Fitting Longer Wheel Studs - Vitesse Mk2

[Paul H]

My car has alloys and this reduces the amount of thread available for the wheel nut. In my case each nut is held on by approx 6 threads and im not comfortable with this . 

I read with with interest Darren Groves write up on upgrading the studs to Freelander studs. I started with the front wheels and pretty much straight forward . 

Remove the 2 bolts holding the caliper and suspend using a cable tie .

Undo the castellated nut and remove the hub assembly - Remove the existing studs by adding a wheel nut and a clout with a lump hammer - They come out easy enough - Clean up the serrated hole and offer up the new nut which is from a Freelander part No CLP9037L - cost for 4 wheels approx £35 deld ( Ebay )

Pic shows existing stud, replacement Freelander stud and new captivated wheel nut suitable for Alloys ( £15.00 ish Ebay ) the overall length being the important issue .

Fitting the new Freelander stud is straightforward , tap in to start and using a large oversize nut tighten the wheel nut drawing in the stud till flush . Using an impact wrench will make the job easier once the pull is started 

Refit the calipers and castellated nut 

Use this opportunity to regrease the front hubs and set the free play .

The rears are more difficult as there is no space to add the new Bolts , Initially knock out the existing studs , they will come out easy enough . If you have a Churchill equivalent hub remover you can remove the hub section - I do have one though didnt want to upset anything so used Darren's suggestion of drilling the back plate and use the 19mm hole offering in the Freelander studs - This was harder than I thought . You will need a Step drill and I already had one from Toolstation  excellent bit of kit - I suggest you remove the Wheel tab first as this will get in the way of the drill + remove the brake shoes.

Drill the hole as per the following pic + you will need an extension to get the clearance - It will take some time as there isnt much access room . A round file will help in the final stages - Dont be tempted to force the stud through the hole and hub as you will damage the thread - got the T shirt -

When you are close to having the correct hole in the back plate screw in the stud by hand and then you can use pliers to continue twisting and your stud will go through . Once in place add oversize nut and washer and tighten with an open ended wheel nut to force the stud into the hub - Once its started you can use an impact wrench to speed up the process -

Once completed cover the access hole with a suitable grommet 

NB you will need a set of open end nuts suitable for steel wheels if that is your spare

That's it and if I ever travel around the country roads of County Clare in Ireland again  I will feel a lot safer than with the old studs which are not suitable IMO for alloy wheels 

Hope this helps 

Paul 

[Pete Lewis]

Good write up

Just a thought ,  on rota flex the rear hub doesnt need a puller it not on a taper and shoukd pop of quite easily 

Just re torque the centre nut on refitting 

Pete

 

 

[68vitesse]

Just a thought do you have to use a higher torque setting with all alloy wheels.

My modern with alloy wheels is nearly twice the setting for my Vitesse steels.

Regards

Paul

[Pete Lewis]

If you go with the torque on the TR and 2000/2500with 7/16" studs 55 to 60lbft seems about right  its what I used without problems

On my Vit6 with alloys

Pete

[Paul H]

14 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

Good write up

Just a thought ,  on rota flex the rear hub doesnt need a puller it not on a taper and shoukd pop of quite easily 

Just re torque the centre nut on refitting 

Pete

 

 

Thanks Pete - I will try this tomorrow as still have the other rear to do 

Paul 

[Pete Lewis]

Let  us know  if  im right .....or not   Ha 

PETE

[Clive]

37 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

Just a thought do you have to use a higher torque setting with all alloy wheels.

My modern with alloy wheels is nearly twice the setting for my Vitesse steels.

Regards

Paul

That will be down to how much torque the studs/nuts will take. With wheels I like them to be done up f'ing tight. This is after seeing idiots loosing nuts and almost wheels on trackdays. Scary.

[Paul H]

25 minutes ago, Pete Lewis said:

Let  us know  if  im right .....or not   Ha 

PETE

Will  do. Pretty sure i used a puller last time. 

Paul 

[NonMember]

I'm fairly sure the rotoflex setup still needs a puller but it's 25 years since I did them.

[KevinR]

Rotoflex hubs are best removed with "a" puller, but you don't need "the" puller, any hub puller will do, they are not particularly tight and the shaft is parallel, not tapered.

[Paul H]

Hi I have a puller so this will be easier than drilling a 19 my hole in the backplate. I did renew bearings, doughnuts, ujs last year and setting up preload / endfloat was not easy though working fine . I thought removing the hub meant I had to preset again but that isn’t the case as the bearings are not being changed . 

Thanks for input 

Paul 

[JohnD]

Paul, tell us that again , AFTER you have used the puller.   You must have before so you'll know that 120lbs-ft is a LOT!    Drilling the hole which can be filled by a grommet afterwards, unless you think ventilation, is so much easier!

