DIY: Wheel Stud Conversion

[Big~Kenny]

Iv been reading alot about these latly, and i never really liked the idea of the thread-in stud conversions even with loc-tite, especially for us that actually Drive our cars. So for the last few weeks iv been gathering parts to do MY own stud conversion. Also a bonus with using these wheels studs, there 7/16 which is just under 12mm, so this is perfect if your running Mercedes wheels, or you want to bolt 5x114.3 wheels to your audi.

Heres a list of parts;
- ARP Part #100-7702(3.25in long, 7/16-20 thread pitch)
- Ceco conical open end lug nuts
- Ceco conical to ball seat washers
- 9/16 drill bit






1) Remove wheel


2) Remove your caliper and rotor


3) Now you will have to drill the original threaded holes that where for the lug bolts with your 9/16 drill bit


4) Now for the front studs, you will have to grind a flat spot in the stud itself so it will clear the spindle


5) Once you have grinded your studs, you can go ahead and fit them into the holes, using a socket and doubling up the nuts, use a breaker bar or a impact gun and tighten the bolts till the stud is completely seated.



Here you can see why you needed to grind the back of the stud


Re-install your brake assembly, and wheel and tire, tourqe your new lug nuts, and move onto the rear.


This shows how much threads are left, im using a 15mm spacer in front, and i will be using a 20mm in the rear.





Onto the rear, its much easier as you dont have to modify the wheel studs at all, just drill out the holes.



all drilled out


New studs pressed in



All cost me about $120 in parts including a $30 drill bit. I chose this route over the screw in studs because i Drag, and autocross my car almost every weekend, and i feel much safer with these type of studs! Hope this helps anyone who chooses to to this!

[Connella08]

nice write up, but it doesnt look like there is much material left on the outside edge of the hub when you drilled it out. im sure after a while, they will crack.

[Type S]

nice write up, but it doesnt look like there is much material left on the outside edge of the hub when you drilled it out. im sure after a while, they will crack.

he barely drilled out anything, so I'm sure it won't crack. very little material looks to have been removed.

Ill stick with the thread in conversion though, 2 years of abuse and still going strong.

[Connella08]

agreed. thread in conversion to me sounds much better than removing material to get it to work.

[Big~Kenny]

If you look closley, you can still see threads after i drilled. So it really doesnt take much material off.

[Camride]

Nice DIY. I think I'd do the press in route if I were going to do it as well. At this point though I haven't decided if I'm doing spacers or not, but if I do I'll go down this path.

[c0r3y.af]

Looks good man I'm also a little nervous about how thin the hubs are around the outside edges of the holes, but then again I can still see threads so I can tell there wasn't much drilling. Let us know how they hold up.

[Big~Kenny]

Thanks for the compliment guys!

Im just waiting for my new optima battery to come in as my little oddssey finally died so i havent had a chance to drive it with the new studs.

for those that are worried about the ammount of material left on the hub, 9/16 is 14.2mm and the hole is 14mm.

[Chuckdee]

So after this conversion, you'll be able to use 5x114.3 wheels. Two questions, what will make it possible to run 114.3 wheels, is the lugnuts or the new wheel studs? Can you still run 5x112 wheels too?

sorry for the noob questions lol.

[thepirate]

So after this conversion, you'll be able to use 5x114.3 wheels. Two questions, what will make it possible to run 114.3 wheels, is the lugnuts or the new wheel studs? Can you still run 5x112 wheels too?

sorry for the noob questions lol.

I don't see how its possible to run a 5x114.3 wheel since you are still using the hub that is 5x112. I think you can run a 5x114.3 wheel with wobble bolts.

[Big~Kenny]

Can you still run 5x112 wheels too?

sorry for the noob questions lol.

Yes, im still running my OEM S4 Avus.

I don't see how its possible to run a 5x114.3 wheel since you are still using the hub that is 5x112. I think you can run a 5x114.3 wheel with wobble bolts.

Well from what iv read, people who run 5x114.3 wheels on our cars, they bore the wheel lug hole to 16mm, and use a 14x1.5 - 12x1.5 thread conversion studs. The studs i used are 7/16", which is 11.2mm, so from my calculations that is a total of 2.8mm per stud which you have to play with, that measure plus boring out a 5x114.3mm wheel hole to 16mm, should be plenty of room to run a 5x114.3 on a 5x112 hub without wobble lugs. Of course you will still have to use a hubcentric ring, but thats a given.

