Wheel stud # 3 broke today while changing wheels for an autocross. This time it was on the passenger side. I'll email H&R yet again, for all the good it'll do.

I'm going to order replacement studs and replace any original studs that haven't broken yet.

 

H&R claims the studs are breaking because my wheels are no longer engaging the hubs. Understandable in a sense, since the spacers push the wheels off of the hub lips, and thus the entire weight of the car is supported by the wheel studs themselves. However, if that is a problem then how do they market this spacer kit as being for the Evo? They offered no explanation as to how you are supposed to avoid this situation while using the 5mm spacer kit.

They suggested as a solution to go instead with the 15mm spacer kit (H&R part # 30656715, extra studs # 1253554). The 15mm and bigger spacers have a hub lip built into them, so that the spacer sits on the vehicles hub lip, and then the wheels sit on the spacer's lip, mimicking the hub's lip (http://www.optionsauto.com/prodinfo....er=HR30656715). That sounds reasonable, but I wish they'd have pointed this out rather than offer a 5mm spacer kit that's seriously flawed for anything other than show car usage.

 

Final Update:

First of all, I need to apologize to H&R for one claim - the 5mm spacer kit I purchased was NOT specified as being for an Evo; it simply matched the bolt pattern and was actually for another Mitsubishi model.

The 15mm Evo spacer kit has been good so far. No broken studs, and the hub engagement has seemed to be the key. I've pounded the suspension on local autox courses and had some time at WGI, and they've held up.

 

So you went from just a normal spacer to a spacer that bolts to your stock studs and then has studs on it, and now haven't had any problems?

Interesting. Everyone says not to run spacers like that

- Patrick

 

No, I went with a 15mm spacer package which entailed replacing the stock studs with H&R studs that are 15mm longer than stock. The H&R 15mm spacer is hub-centric and also has a hub lip itself, so it acts as an extension of the stock hub.



Still, I would recommend staying away from spacers if possible.

 

I've been using the H&R spacers with 18x10's all season with no problem. I did have problems with the stock Mitsu studs breaking and unseating themselves from the hub.

It is possible if you were using a non-spec setup that you did not have the wheel fully seated on the hub. This could cause enough movement between the wheel to stress the studs to the failing point. Discoloration indicates heat which may mean that the wheel wasn't flat on the hub which would stress cycle the studs on every rotation of the wheel especially on hard cornering.

BTW-whoever mentioned the Porsche head studs is correct. Some dilivar head studs caused chronic problems in air-cooled 911 motors because the metal alloy in the studs had different heat expansion characteristics than the engine and head cases. Upon heating/cooldown the studs and engine case would expand/contract at different rates causing stress or failure.