So I recently installed aftermarket wheels studs on my BMW E90 since they are easier to deal with than bolts. When I recently went to a tire shop the owner there advised strongly against the aftermarket studs saying he had seen some back out over time and he was reluctant to work on the vehicle because of this. https://www.ecstuning.com/ES2836721/ Any thoughts?
Hmm... possibly, they make more sense for track-driven or competition cars since (presumably) such things would be more rigorously examined & checked more frequently. That being said, I'd tend to think that, properly installed, you'd think there shouldn't be much reason to suspect problems. I would think that tightened to the stud-maker's recommended torque (possibly with the correct type of loc-tite?), they'd likely be fine. Maybe one of those things instead of set & forget, check on a regular schedule, like once a month, or some-such. Make sure you're doing the maker's install procedure as recommended, and maybe check for additional tips from someplace like Turner Motorsports or Bimmerworld, which should have some insight on the thought they might well have racing experience with them. If you're only doing daily street driving and perhaps changing out wheels/tires seasonally, studs might be overkill for such infrequent wheel swap-outs. Obviously they have some advantages if your swapping off wheels and tires for multiple driver's schools, autocrosses, etc.
Yeah I'm not tracking so definitely overkill - I just do my own brake fluid and stuff and get annoyed by the wheel bolts is all. I figured it was easy enough of a solution. I ended up just using a marker to mark each stud towards the center of the wheel as an easy visual indicator. I'll also mark easy stud relative to the rotor so this can easily be checked every time the wheel is removed.
