1984 325E with lug bolts is it possible to convert to studs? I'm not having fun trying to hoist the wheel into position...
Yes. Contact roadracetech.com for studs, and tell them Paul sent you. Not super cheap, but if you change the wheels lots, they are nice.
I have. Thanks, Paul. Amazon also has the stud kit!! I understand (but not for sure) that the bolt-on cars came with a positioning stud you could screw in and use to hang the darn wheel on while you aligned 1-2 of the bolts. can anyone confirm this? what was it officially called? it looks like this would this would fit my social security check better than a $100+ solution<<BG>
There is a tool in the trunk tool kit that you can use this way. It is that long punch looking thing, and one end fits into a bolt hole. You can get studs anywhere, but cheap studs are not necessarily a good idea. If you wanted, you can go to a fastener store and buy just one stud to make hanging the wheel easier.
The metal rod with taper-shaped plastic end in the trunk toolbox (that you'd use as the crosspiece to have enough leverage to turn the spark-plug tool) doubles as the wheel locator. Don't think it's threaded though, you just put it into a bolt hole. Part number 11, here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1113&mospid=47309&btnr=71_0005&hg=71&fg=05
lol - Paul and I were replying at almost the same time. I'd suggest that cheap studs are a BAD idea - they are, after all, what HOLD the wheels on!
I do not have anything like that in my rusted tool kit (boy what poor quality stuff I found in my mostly empty tool kit!) perhaps I should get a 3" cap screw of right thread, and cut off the head. think that would work?>
Don't see why not - I'm gonna guess BMW hubs are metric thread - btw, I'm not saying studs are a bad idea at all, (only low quality ones) and as Paul mentions, they're nifty if you swap wheels a lot - If you're not doing driver's schools/auto-x/etc. requiring frequent wheel swaps, studs might be overkill for street usage, unless you just want them.
12mmx1.25 -- at least mine are.<G> for now I'm going to make a "helper" from a bolt with the head cut off. I can hang the wheel on it to make it easier to maneuver looks like the $ to change to studs comes out somewhere north of $100...which is out of my price range.