i have an evo ix with basic bolt onz and a custom tune at 23-24psi, it's getting cold im spiking to 25psi sometimes. do i need to upgrade my headstuds to arp? i got a lot of mixed answers from people, some said that it's needed, some said that 9 can hold up a lil more boost than 8 without upgrading the headstuds. the only thing worries me is that i heard some people have leaks after the headstuds r installed. i have less than 3000 miles on the car n i don't wanna take that risky. thanx guys.

 

get them installed by someone who knows what they are doing and they wont leak

i have arp studs because i got tuned for meth and im running 28psi

 

if u are spiking to 25psi, i will put in the headstud ....

 

yea but im also hearing all these horror stories about leaking after they r installed.

 

You will always make more boost when it gets cold such as during the winter or night time. ARP headstuds are a good idea. But if you don't intentionally want to make more than 23-24psi, you have a MBC/EBC, and you want to save money just turn your boost down when it is cold.

 

The leaking occurs for those who have them installed and don't retighten them down after heat cycling the engine. I am not sure what the recommended time period for heat cycling before retightening is, but anyone who knows what they are doing when they install them will be able to tell you.

 

my theory is dont fix what isnt broken......why risk a leaking headgasket when what you have now has a good factory seal?

Wait until you blow a head gasket and then do everything the right way.....and stock headbolts are actually a life line. It will blow the head gasket out first and save the motor.

 

 

thanx! what psi were u tuned on? what kinda dyno was it? and do u have arp headstuds?

 

I second that!

 

thanx for all the replies guys. i have a hunger for more power lol, but i also wanna be safe, u r all evo owners u know what am i talkin about =)

 

The stock studs don't strip, they stretch. They are designed to stretch. Some poeple like the fact that they can act like a fuse and let go if you get too rambunctious. Other people are trying to make power and the stock studs get in the way.

You can wait until the stockers let go, but you will have an absolute mess with oil in the coolant. I finally got it all out after months of flushing, but every one of the rubber coolant hoses **** the bed. They are starting to burst on me, leaving me stranded. I now carry a length of 3/8th hose and some clamps and coolant in the car. This is no way to live. All new hoses are on order. The FIAV in the throttle body also apears to have been affected by this. The rubber seal on the radiator cap swelled to 5 times its normal size ruining that. The seal under the overflow cap suffered a similar fate. I don't think it's worth waiting until the HG goes. I highly recomend changing the studs before the stockers let go to avoid all of this trouble. I would have done it, but after running ARP studs in the DSMs for so damn long I forgot all about the factory stretchy bolts.

If you install the studs the right way, they will not cause leaks. Don't be a lazy polesmoker, pull the head, chase the threads, and install the studs with the ARP brand moly lube to the proper torque spec. I have never had a HG fail after starting to do it this way. Some poeple get the 1 by 1 method to work, others don't, why take the risk. Getting the head off is extremely easy, especially if you buy the timing belt tensioner tool and ziptie the belt to the cam gears (basically follow the first part of the "RRE method" for a cam swap). I posted some install tips I learned the hard way many years ago with the DSMs, now on this page.

 

I used the wrong terminology. I did mean to say strech because the pressure pulls the head on the studs. Sorry guys.

 

I would have assumed that was a typo or something, but these days people think (and pass on) some crazy ****.

 

I always thought of the stock bolts as a 'fuse' too, thats good info to know what a PITA it will be if infact I do blow a HG.

I want to install studs & rod bolts as the next thing I do, however I think I'm going to try the 1 by 1 method first. If that doesn't work then I will remove the head and do it the old fashion way. I figure might as well give it a try and see if you can get away with not removing the head, worse case is you have to...