know possible causes?

Are these the origional ones that are breaking or have these ever been replaced before?

[volcomskater773]

well one was replaced and the other two were stock. and no spacers.

[OutToWinPAHC]

Do you have a torque wrench, you may be over torquing your lugs

[volcomskater773]

nah just a 4 way. it looked like the wheel had slipped behind the two remaining lugs. not tight enough?

[AZ89two4Tsx]

^ your post makes no sense.

[SmithSR]

GET A TORQUE WRENCH AND THEN WATCH SOMEBODY USE IT PROPERLY.

[240sxFTW]

are you sure your breaking them? or does it feel like they are stripping. if they are stripping than you may need a key for your lug nut.

Edit. it may sound dumb but i didnt know anything about keys when i took my wheels off for the first time. i thought i was stripping them. but re-reading your post makes me think that they are just broke off. either way, good luck.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I've broken plenty a wheel stud on my 240, and have heard of tons of other people breaking them too... mostly on the rear.I've just been replacing mine, but the next time it happens, I'm gonna get some lengthened, hardened NISMO ones.

If you wanna repair them, I've done a writeup on how to fix broken wheel studs. So have a few other members, a simple search should turn up the threads.

[volcomskater773]

yeah it was a rear. no they werent stripped, pieces went along with the lug nut. and i do know how to use a torque wrench. used them 523495 times putting heads on. just dont have the money to buy one and i thought help to stop breaking wheel studs might save me some?

[md4040s]

Cause? not sure. used to happen to me also, until i started using the nismo ones.

[Kalypso]

cause would be rust/ozidationI use to snap mine all the time..

replace them extended studs

[volcomskater773]

so they re that good? i know nismo is awesome but was never sure.

[brandonlgilbert]

The NISMO extended studs are well worth the money. My '96 had a couple of stripped/broken studs on it when I got it and I had to replace them with some stock replacements from the local auto parts store. I did that a couple of times and decided to get the NISMO studs. I have had no trouble or complaints so far. I'm using the Muteki open ended nuts and they work fine.

[volcomskater773]

cool i ll be lookin into those soon thanks guys.

[ca18tt1978]

If your going to replace your studs with the nismo ones (worth the money ) i would invest in some closed ended lugs so not to get rust on the studs it causes them to get weak over time . I work at a wheel and tire shop and see it everyday . Unless your wheels have a center cap that covers your studs it would be a wise investment . My .02

[thundachiken]

The answer is so simple here. It's NOT extended studs. It's called anti-seize in a tube.

Don't have some? Get some!

[freakyjason]

I'm sure this is from over torquing. Most people that don't use a torque wrench over torque their lugs a lot. I recently found out I did every time. Get a torque wrench. You'll get your moneys worth.

[destroyyourmind]

autozone studs aren't the best quality either I go to nissan theres are a way better quality and fit I have put autozone studs in and they have spun in the hub and they were 12 by1.25 so I went to nissan and theres fit perfectly.

[volcomskater773]

i do use anti sieze. i bought the big industrial bottle a while back. and will try to borrow someones torque wrench to see where i am.

[nifares240]

you guys need to get a feel on how much to tighten without using a torque wrench. over tighten the lugs, they will stretch and break over time.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

The answer is so simple here. It's NOT extended studs. It's called anti-seize in a tube.

No its not... anti-seize will do NOTHING for this problem.

you guys need to get a feel on how much to tighten without using a torque wrench. over tighten the lugs, they will stretch and break over time.

Also not true... these wheel studs are breaking off due to shearing forces that are NOT occuring in the axial direction.Its due to weak, oxidized metal, plain and simple. Over-tightening would more likely result in a stripped stud rather than a sheared stud.

What you might be thinking of is a process called "work hardening". The problem is, in order to do this you have to yield the material first (stretch as you might say). Doing this to the point of work hardening it to where it would be so brittle it would just snap would result in messed up threads that wouldn't work.

[freakyjason]

Also not true... these wheel studs are breaking off due to shearing forces that are NOT occuring in the axial direction.Its due to weak, oxidized metal, plain and simple. Over-tightening would more likely result in a stripped stud rather than a sheared stud.

While over tightening is not the sole culprit in the case of most broken wheel studs, it plays a big role. When you put stress on a material that reaches and exceeds it's elastic limit, you actually damage the material and it no longer has the same strength as it once did. This is what happens when you over torque a bolt. Then it is more prone to breaking from stresses applied to it in any direction (not just the axial direction). So to the op, get a torque wrench. Also, you don't necessarily need to torque the bolt beyond it's elastic limit. If you torque it close, the lateral stresses from driving may be enough to push the bolt over the limit and eventually break it.
Modified by freakyjason at 9:53 AM 8/6/2009

[PapaSmurf2k3]

to yield an M12 steel bolt would take roughly 5970 lbs assuming a yield strength of 3.5 x10^4 psi (middle ground for carbon steel). Calculating pre-load through torque is tricky (start dealing with some wide variables that could stack up to make a difference). It would be interesting to see how much torque it requires to get near that .2% yield strength. I might try this at work using a load cell if I have time. If I have to take a guess, I would hope the required torque would be somewhere around 240+ ft lbs to start yielding... a stud should have at least that kind of factor of safety worked into it.

Also, you don't necessarily need to torque the bolt beyond it's elastic limit. If you torque it close, the lateral stresses from driving may be enough to push the bolt over the limit and eventually break it.

If that were the case, your wheels would become loose over time (which doesn't really happen) as the studs stretch... and at that point it would probably be more likely that the lug nuts would just back themselves off the studs (because they would have no torque on them, unless the stud was rusty as hell).Also, if this were the case, lots of new cars would be suffering from the same problem. Lots of people over torque their lug nuts. Any way you slice it... higher strength material is better.

The only reason I'm half way debating this with you is because I have torqued my lug nuts to spec and still busted wheel studs.

[freakyjason]

If that were the case, your wheels would become loose over time (which doesn't really happen) as the studs stretch... and at that point it would probably be more likely that the lug nuts would just back themselves off the studs (because they would have no torque on them, unless the stud was rusty as hell).

This is true. I've never actually broken a stud myself, but I'm friends with many people who track their cars (who have broken studs) and they all insist that if you over torque them, they are more prone to breaking. While I still think this is true, I agree with what you're saying and maybe this is a rare case I'm referring too.

[locoluna825]

i do alot of brake changes myself and i take wheels off alot i ALWAYS use a torque wrench to put them wheels back on and have never broken a stud. the only reason ive seen one broken off is from a impact hammer (watched this one shop use one to put the tire back on my car, when there supposed to be torqued on!!) ive never heard of anyone breaking a stud off with a Star before but they might have been already weakened who knows. Improper torquing of a wheel will even warp your rotors faster

[maryjane]

nismo studs are a great start