I have LS1 front brake calipers.

Wat do I need to run Weld Draglites on the front?

Anyone have any part #s?

 

Do I just buy weld drag lites for a 4th gen and run some kind of spacer? Do I need longer studs?

 

I hope someone with LS1 brakes will answer this question, so we can add the info to the post on Weld wheels in the FAQ.

 

I confirmed with Lingenfelter and one other user that I need a 15x3.5 rim with a 165/80/15 tire and a 1 3/4 back space with a 5/16 spacer.

But not sure of the stud length yet.

 

I just bought the 15x3.5 Prostars, with the ARP 3.25 or so wheel studs, a 5/16 spacer, and Kumho Powerstars 165/80/15 tires for up front.

I hope these are good tires on the street! I don't drive like a jack ***, FWIW!

 

On the stud length/spacer issue..... The 5/16" spacer is what's recommended in the FAQ for the LT1 brakes, so if it also works for the LS1 brakes, you would use the same stud length as recommended in the FAQ. Stock studs will not pass NHRA tech (if they happen to check).

The Weld 3.5" wheels are not recommended for street use, and they are stamped accordingly on the outside surface of the wheel. That Kumho requires at least a 4.0" wide wheel, and the load rating is sort of tight, considering the proportion of the vehicle weight on the front of a 4th Gen. Attempting to take a corner at anything other than "granny" speed will be an adventure.

 

what about the rear tires? backspacing? good tire size?

 

There is information in the FAQ about the sizes/offsets of 15" drag wheels. One post covers the Welds, another covers the Bogart's. Best tire size will depend on your car's power level, etc. Are you looking for street tires, drag radials or slicks?

 

Would a 15x6" for the front be a safer bet?

 

What's best depends on what you want. I've driven my car on the street with 15x3.5's and Moroso DS-2 skinnies, and the handling is non-existant. I like a bit of grip on the front when I'm going around a corner, and a skinny tire under a heavy 4th Gen with a 55+% front weight bias is simply not going to "handle". On the other hand, there are people who claim they run skinnies all the time, and have no problems. Apparently we have different definitions of "handle"..........

Problem with the wheels is finding the correct offsets. I don't know what is available in a 15x6 and whether it will be the correct offset, and clear the brakes.

 

I have 15x6 draglites in the front. The biggest offset they come in is 3.5'' I believe, which is what I have. With the 5/16'' spacer in the front they clear the stock brakes on my car (94 Z28). I am running the stock wheel studs as well.

 

Do the Weld "mag style" lugs engage a full 12mm of the threads, inside the hex portion of the lug? If not, they do not meet NHRA specs. Typically, you need a 2.75" stud to accomplish that. My stock studs were long enough to engage the shank portion of the lug, but NHRA will not accept that.

 

Something to consider - someone please correct me if I am wrong, but in the spirit of safety, why not get the 3.5" ARP studs from thunderracing (along with the mandatory 5/16" spacer) and run some open-ended gorilla lug nuts. Not only are they open-ended (meaning stud length being potentially too long is a non-issue) but they also offer them in 3 shank lengths as well.

The NHRA tech would probably love to see this as opposed to people trying to sneak by with unsafe setups/close ended lugs for their skinnies...?

I have a set of weld rodlites and plan on doing this exact setup with the cragar sst lugnuts from gorilla. If not those, then the midlength lugs for sure.

Any thoughts on this? Someone let me know if I have made an oversight in something here since I plan on ordering the parts today and doing this swap this weekend.

On a side note, just how involved/difficult is a stud swap for the front wheels?

Thanks in advance

 

I use 2.67" x 12mm studs in the front, 3.00" x 1/2" studs in the back. I use the open-end mag-style long shank lugs from Weld. I have drilled and tapped the closed-end lugs from my ZR1 replica wheels so they can be bolted on the longer studs. Looks good for the track, but sort of ugly with the street wheels. Since my rear studs are 1/2" diameter, I was able to find a set of Excalibur double length (duplex) lugs..... but since they were closed-end, I had to drill and tap them. I haven't ben able to find duplex lugs in 12mm, so the fronts are really bad with the street wheels.

Rears - Street Wheels:



Fronts - Street Wheels:



Fronts - Welds:



You can see from the last photo why a 2.75" or 3.00" stud would be even better in the front. The 2.67 threads end inside the lug, which is OK, as long as there is at least 12mm of engagement in the hex. I was caught running the stockers in the front, and upgraded to the 2.67's. A buddy of mine had plastic caps threaded into his open end lugs, and the 'tech' at Englishtown made him remove the plugs and flunked him.

 

Fred,

4 things...

1) thanks for the PM, i actually found the FAQ after i sent you the original pm

2) would the arp 2.5" studs be too short with a 5/16" spacer and the rodlite (hub thickness = 1.3" from what i can tell from the summit website)

3) would the arp 3.25" studs be overkill? i.e. - stick out way too far from the lug end?

4) how involved is the stud swap? from what thunder racing advised me on, it doesnt seem all that bad. sort of tricky 'pulling' the new studs through, but nothing i shouldnt be able to handle i hope.

thanks oh also the reason i am stuck on the 2 arp sizes is because they are the only ones thunderracing offers and i am ordering a bunch of stuff from them all at once.