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Hey guys, so I've been tinkering around with my beater Camaro that I picked up earlier this year fixing up all the BS redneck stuff I've found rigged up all over the car. Just when I thought I was starting to get close to having a decent car it bites me in the @$$ AGAIN!
I took the rear wheels off the car for the first time since buying it to diagnose a squeak in the rear when I realized the studs are too short- WAY too short. The lugs only thread onto 3, maybe 4 threads and the wheels weren't even torqued on much. So bad it was that I managed to strip a lug when torquing it back to 100 lb-ft. I got a replacement lug today to hold me over until I decide what to do and that stripped too! One of the studs is galled up as well.
So my question is, what gives? Studs look OEM enough, I believe this car has C6 Z06 reps because they're 17"s and I think OEM were 18"-19" only. How is it that the studs aren't long enough, is it the wheels? Since I'm going to have to replace the studs I don't want to go with ARP or anything crazy, I just want to make this work. Please help, I need to get this car to pass smog ASAP and I can't even drive it safely in this state.
when I bought my WS6 it had vette wheels on it.....seller said he still had the speedlines so I told him to keep the vette wheels and put back the speeds......I get home and go to take off the rear wheels and find several stripped studs and mangled threads.....ended up pulling the axles and replacing all the studs........vette wheels and stock length studs DONT mix !!!
New question since this has bugged me since I bought the car. Take a look at the stance I have going on here, the wheels in the front are tucked 1" too far into the fenders and probably 1/2" in the rear. What if I got spacers instead?. The thing that worries me is what if I run into the same exact problem with the spacers?
I suppose the question is, what are my options short of changing wheels? Especially if I want to correct the stance.
With the ARP 100-7708 studs there is enough for ~1/2 inch spacer. I have a 15mm spacer for my Firehawk wheels and it's fine. Question remains as to what's the deal with Vette wheels if they are thicker on the mounting point... if they really are then spacer might not be good. IIRC there is a kind of even longer studs, 3 inch long, not sure what brand but I've seen them around.
Problem solved. So the aftermarket studs they sell for these cars (The Dorman ones anyway) are threaded to the end unlike the OEM ones. I was a little hesitant about doing this job but it went without a hitch with the help of a sledgehammer. I was worried I'd have to pull the axles as I've never done it before but these slipped right in.
Going forward, I'd like to space wheels out but not sure that'll be a possibility. The front needs to come out 1" or so, shouldn't be a problem with the spacers that have lugs integrated into them. The rears only need 1/2" or so, I'd imagine I'd just need a blank spacer with no studs and install ARPs to fit them?
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Serious wheel stud issue, help!! 