[xdewaynex]

Subscribed to this. I cant figure out why this hasnt been done until now. Drilling out the threads is very little material removal and not taking away from the strength of the hub. I will plan on doing this soon over the thread in studs. Thanks for the DIY.

[99.5blacka4]

I don't see how its possible to run a 5x114.3 wheel since you are still using the hub that is 5x112. I think you can run a 5x114.3 wheel with wobble bolts.

You can run 114.3 wheels because the studs are 12mm (or in his case, slightly smaller).. when set in a 14mm hole, it allows the wheels to move left to right some (14mm hole, 12mm stud) and this allows for the lugs to seat properly. That little bit of give all the way around.

This has been done for the last few years, especially some of the guys running grids. Hinrichs also did this on his old wheels on his a4. His studs were screw in.

I am doing this to run my wheels this year, but I will be using screw ins. If mr hood can put over 600 down and beat the **** out of his car on screw in studs... i can daily my car on them.

[Big~Kenny]

I am doing this to run my wheels this year, but I will be using screw ins. If mr hood can put over 600 down and beat the **** out of his car on screw in studs... i can daily my car on them.

I didnt realize he was putting that much power down. Id be skeptic on the screw in studs at that power, just IMO. Im putting down low to mid 400whp and i feel much more comfortable with these studs, and i can run up to a 30mm spacer with these, compared to only a 5-10mm with screw in studs, thats why i chose this route.

Finished instaling my new rear brakes and finally finished my battery tray, took the car for a drive tonight, no vibrations or strange noises, autocross couple weekends way, time to abuse it Will post resualts

[99.5blacka4]

I didnt realize he was putting that much power down. Id be skeptic on the screw in studs at that power, just IMO. Im putting down low to mid 400whp and i feel much more comfortable with these studs, and i can run up to a 30mm spacer with these, compared to only a 5-10mm with screw in studs, thats why i chose this route.

Finished instaling my new rear brakes and finally finished my battery tray, took the car for a drive tonight, no vibrations or strange noises, autocross couple weekends way, time to abuse it Will post resualts

He's had the same screw ins in the car for over 6 years, just FYI.

I don't like how far the threads are out past the stud.. I'd prob do tighter measuring on my car, just cause I'm anal about stupid stuff lol

[aledelic42]

I've seen a few guys just bolt up 5x114.3 wheels on 5x112 hub with nothing special.. studs ftw though

[99.5blacka4]

I've seen a few guys just bolt up 5x114.3 wheels on 5x112 hub with nothing special.. studs ftw though

It had to be all wobble lugs or 1 wobble and 4 reg.. You can get 4 Audi lugs through but then the last hole is right on the far edge of a 14mm lug hole.. Idk if a wobble would even seat right but at least it'd go in an not look weird..

Unless they drilled em out to 16 or 18mm holes

[aledelic42]

I know I've seen a b5 with 5x114.3 rotas bolted up using stock lug bolts. my friend jake had 5x114.3 wheels on his 5x112 mercedes with stock lugs too and I know of a couple other local guys that did it.. never tried it myself

[99.5blacka4]

If the lugs or studs on the 5x112 car are 12mm they'll allow a 14mm hole 114.3 to bolt up.

Our cars are 14mm lugs and require going down to a 12mm stud and lug

[It's Big Ty]

i can run up to a 30mm spacer with these, compared to only a 5-10mm with screw in studs, thats why i chose this route.

I have 3" thread in studs from 034 and they stick out farther than the studs you have so I can definitely run a spacer larger than 5-10mm.

[Big~Kenny]

I didnt realize you could get that long of screw ins, where did u get them i looked everywhere?!?!

[It's Big Ty]

Directly from 034 Motorsport. Came with lug nuts for $90 shipped.

[99.5blacka4]

where can i buy ceco stuff from? their website doesn't list pricing.

[Big~Kenny]

There a Canadian Company based out of coquitlum, IDK if you can get it throught the states, but you can go to your local tire shop and im sure they can get the lug nuts for you. Black Forest Industries sell the cone to ball seat washers.

[SaiB]

very nice write up. did you relocate your battery or just changing to smaller battery in stock location?

[Big~Kenny]

I had a super small oddessey battery with a custom tray, it wouldnt handle my stereo system so i upgraded to a yellow top optima.

have about 500kms on the studs, hard launches and fast cornering, no problems!

[Big~Kenny]

All summer with drag racing, autocross and overall hard driving and these have held up awesome, no cracks, no vibrations or anything.

I now have my 5x114.3 winter wheels/tires mounted, just to show everyone you can use 114.3 wheels with this conversion!