Ah, okay, saw a different picture somewhere but I get what you're referring to now. Thanks. You can see how the conical bolt in that picture would sit deeper by about 10mm, which explains why
aftermarket bolts needed to be 30 rather than 40.
Like you, the shop that sold me my summer wheels provided FAST spline nuts, conical seat, and I just checked them out...about 28mm shank.
So, agree with you, if you have or are changing to
aftermarket wheels, especially if they require conical bolt, then bolt length will likely be shorter. But the other variable is the thickness of the
wheel hub which could vary from
wheel to
wheel, thus why it's wise to get advice on proper bolt length from the supplier of the
wheel, presuming they know their stuff.
Of course, if you are using OEM wheels and adding a spacer, you should be using a ball seat bolt, not conical seat bolts, and theoretically they should sit the same way as OEM on the
wheel hub. Therefore, you would focus only on shank length, which is 40mm stock + thickness of any spacer = new bolt length required.
Another tip, don't get cheap bolts unless you like to play Russian roulette with your life. They should be forged with a grade of at least 10.9, 12.9 even better.