I've never really been that happy with the factory wheel studs on sierras. They just seem a bit, well, flaky.
Since I've fitted my Walkers, the stock wheel studs were too short. This isn't uncommon with alloys on sierras from what I have seen, and I don't like those deep shanked alloy wheel nuts - they seem soft and I don't think they are really a fix for too-short studs.
I've also had a hankering for "drag race" studs because I like the look of them, and I hate "acorn" lug nuts because I don't like the look of them. In case you haven't seen my car, I tend to put function ahead of aesthetics.
I had intended to upgrade to 14mm race studs (and fatzook has discussed this too) but there were a couple of problems with this idea.
A) My rims have a 60deg taper. This is a normal "car" taper and is shared with the stock sierra rims, but this is not the normal taper for a 14mm lug nut - they are generally a hemispherical nut. (Apparently VW style), a 45 degree "race" taper, or run no taper at all.
I wasn't able to readily locate 14mm open end nuts with a 60 degree taper
B) 14mm studs require opening up the hub holes to 14mm. That requires machining or hand reaming of the hubs and might well have caused problems with the step on the back side of the hub to prevent to hub spinning.
So I started doing some research into 12mm studs.
ARP studs in 12X1.25 (to match stock sierra wheel nuts) also require the hubs to be reamed out to 14mm, so there's no advantage there.
However, if you are prepared to change to a 12X1.5mm thread, and therefore change the lug nuts , it's possible to use a press in Honda fitment with a .485" knurl, the same as stock sierra.
So I hit up Jegs and mail ordered some ARP studs, P# 100-7712, and Mr Lug Nut nuts P#0306-5355-4
Which arrived in 4 days
In order to fit these, it's necessary to grind a flat on the head to key into the flat on the hub, and then they just tap in as per stock.
Advantages:
Strength.
Coarser thread is less likely to gall.
Any rim thickness is fine.
It would be pretty much impossible to loose a wheel - you'd feel the wobble long before you lost it. (This is why these studs are required for drag cars running under a certain ET)
There's a lead on the stud (and area with no thread) that locates the nut before the thread engages, so it's almost impossible to cross thread the nut.
The lug nuts are the same size as stock
The nut is taller and has a "bulge" so it sits on the socket and sits proud of the recess in the alloy rim.
Disadvantages:
You need a deep socket.
They cost money. Studs and nuts were $180 Landed. (Cheaper than loosing a wheel though.)
Before:
After:
This was so easy and is such a strong solution I think it might be almost the best mod I've done to date. I'm wrapped.
As an aside: VPW stock the ARP studs, but they don't list suitable lug nuts. As far as I could find, even Jegs only had one nut that worked for this rim combination. Worth mentioning. On paper, it's cheaper to source the studs from VPW, but I might be hard to find nuts depending on your rim situation.
Cheers.
Steve.
