Ralf,

I have had a love/hate relationship with wheel studs for a long time (mostly love). They have come from Bildon, Turner, BBS, etc. The only crappy ones came from a tire store.

The proper tightening torque is whatever you torque the lug nuts to.

The screw threads and receiving threads must be absolutely clean.

The wheel must always be flat against the mounting surface. Ant movement will cause the stud to fail.

I use loctite red just to make sure that no other contaminents can get into the thread area (the braking heat will mean the loctite will lose its hold).

Do not use stud installer/extractor tools to install. It will screw up the threads. Double nut the top and torque down using a torque wrench (the same one you trust for tightening the lug nuts). The ones with a hex at the tip are for the convenience of starting it, not for full install/torquing.

If you feel one is backing out (i.e. not allowing the lug nut to be properly torqued), take off the wheel and any spacers and replace. You can inspect for any defects or cracks at a more convenient time. Check the hub/drum as well to see if there is any damage to that threaded surface. It is flexing and over-torquing that are the primary causes of damage to the stud.

Use the right lug nuts for your wheels. You can put a ball on a cone, but not a cone on a ball.

Make sure the lug nuts are the right length and you have at least 1/4" of thread showing when everything is tight.

Use the same brand/length on each individual location. That way you'll know when one looks different than the others on that wheel.

DZ

"...don't let Dave touch the tools"