John

[Anglefire]

At some point I would like to fit minilites to my 1500 Spitfire - though not going for mad wide tyres 165 or 175 possibly. Do I need to change the studs (or recommended) to fit them? And if I do change them will the standard steel wheels still fit? I was just thinking I’d do the studs as the next pad change (I am going to fit the mintex pads I bought recently ish) on the front. 

 

[Pete Lewis]

certainly the 3/8 studs have a tendancy due to age and over use  and over torqued to strip or often detach and you loose a wheel 

its happend  to quite a few over the years 

fitting the7/16" or M12 makes a real bullet proof job of a   almost minimal design  yes they have lasted all these years and there by i think lies the problem    they are life expired 

if you use open nuts then theres no problems using a steel as a spare , if you use domed /capped nuts there is going to be a problem

so keep a set of 60deg coned open nuts in the boot

where you get the studs be they triumph  7/16"  , ford   or freelander    M12  is down to preference an costs.

on the fronts you may find the head just fouls the hub machined register and need a chamfer with a file to get them sat nice and square 

you must make sure domed nuts do not get thread bound  so a bit of care measuring the lengths/depths  is advisable

Pete

[yorkshire_spam]

2 hours ago, Anglefire said:

At some point I would like to fit minilites to my 1500 Spitfire - though not going for mad wide tyres 165 or 175 possibly. Do I need to change the studs (or recommended) to fit them? And if I do change them will the standard steel wheels still fit? I was just thinking I’d do the studs as the next pad change (I am going to fit the mintex pads I bought recently ish) on the front. 

 

You can run steels or minilites on a 1500 Spitfire with Freelander studs..... that's what I do. BUT you need different wheel nuts for the steels.

I'm running 175/70/r13 on my minilites.

(In my experience the brand of studs matters - I bought allmakes and they were the correct threading and chamfer to fit without issue in Spitfire hubs)

[AidanT]

This is a good upgrade. TBH I went for the more expensive option I think of extended 7/16 which were purchased from jigsaw, I believe they still sell them and they already come with a camphor 

Aidan 

 

 

[Paul H]

10 minutes ago, AidanT said:

This is a good upgrade. TBH I went for the more expensive option I think of extended 7/16 which were purchased from jigsaw, I believe they still sell them and they already come with a camphor 

Aidan 

 

 

The freelander studs have the correct chamfer .check out my pic

Paul

[Mad4classics]

Wheel studs are often overlooked and as Pete said, probably decades old.

If you've got wire wheel adaptors, going bigger is not an option.

However simply replacing 3/8" studs like for like, or longer if you've got alloys is a good idea in itself.

David

BTW: late Mini front hubs are 193ft/lb and keep going to the next split pin hole!

[68vitesse]

Bought freelander studs from a local Land Rover specialist for my Vitesse, the threaded portion was to short to use with the steel wheels, so a waste of money. Did not like the idea of extending the threads with a die as a cut thread is weaker than a rolled thread.

Regards

Paul

[yorkshire_spam]

2 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

Bought freelander studs from a local Land Rover specialist for my Vitesse, the threaded portion was to short to use with the steel wheels, so a waste of money. Did not like the idea of extending the threads with a die as a cut thread is weaker than a rolled thread.

Regards

Paul

Out of interest, what brand were they? Allmakes? Britpart? Bearmach? No-brand?

[Anglefire]

6 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

too short to use with the steel wheels,

Couple of washers would be fine  

[Clive]

I have mgf studs on the rear of my car ( came fitted to the mgf hubs!) And on the front I have ford M12. I use s set of natty genuine ford closed nuts, they have a stainless cover which is problem free, and the wide washers rotate, not sure if that helps. Anyway, they work f+r with alloys and std steel wheels. But as Pete points out, a little work is required to grind/file an angled flat , literally 30s with the grinder. 

[68vitesse]

Fitted to the stud before the wheels, cheap spacers? ?, I must have put them somewhere safe so not sure where they are.

Is it one of the symptoms of the disease Triumphitist that you cannot throw away old, wrong or useless parts?.

Regards

Paul

 

[Paul H]

29 minutes ago, 68vitesse said:

Bought freelander studs from a local Land Rover specialist for my Vitesse, the threaded portion was to short to use with the steel wheels, so a waste of money. Did not like the idea of extending the threads with a die as a cut thread is weaker than a rolled thread.

Regards

Paul

Hi Paul , following your comment I checked my spare with open ended nuts suitable for steel wheel and the studs fits fine - check out the pic . I purchased my Freelander  CLP9037L studs ( marked OEM ) from BSB Autoparts  , they have an Ebay Store 

Paul 

[rlubikey]

I'm guessing that Triumph 7/16" studs and TR6 nuts would look fairly original on a Mk4 or 1500 Spit. Can anyone confirm this, or suggest alternatives please?

Cheers, Richard