Every home mechanic should replace their lug bolts with wheel bolts.

Anyone who has unfortunately replaced a flat tire on the side of the highway knows the frustration of removing and reinstalling wheel bolts. The fact that most cars use lug bolts entirely is still confusing because there are simpler alternatives. My 1998 Mitsubishi Montero left the factory with wheel bolts. Considering that the truck-based design helped the enhanced version to win the Dakar Rally many times, this makes sense. But somehow, the 2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo I just picked for a song didn't have it-although Cayenne is known for participating in the Transsyberia rally, not to mention Porsche's long racing tradition on the tarmac.

Studs make it easier for the wheels to leave the track or racing, while helping to significantly reduce the possibility of thread peeling. For a racing team, marginal gains can mean the difference between victory or defeat-for home mechanics, stud conversion can translate into a lot of time and money savings. When adding larger and heavier wheels or tires to the body, the benefits become more obvious, such as the Toyo Open Country A/T III tires I plan to use on this Cayenne.

Fortunately, the stud conversion is a simple task, which takes no more than half an hour. But for the sake of safety, be sure to follow all T's instructions.

Many aftermarket parts sites sell stud conversion kits, which include the stud itself and various lug nut options. Make sure to find the correct thread pattern for your car wheel and the correct nut for your specific wheel. In the case of Cayenne, Rennline sells studs of various lengths using M14x1.5 threads for various Porsche models, as well as ball seat nuts suitable for original Porsche wheels. But options such as conical seat nuts are still easy to find.

The tools needed to complete the stud conversion using the new Rennline design only include a somewhat special part, a 5 mm hex socket. Otherwise, wire brushes, torque wrenches covering 30 lb-ft and 96 lb-ft, breaker rods, and sockets for current lug bolts and new nuts (this Cayenne is both 19 mm).

Make sure to buy the correct thread locking compound-Rennline specifies Loctite 272, which can handle the high heat generated by wheel bearings and brakes without melting and becoming a lubricant that can loosen bolts.

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Before lifting your car, loosen your lug bolts so that they can be easily removed once the wheels are able to spin freely. On some cars, the emergency brake will fix all four wheels, but most will only fix the rear wheel. This may require finding your unique locking wheel nut key-a good thing if you live in an area where the wheel may not be stolen on the street.

Lift the car a few inches with a jack, use the jack bracket as a safety precaution, and then begin to remove the existing lug bolts one last time.

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Lifting the entire vehicle at all four corners will make the job faster, although it will not take too long to complete one wheel at a time. Remove the wheel and set the old bolt aside. At this point, I found that the Porsche-designed Cayenne has a small lug centered on the hub, which makes it easier to remove and reinstall the wheel when using lug bolts-I believe the studs will make the task easier.

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Next, use a wire brush to remove any brake dust or dirt from the threaded holes of the hub. You want the surface to be beautiful and clean to avoid affecting the effectiveness of the thread locker. If you feel particularly paranoid, some rubbing alcohol can further clean the holes, and an air compressor may be a good idea to blow off any remaining dust.

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Using the correct thread locking compound is a simple safety issue. Products with lower specifications will melt at high temperatures and actively help loosen the new wheel bolts, which may cause the wheels to fall off while driving. No one wanted that, so I had to buy the right size-in this case, I had to go to three different stores to find a 10ml Permatex 27200 small container, which is equivalent to Loctite 272, for everyone Cayenne Of 20 studs. Amazon also sells the same products.

Drop the thread locker on the short end of the stud and screw them into the hub by hand.

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Next, follow the instructions to correctly screw the studs to the hub. Rennline specifies 30 lb-ft, which feels very light. But remember, the studs need to stay in the hub, and the nuts will be screwed more. In addition, a 5 mm hexagon head cannot withstand a large amount of force.

For wheel bolts without hexagon heads, tighten the two lug nuts to each wheel bolt, and then use a torque wrench and socket to tighten.

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Tighten each wheel bolt until the torque wrench clicks. Then, walk around and double check that you haven't missed any of them. The hex head on the stud is definitely faster than the old "bullet head" design, because unscrewing each stud requires repeated tightening of two nuts. But the old warhead studs do look better, and it is easier to slide heavy wheels into place than the square ends of current studs.

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After installing each wheel bolt, slide each wheel, and then use a socket and wrench to hold the new nut in place. Don't put too much muscle in the car before you lower it to the ground. After landing, take out the high torque wrench and tighten each nut until it clicks-96 lb-ft is the correct specification for the Rennline kit. Again, check your work carefully to avoid missing a nut or two.

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I chose 45mm studs, but Rennline also sells 35mm and 60mm options. Other companies went further to allow the use of wheel spacers and thicker wheels. But I want to avoid the use of wheel spacers, because I am planning to increase the torque on the wheels by using about 10% of large diameter off-road tires. Nevertheless, I could have used longer rivets in the name of appearance because they were almost invisible. However, anyone who knows to glance at the rivets will still see them.

Hope this process goes well. Also, in the name of safety, skipping steps in this job may prove to be very dangerous. Rennline also recommends retightening the wheel nuts after driving about 50 miles, just as you would remove the wheel from a car. Make sure to do this, especially since removing the wheels now will be much easier in the future.

Source: toyotires.com, rennline.com, permatex.com and amazon.com.

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Michael Van Runkle grew up surrounded by Los Angeles automobile culture, often attending small enthusiast gatherings and large industry exhibitions. He learned to drive the gear lever of a 1948 Chevrolet pickup without a gear. He currently drives his 1998 Mitsubishi Montero every day while daydreaming, hoping to complete the Porsche 914 project one day. Since graduating from the University of California, Berkeley in 2010 and joining HotCars in February 2018, he has written in various media.