M14 to M12 wheel stud conversion

[juanmedina]

It seems to me that the wheel selection for wheels that come with clearance for M14 wheel studs is very limited. The solution to this is to buy wheels that come ready for M14 wheel studs (limited selection), have the wheel lug holes enlarged or swap wheel studs.

Most of the Japanese high quality wheels casted and forged come drilled for M12 bolts like most of the Ray's/Volk, Advan, Wedsports, and others like the German BBS wheels.

I myself rather run wheels that been circuit tested and properly engineer with decates of experience than other newer companies wheels like the Taiwanese BC forged or I Believe Chinese VS Forged.

@MountainPass For instance drilled his Advan wheels to accept the Tesla M14 wheel. This solution doesn't seem very DIY friendly and is not easy to make it happen. Maybe Sasha can chime in and expand on how enlarging the holes can be done and what he thinks about chaging the wheel studs.

Swapping wheel studs is DIY friendly from what I see and is a very common practice. Many cars in the curb weight segment like the Model 3 come with M12 wheel studs like the GTR, Lexus RCF and GSF. Wheels are held to the hub by clamp load and they don't carry load in shear. By swapping the M14 wheel studs to a higher class/grade M12 studs and setting the torque to a certain value the same clamp load as M14 studs can be achieved.

I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Thanks

 

[Juic]

I agree, re-drilling the bolt holes to 14mm isn't very DIY friendly. I took my SSR wheels to a reputable wheel shop so they could do it with their CNC machines, cost $40 per wheel. If you have a drill press, you can probably do it yourself, but I wouldn't try it with a hand drill.

As for installing new wheels studs, that is definitely DIY friendly and have done it on a few cars with just a hammer and an impact wrench. I have always used ARP studs, but they don't offer any Tesla specific studs. If someone got measurements like these of the Tesla studs, we might be able to find a set of studs from another vehicle that work.

But these studs aren't cheap, and usually cost about $40 for a set of 5, pretty much equal in price as re-drilling the wheels. So if you plan on only running one set of aftermarket wheels, getting them re-drilled is the better option. But if you're a wheel whore, then it's better to swap studs.

 

[MountainPass]

There are ARP studs that can be used on the Tesla, but they are still M14. I don't see any reason that you couldn't swap to M12, as long as you can source a stud that works. For the cost of $40 per wheel like Juic paid, and factoring your time swapping studs and buying them, I still think it makes more sense to have the holes opened up. Of course, there is always more than one way to accomplish the same goal, let us know how it goes!

 

[Juic]

There are ARP studs that can be used on the Tesla, but they are still M14. I don't see any reason that you couldn't swap to M12, as long as you can source a stud that works. For the cost of $40 per wheel like Juic paid, and factoring your time swapping studs and buying them, I still think it makes more sense to have the holes opened up. Of course, there is always more than one way to accomplish the same goal, let us know how it goes!

Do you know the kit/part number for the Tesla studs?

 

[juanmedina]

There are ARP studs that can be used on the Tesla, but they are still M14. I don't see any reason that you couldn't swap to M12, as long as you can source a stud that works. For the cost of $40 per wheel like Juic paid, and factoring your time swapping studs and buying them, I still think it makes more sense to have the holes opened up. Of course, there is always more than one way to accomplish the same goal, let us know how it goes!

Thanks for the feedback. The issues that I see with drilling the wheels is, resale value of the wheels, finding someone that will do a good job and some people change wheels like they change shoes.

The mini Cooper for some reason they come with M14 wheel studs and they have a kit to replace their studs for M12s..... Is such a pain that our cars came with M14 studs.

Did you have to mess with the seat of the wheel lug or you just open the holes to 15mm?

 

[Juic]

Thanks for the feedback. The issues that I see with drilling the wheels is, resale value of the wheels, finding someone that will do a good job and some people change wheels like they change shoes.

The mini Cooper for some reason they come with M14 wheel studs and they have a kit to replace their studs for M12s..... Is such a pain that our cars came with M14 studs.

Did you have to mess with the seat of the wheel lug or you just open the holes to 15mm?

Luckily the seats where big enough that they didn't need to be made bigger.

 

[juanmedina]

Luckily the seats where big enough that they didn't need to be made bigger.

do you have pictures of your with SSR wheels?

 

[EVS Motors]

It seems to me that the wheel selection for wheels that come with clearance for M14 wheel studs is very limited. The solution to this is to buy wheels that come ready for M14 wheel studs (limited selection), have the wheel lug holes enlarged or swap wheel studs.

Most of the Japanese high quality wheels casted and forged come drilled for M12 bolts like most of the Ray's/Volk, Advan, Wedsports, and others like the German BBS wheels.

I myself rather run wheels that been circuit tested and properly engineer with decates of experience than other newer companies wheels like the Taiwanese BC forged or I Believe Chinese VS Forged.

