I keep breaking lug studs!!!

[kuhlka]

Just about 90,000 miles on my STI with no anti-seize used on the lugs. Not a single one has broken. I use a torque wrench to tighten and a breaker bar to remove. Impact wrenches should only be used to remove stuff. Never tighten down using an impact unless you want to stretch bolts, strip threads, and otherwise destroy stuff.

I'll never take my STI back to a wheel and brake shop because they over-tightened my caliper bolts. When I went to do my brake upgrade several bolts snapped off, two pulled the threads out of the caliper (had to helicoil).

If you haven't done every single wheel change yourself, I'd raise an eyebrow toward your wheel shop. They're notorious for using impacts to take wheels off and quickly zip them back on without bothering to check torque.

[Doborder]

OP
Don't feel bad
I broke three studs cuz the oem lugs are crap
I finally bit the bullet and got ARP studs and new lugs
Haven't had a problem since

[SmsAlSuwaidi]

Broke my front driver side stud, they're a piece of SHIT, I ordered a replacement but didn't install it yet. Is the replacement of studs a fairly simple task or what?

[humfrz]

WOW - LOTS of ideas on tightning up lug nuts .....

I just tighten them up (dry) to "two squeaks" or a "grunt", depending on which comes first. Or just tighten them up to "lug nut tight" .... (that's an acquired feel thing .... ).

The only wheel that I have lost over the past 70 years, was a wheel on a garbage can.

To, the OP - for your poll, I've taken the wheels off on my FR-S without problems.

humfrz

[Evil Jesus]

Originally Posted by humfrz

WOW - LOTS of ideas on tightning up lug nuts .....

I just tighten them up (dry) to "two squeaks" or a "grunt", depending on which comes first. Or just tighten them up to "lug nut tight" .... (that's an acquired feel thing .... ).

The only wheel that I have lost over the past 70 years, was a wheel on a garbage can.

To, the OP - for your poll, I've taken the wheels off on my FR-S without problems.

humfrz

Hahaha, same thing here. May not be the best way to go but it's worked for me for over 20 years.

Now watch me lose one when I do my winter swap...

[cnk]

Originally Posted by SmsAlSuwaidi

Broke my front driver side stud, they're a piece of SHIT, I ordered a replacement but didn't install it yet. Is the replacement of studs a fairly simple task or what?

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21563

[Thorpedo]

Removed and reinstalled wheels 20+ times on dry studs, torqued to 90. (AutoX) Lugs removed with impact or ratchet, installed with tq wrench. You goofs posting about lubricating threads may be "experts", but situations where you're working with 2000ft/lbs is entirely different than small fastener physics. Lubed torque would be lower than dry torque, and even as specifically whether you're lubing the threads, the seat, or both.

I'm surprised I didn't see someone mention to MAKE SURE you tighten them in the star pattern. The first one should only be snugged up the first time. If this isn't done the lugs tighten down on one side of the stud hole, making it possibly seize, gall, or break the stud upon removal because it isn't supported by one side of the lug.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Thorpedo

.........I'm surprised I didn't see someone mention to MAKE SURE you tighten them in the star pattern. .......

Good point for the newbies!

Also, if you have locking lugs, make sure the locking lug is the first one off and the last to be fully tightened down ....

humfrz

[Suberman]

Originally Posted by fasterthanu

Don't listen to this guy or you will keep breaking studs.

The lubricant will not allow the lugs to break their specified torque on their own,it will only allow the nut to be successfully removed without damage occurring to the threads.

I work in the industrial field and use never seize on applications to over 2000ft lbs of torque. The only way you can reach that torque is with a lubricant on the threads otherwise the friction and force will literally gore the metal before the specified torque is reached.

Now do you understand the purpose of thread lubricant?Or do you need a more scientific explanation?

Yer n idiot. Scientific enuff for ya?

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...jsp?techid=107

Dry torque and lubricated torque are totally different concepts.

[Guff]

The first stud I broke was from factory torque. It was the first time the wheel was ever taken off.

The two recent ones have been on a wheel that was removed and put back on, and they were put on carefully, in a star pattern. The torque wrench I used has not been recently calibrated, however, it has been used on a multitude of cars other than mine and has not proven to be a problem.

In regards to the anti-seize, I'll do more research on that, but for now, I will keep it dry and see if I can't get my torque wrench calibrated or something. I guess I'll look into getting better studs as well.

Also, if I get new studs, can I retain factory lugs? I see that many of the aftermarket studs are extended, would those require a open lug nut?

[PantsDants]

FWIW, I have yet to break a wheel stud, but I've had to replace two so far due to the threads getting screwed up (which I'm attributing to Discount Tire). One was with the stock lugs, the other was with ones from Gorilla; pieces of the wheel stud threading ended up welded inside of the lugs. Luckily I was able to get them off in both cases!

I'm beginning to lean towards picking up some stronger studs if this keeps happening. That and I'm never going to that shop again. OP, the longer studs will require you to get open lug nuts.

[wlwarfield]

As mentioned above lug nuts, studs, and any mating surfaces should be clean and dry before installing wheels. Use a wire brush to clean the hubs and the back of the wheels and use brake cleaner to remove any kind of lubricant on the studs and/or lugnuts. Antiseize or lubricant will hinder you from achieving the correct wheel lug nut torque. I have removed and reinstalled my wheels 10-20 times already with no problems. I always torque my wheels in a star pattern followed by a circle pattern to ensure there's no movement in the lugnuts.

[King Tut]

I worked at Walmart which is one of the most concerned companies about liability, and we put anti-seize on every stud that came in. I have been using anti-seize on the studs on my street cars and race cars for years, and I have never had one come off or broken a stud.

[RAWR BRZ]

You guys serious? The reason why they break is because the studs are steel and i assume you have after market lugs nuts that are aluminum. Steel + aluminum will galvanize which means 89ft/lb will equate to something like 150 (guessing) after awhile. The anti seize is so that it isnt direct steel to aluminum contact so they dont galvanize. That way it can be easily removed. This happened to a friend and he broke probably 7 studs. He finally started to use anti seize and it fixed his issue. He tracks his car hard too with the lugs torqued to 89ft/lb and no backing out issues.