EDIT: Dangit, Bill sold out his entire “lifetime sized” order in a couple months. Last estimate I heard is April 2023 for more availability: I’ll update this post when they’re available again!
For now, 1320 performance studs are in stock and seem to be the ideal “budget” option, link to them in the next paragraph.
Just a few weeks ago, I posted about an alternative to ARP wheel studs. Someone from the Spec Miata community, Bill Agha replied to my post that he will have his own soon, from his company Dfuser. “Soon” has arrived, and their product is compelling! Not to mention the 1320 Performance studs are not available at the time of this writing.
Why am I so excited about this that I’m making yet another post on such a small, boring part? Two Reasons – 1) Bill is a Spec Miata racer and not only stands behind his product, but picks up the phone and can give good answers to my technical questions. 2) They’re the most INEXPENSIVE option yet.
The Product:
Bill Claims he won’t start selling any products until he’s tested them for 1-2 years, not only is his reputation on the line, but also the safety of his customers. His personal Spec Miata has been the test bed for these. Dfuser has a long history of both Diesel maintenance and performance work, so they have plenty of experience in design and manufacturing of performance parts. These studs are manufactured offshore, but with a history of parts production he has proven relationships with high quality parts producers, and has full confidence in the quality.
These studs are designed to meet the specific needs of the class. Spec Miatas haven’t actually shown much issue with the standard studs that come on replacement hubs, so an upgrade is mostly for peace of mind and making (constant) wheel changes easier. One main focus was delivering a strong, but lightweight stud, to minimize added rotating mass. At 2, 3/4″ long, they’re a bit shorter than the other popular options but still have plenty of length to easily start nuts on deep wheels.
Both versions of the studs offered have the “notch” on the head to make installing on the rear hub easier (They can be installed without removing the rear hub from the upright)
Unlike the Zinc coating popular with the other stud brands, these are finished in a black hi-temp paint that has proven to hold up exceptionally well on the test cars, despite hard racing and constant wheel changes.
The Price:
As I’ve said, it’s the LEAST expensive option yet. When purchased directly, 4 for $14.99 (That’s just under $60 for a full set) and shipping costs are also reasonable. There isn’t much to say here, except it is cheaper than the offering from 1320 Performance (which is around $65 for a full set). The current price for ARP studs (which seem to be slowly returning to stock) are still very expensive around $30 for 4… twice the cost of these.
The Availability:
No issue here for a while. In order to get to a reasonable cost-per-unit, they ordered a LOT. Don’t expect these to go out of stock anytime soon. It seems that the ARP studs may be returning to stock with some suppliers. When I wrote the earlier post about 1320 Performance Studs, they were insistent that supply was a non-issue, however I no longer see the front studs listed in their eBay store.
The Verdict:
A well priced part, designed, tested, and sold by a member of the Spec Miata community? I’m sold.
FRONT studs for ALL Miatas (and rears for 90-94) – Similar to ARP 100-7719 studs.
REAR studs for 94-05 Miatas -Similar to ARP 100-7720 studs.
If you do decide to order a set, tell them No Money Motorsports sent you!
Note for Miata People: The front studs are the same for all NA/NB Miatas. NA 1.6 cars (90-93) came with the same studs on all four corners. Mazda beefed up the rear stud knurls for 1994 and up, so they are a different part number (The knurl is the part that holds in the hub, the threaded portions remain the same size/threads for all 4 corners). However, if you are buying replacement rear hubs, your rear hub knurl could be either of the two sizes (or even a different size with some cheap aftermarket replacements).
These studs failed for me. We found a set of arp and replaced them and have had no issues since.
Interesting, how’d they fail? How long were they in use?
They stretched as soon as any kind of braking temperature was added to the equation. I used them on a b-spec car. Which is slightly heavier. But the arp studs have never been an issue.
Interesting, thanks! I know some guys running them in H2 with heavier, faster cars than both of ours… But it plays a bit to the inconsistency. At least if they fail, they seem to fail quickly
Thinking about it, most sets of studs I’ve installed have stretched (or settled/fully seated?) with their first heat cycle. While I’m generally pretty lax with torquing my wheels, with new studs I’ll do a few paddock laps, torque… and if possible, a couple practice session laps, retorque, etc etc.