@MountainPass For instance drilled his Advan wheels to accept the Tesla M14 wheel. This solution doesn't seem very DIY friendly and is not easy to make it happen. Maybe Sasha can chime in and expand on how enlarging the holes can be done and what he thinks about chaging the wheel studs.

Swapping wheel studs is DIY friendly from what I see and is a very common practice. Many cars in the curb weight segment like the Model 3 come with M12 wheel studs like the GTR, Lexus RCF and GSF. Wheels are held to the hub by clamp load and they don't carry load in shear. By swapping the M14 wheel studs to a higher class/grade M12 studs and setting the torque to a certain value the same clamp load as M14 studs can be achieved.

I just want to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Thanks

Where have you been looking for wheels? There's quite a bit of selections for wheels for the Model 3 using the OEM wheel studs that come on the car, and these wheels fit perfectly on the Model 3, especially since the Model 3 shares fitments with a few other vehicles out there.

I definitely agree with you in running wheels that are tested/certified especially TUV certified as it provides a peace of mind as far as safety goes.

Unless you're specifically looking for Japanese looking wheels then yes, most of them are in M12 since they cater to Japanese cars. But in my opinion, the Tesla has more European styling to the cars, so European looking wheels honestly look cleaner and more "to date" on Teslas.

Swapping studs is honestly not necessary for most people and usually done for motorsport reasons (going from lug bolts to lug nuts because it's faster to swap wheels that way on the track). It's way less of a hassle to keep your OEM studs and you save money.

Here are brands I know works on Teslas because we've sold countless sets and these will give you flush/near flush fitment, no spacers needed in most setups, and you can use your OEM studs. At most you may need tiny hub rings which are supplied anyway by the manufacturer.

Vossen Wheels (cast, hybrid forged, and full forged), Vorsteiner (flow forged and full forged), ADV.1 (full forged), and of course you have your companies like T Sportline and Unplugged Performance who specifically focus on Teslas.

 

[juanmedina]

Where have you been looking for wheels? There's quite a bit of selections for wheels for the Model 3 using the OEM wheel studs that come on the car, and these wheels fit perfectly on the Model 3, especially since the Model 3 shares fitments with a few other vehicles out there.

I definitely agree with you in running wheels that are tested/certified especially TUV certified as it provides a peace of mind as far as safety goes.

Unless you're specifically looking for Japanese looking wheels then yes, most of them are in M12 since they cater to Japanese cars. But in my opinion, the Tesla has more European styling to the cars, so European looking wheels honestly look cleaner and more "to date" on Teslas.

Swapping studs is honestly not necessary for most people and usually done for motorsport reasons (going from lug bolts to lug nuts because it's faster to swap wheels that way on the track). It's way less of a hassle to keep your OEM studs and you save money.

Here are brands I know works on Teslas because we've sold countless sets and these will give you flush/near flush fitment, no spacers needed in most setups, and you can use your OEM studs. At most you may need tiny hub rings which are supplied anyway by the manufacturer.

Vossen Wheels (cast, hybrid forged, and full forged), Vorsteiner (flow forged and full forged), ADV.1 (full forged), and of course you have your companies like T Sportline and Unplugged Performance who specifically focus on Teslas.

Yeah those companies offer wheels that will work on our cars but they are not really motorsport oriented. Most of their sizes are 19" + and I have a performance model 3 so weight is important to me. Most of the Japanese wheels are tested in the Japanese Super GT for years before being released to the public and I don't think any of those companies do that. Also, is my understanding that RAYS who makes Volk and the Yokohama forged wheels has the largest forging press of them all at 10,000. RAYS also make OEM wheels for many brands so you know you are getting a quality part at a fair price in comparison to ADV.1.

 

[Juic]

do you have pictures of your with SSR wheels?

These are the only pics I took of them on the car. I dropped them off with my friend in Cali that is in the process of rebuilding them.

The Unofficial Aftermarket Air Suspension Thread

 

[juanmedina]

I been asking around for someone to drill wheels locally and so far no luck. I even asked a YouTuber that focus on fabrication with 200,000 subscribers and he couldn't help me.

If I were to diy this what would I need. I have access to an end mill non CNC. So far from my reasearch I found that I should get a 37/64 uncoated carbide bit $40 and use a 15mm reamer $50 to finish the job.

What do you guys think? I really want to avoid doing this myself but I don't see many other options at least in my area.

 

[Juic]

I been asking around for someone to drill wheels locally and so far no luck. I even asked a YouTuber that focus on fabrication with 200,000 subscribers and he couldn't help me.

If I were to diy this what would I need. I have access to an end mill non CNC. So far from my reasearch I found that I should get a 37/64 uncoated carbide bit $40 and use a 15mm reamer $50 to finish the job.

What do you guys think? I really want to avoid doing this myself but I don't see many other options at least in my area.

I contacted a local wheel repair shop, and they were the ones that directed me to the place that could drill the holes bigger. Might want to try contacting some local wheel repair shops for recommendations.