Stainless Studs 3/8 vs 7/16
 

OK guys, is there a hardening process for stainless? Is one grade of stainless better than another especially in drive stud applications?

Recently I bought a drive with a Machine Max top cap. I like it, I like the studs! I told my drive guy to drill and tap all my topcaps for 7/16 studs. It seems the drives that have upgraded 7/16 studs and topcaps last a while longer and its a cheap upgrade... Not to mention, you can torque the 7/16 tighter and the 3/8 studs always loose the tightness/torque.

Can I use Quicksilver 7/16 studs to upgrade my spare drives? Since my drives have Latham plates and are related to steering I want to make sure of the obvious. The 3/8 stock studs arent anything special and the 7/16 Machine Max studs arent either. So going from 3/8 to 7/16 Quicksilver studs they arent some low grade stainless that will make this useless and break off leaving me with no steering...

Is it safe to assume the Quicksilver studs are good? They are significantly stronger from 3/8 to 7/16 and the 3/8 isnt some hardened superstud?

***Also, is there somewhere to get better 7/16 stainless studs?

The studs I use for the caps, I get from my broken cases I have laying around. The ones that hold on the lower.

Keith,
Here is a site I came across a while back and thought it would come in handy at some point. They might be able to answer your questions.

http://www.totallystainless.com/