AO

...red wheel stud that is. My red-marked stud is long gone. In a thread about wheel well cleaning I noticed the red stud which is used to reference the valve stem. I thought this would always be the same stud, others believe it could be a different stud depending on the balance of the wheel hub. Show me your pics so we can confirm or deny my hypothesis.

Here's the pics from the other thread.

Edit: Thanks to Brian (IcemanG17) for the pics of his car.

SharkSkin

Let me know if you can figure out which one it is...



BTW, it's preferred practice to mark the location of the rim relative to the hub when removing. Same goes for rotor-hub relationship when disassembling. The iidea is, if the car was rolling smooth when it came into the shop, you want to put it back the same way. If you're that worried about balancing the whole rotating assemby, then have the whole rotating assembly balanced -- then mark it when disassembling in the future. Not knowing if any given car has had rotors, wheels, etc replaced renders the red mark essentially useless IMHO.

928ntslow

OK class...this is the last time I explain this....

The valve stem is never located directly under a stud hole. You will NEVER be able to mount the valve stem on the proposed stud...cause it can't be done. The red (colored) stud is for the wheel lock. The valve stem is supposed to be located 180 degrees of this stud. This is why ...say on 5 spoke, the valve stem is in between the spokes....holes are in the spokes. At least this is the way it is on OE Porsche wheels.

If the paint is gone, you can figure it out by locating the 2 screw heads on the rotor hat. These screws have two lugs between them. The valve stem should be located between these two lugs. Porsche crests in the center caps should have the bottoms pointing directly at the valve stem! Factory wheel locks can now be located on the painted (colored) stud to balance the whole contraption.

justin

What if you dont have wheel locks, then what????

SharkSkin

That's fine Keith, if you still have those big nasty, clunky original locks. The newer ones weigh the same as a lug nut. What then? Why would it matter?

OK, I confess, I do orient my wheels this way, but only because it's harder to spot the "lock" when it's so deeply recessed. I do it so I can find the lock, not because it makes any mechanical difference.

redpathtribe

Keith,

I've always heard the same too... the point of the crest goes toward the valve stem... but interestingly enough, if you look at the image you posted of the owners manual...

Have we been doing this wrong all along

Rick Redpath
90 GT, Guards Red

Bill Ball

I can't see how the valve stem location could matter at all as it is balanced as part of the wheel/tire. Considering the manual shows the crest pointing in the wrong direction, I think the engineers were having a little fun with us. How often do they recommend we change the air?

mspiegle

when you pull the dipstick and find out that its dirty

ew928

My dipstick used to always have that oily coating on it.
Drained all that dark fluid out and now the dipstick is dry and shiny.

I always mount the wheels with the valve stems facing north.

Ernest (NYC) Red (orangish) dot on 1 stud in each corner of the car.

928ntslow

...hang on...I'm on the phone right now with the Porsche illustration office in Stuttgart

I actually noted the Porsche crest thing as "tongue in cheek" note* because it is such an aficionado type of thing to do....like a well informed political leader, I shake my fist in the air while the slide show behind me completely contradicts my rant

I don't think it really matters either as Bill states. I can bet that Porsche had their reasons though!!! When you think about the weight of the wheel lock, the 2 offset screws in the rotor hat, they must have been using the table scales and didn't inform us of something....."DO AS WE SAY AND DO NOT QUESTION OUR WISDOM!!!"

It's in print as we see...but why?...why oh why??? Please oh lords of the Autobahn, give us some kind of sign!...don't leave us in question for the rest of our lives!!!

SharkSkin

I bet they had their artist trace a photo, then when they saw the result told him to go put the crest right-side up.

AO

Found it.

Looks like the studs did not come from the factory with a red stud, but became that way at the service dealer. Go figure!

From page 44-9...

928drvr86.5

Step 1. $hitcan the wheel locks and replace with a regular lugnut. They are cheesy and can be pryed off anyway.

sublimate

I just painted all of my studs red, that way I don't have to worry about which way to put the wheel and locking lug nut on.

Gretch

See if this doesn't confuse the issue.......what is unusual here?