You shouldn't need to remove anything from the bulbs.
I believe those studs help to keep the sliver twist on box attached.
The flickering could be caused by the specific brand your using and it is not uncommon for that to happen.
It's more of annoyance more than anything but if they work?
Change them out down the road with some quality hid bulbs.
EDIT: I bought a set of 6k from iJDMtoy and have had no issues.
http://store.ijdmtoy.com