now I seem to recall seeing somewhere that people like replacing those crappy bolts with a decent looking stud and nut setup instead. what I'd like to know, is what kind of studs do I need, and what specific stuff is involved in this change?
I'm planning to make this changeover REALLY soon, since theres nothing I hate more than those allen screws in there.
Did mine recently and just used M8 threaded bar cut to length. Did all four for £2.50! (5 Dollars), including new nuts.
Check that the bar can withstand high temperature as well.
If you are gonna go down that road its better to use some hi-tensile socket-cap head bolts and hacksaw the heads of, much stronger than plated M8 threaded rod. Idealy you need some chrome-plated studs and nuts but they are tricky to find these days.
Bob, have a look at the MSC catalog here:
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=7169848&PMT4NO=33335931
50mm long with a 1.25 thread sounds about right, but I don't have an exhaust bolt to check, nor my thread wheel.
http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=7169848&PMT4NO=33335931
Grainger has a good selection too:
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/productIndex.shtml?L2=Threaded&operator=prodIndexRefinementSearch&originalValue=m8+stud&L1=Studs%2C
They also have stainless, although you will run a slightly higher risk of galvanic corrosion.