Subaru field engineer says OEM wheel studs only good for 75 to 80 wheel changes

[Kostamojen]

Originally Posted by mav1178

Our STX car endured 2 full seasons of autocross, changing tires 2-3 times each weekend.

Stock studs, no issues.

-alex

Good for you.

My daily driver lasted one autocross and two wheel changes/removals before stripping two studs in the first couple months of ownership.

That was after 9 years of owning an Impreza with the same bolt pattern on stock studs with dozens of wheel changes/removals and NEVER a stripped stud...

[murdoc]

I'm just gonna keep using my torque stick when I zip them on after hand threading to start, and checking afterwards with the torque wrench.

Then again I only have my wheels off 5 or 6 times a year.

If I strip or break a single one I'm upgrading the full set.

[14stu]

I previously owned and autocrossed a 2010 WRX and currently do the same with a 2014 BRZ. I cross-threaded a couple of studs on the WRX after two years of autox using the stock hardware; however, once I retired the lug nuts and started using some copper grease a couple of times a year I had no more issues.

I haven't had any issues yet with the BRZ by avoiding the stock lug nuts (my autox buddies mostly switched to extended studs as a prophylactic measure). Studs aren't hard to do on our cars and are often necessary for wheel and spacer combinations anyway, needing to take extra care with the studs or lug nuts is a little disappointing but is a common Subaru "quirk".

[Tt3Sheppard]

Does it help at all if anti seize is used?

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by Tt3Sheppard

Does it help at all if anti seize is used?

Just remember a lubricated lug/nut needs a lower tq spec than a "dry" one.

I've only ever used anti-seize when using Al lugs on ARP studs.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Tt3Sheppard

Does it help at all if anti seize is used?

Depends on why the studs are failing.

I'm of the opinion that most of the studs are failing (the stripped ones anyway) because of debris getting into the threads and people just muscle through the resistance deforming and weakening the threads. If you're using anti-seize to prevent the lug and stud from grinding and creating little metal shavings you might get some extra life out of them. If you let the anti-seize become a dirt magnet and don't keep the studs clean you'll accelerate the wear.

As mentioned above, anti-seize means that if you torque a lubricated bolt vs. an un-lubricated bolt to the same value you will put more force and stress on the lubricated bolt. Less friction in the threads = more force being applied to tighten it down.

There is endless debate on this, and I've never been arsed enough to care, the basic and intuitive answer is that yes, you should torque to a lower value. But practically speaking, torquing lugs in your driveway you'll almost never hit precisely 89 ft-lbs. Auto manufacturers know this, and this is one of those areas where the proper precautions have almost assuredly been made.

Give it a google:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...0bolt%20torque
This one looked good to me, the linked chart roughly gives us that ~90 ft-lbs dry = ~70 ft-lbs lubed, I wouldn't trust it though.
http://www.busconversions.com/bbs/in...?topic=15160.0

Yup, Subaru decided to save themselves a couple bucks per stud and they won't last forever for the guys who swap wheels two or three times per month. $1/stud * 5 * 4 * 200,000 = $4 million, I certainly don't blame them.

Have there been many cases of studs snapping on track? If there are I missed them. Like with every other affordable car, the 86 is built 'well enough'. Most of the studs fail on track because they see extreme heat cycles that the average commuter car will never see.

tl;dr keep it simple, keep the studs clean and dry
I lubed up my ARP+Al lugs like above, it was ok, didn't make me feel any better about it, I'm going to let it dry out and flake away and just do my best to keep the studs clean this time. I torqued to 89 ft-lbs because I'm acting on faith that all the important margins of safety have been calculated and it doesn't matter if I torque it to 70 or 110 ft-lbs.

[dradernh]

I consider upgraded studs and nuts to be like upgraded brake fluid, pads, and lines - just something necessary to do to the car before ever putting a wheel on the track.

[CSG Mike]

The CSG BRZ has never stripped or damaged a stock stud. No exact count, but I can confidently say it has had 400+ wheel changes done.

Anti-sieze is ALWAYS used, and refreshed regularly, and torqued to 80 lb/ft by hand, every change. Lugs are almost always impacted off, and impacted on, before hand torquing.

A lot of this is because of careful technique and strict adherence to be best practices.

[johan]

I had two studs / lugs get screwed up the second time my wheels were removed to go on the dyno. And I was present both times - and the lugs were hand threaded back on, always. So this is no surprise to me. Car only had 5000 miles on it at the time.

[DarkSunrise]

Originally Posted by renfield90

Above all realize that if you race your car, studs/lugs are a wear item and should be replaced regularly - even if you've upgraded.

This is what I've always heard as well. Is there a recommendation as to how frequently to replace studs/lugs?

[Sleepless]

No anti seize, torqued to 90, changed wheels many times, tracked heavily, no issues ...

This thread feels like a typical internet overblown horror story. Yeah, sh@t happens sometimes, but 99% of the time all is good. I'd worry about something else personally... Like the upcoming prez elections!

[Sleepless]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

This is what I've always heard as well. Is there a recommendation as to how frequently to replace studs/lugs?

Per Alleged Subaru tech: after 90is wheel changes

Per CSG: after 400+ changes

[Sleepless]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

This is what I've always heard as well. Is there a recommendation as to how frequently to replace studs/lugs?

Per Alleged Subaru tech: after 90ish wheel changes

Per CSG: after 400+ changes

[Pat]

Per actual Subaru field engineer. That's much different than an alleged tech.
I've never had problems, either, but it doesn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy.