Short wheel studs

[Sam Monoogian]

When I went to offer up a front wheel to the newly assembled front suspension I was horrified to see only a couple of mm of wheel stud protruding from the wheel. I'd replaced the iron hubs with some alloy ones, but had not checked the length of the studs as it had never crossed my mind that it might be an issue. However I now know the old studs were 33mm from hub face to end while the new ones are 23mm. There's enough thread exposed to secure the wheels for build purposes but not to run the car with (IMO).

 

I measured the thickness of the wheel centre with a 6" rule and take it to be about 18-20mm (no callipers available). Can I get wheels with thinner centres or do I have to replace the studs (not an attractive option)?

[DohNut]

Surely replacing the studs is easier then the wheels ! !

I did go to caterham who "assured" me that they only ever fitted one length of stud.

but judging from what I saw at Curborough many have replaced the studs keeping the same hub.

Check that your nuts are the correct taper for the wheel and have thread running right to the end, my old nuts did not but the ones from Caterham do AND cheaper than Halfords!!

 

Nick

[philwaters]

Anywhere like Burton or Merlin Motorsport can supply you with new studs and nuts if you need them too, or a local motorsport place... press (read: stick it in a vice) out your current ones and then in with the new - doesn't take long and is a lot easier than new wheels.

Out of interest- where did you get the hubs - did they come with the studs? I am going through the process of chaning my iron Ital for Ford Alloy ones this winter so will be looking into all this nearer the time.

 

Phil Waters

You mean you can drive these?

I thought it was just there to polish 😬

[Sam Monoogian]

The nuts do have thread all the way to the end - they were the ones fitted to the previous hubs. I may just reuse the studs in the iron hubs although how easy these are to press out may be interesting.

 

Phil, I bought the hubs second-hand. I advertised in the Wanted section as I managed to damage one of my iron hubs. Didn't intend to get alloy replacements but they were the first to be offered so took them. They had never actually been run on a car so are very good condition.

[Sam Monoogian]

It's fun trying to build a car while at University away from home - you never actually achieve that much.

 

I've only just removed the longer studs from my old hubs. I was wondering if anybody knows a way to remove the studs from the hub without dismantling the hub/upright? I've been told you can remove them by putting two plain nuts on such that the outer one is not fully on, and then wacking it with a mallet. I don't really want to do this as hitting my car with a mallet is cringe-making. ☹️

 

 

[Graham Sewell]

I have replaced a wheel stud like this many years ago (albeit on a Cortina upright) and just putting an old nut over the end and a swift hit with a heavy hammer (not mallet weight) shifted it. Putting the new one in was a lttle more interesting as the only method to pull it through the hub is to use a wheel nut and tighten. This leads to the stud working loose a couple of times over the first couple of miles as it settles into place properly.

 

Low tech luddite - xflow and proud!

[Sam Monoogian]

I might give it a try next time I go down. If it doesn't work I can always remove the hubs afterwards.