ps--your caps lock is on

 

i've seen stock rods get blown out the bottom, but still never seen a stock head bolt break.

 

Your risk is greater to blow a head gasket taking them out one by one and replacing them with head studs. A head gasket is a "one time" only use gasket. It is designed to be torqued and left alone, pulling out your studs for a little "safety insurance" opens up the risk of a blown head gasket, in fact I have seen 2 blown head gaskets recently after the head studs were replaced via 1 x 1 method. I have never seen a stock head bolt fail.

My 2 cents:
Leave the stock studs in there until you have a reason to remove the head... aka motor build or head work etc. Or if you HAVE to have head studs cause that are "so much stronger" do it the right way and pull the head and replace the gasket, thats the best way to get the "add safety insurance"

 

AMS is highly recommending that i do head studs and that i do them with the 1 by 1 method not sure what to do, i dont want to have any issues down the road, and AMS knows that stuff ! its a tuff call

 

I did it for a piece of mind. AMS put mine is WITHOUT removing the head. There is a special sequence and tq. spec you set them to...when i get my FP red im gonna push that thing to 32 psi on 110. Then i will have no worries.

 

fyi its detonation that lifts heads not boost. And because of this it is important to have a good tuner to work on your car.

 

thanks for the fill in on what lifts the head, still not sure if i should do head studs

 

just like what denver said don't do it till you have a reason to remove the head. use the money to pay for a custom tune from a respectable tuner.

 

This is the often overlooked point.

You can rupture a HG from spiked cyl temps and pressures under 18 psi of boost from a poor choice of octane and tune. If car is overadvanced for the octane the ecu will save you, but as bolt-ons add up, so does the OEM knock detection inaccuracy, or margin of safety. Also, a cyl running 14 afr at WOT will melt the head ARP or stock. You don't even need to be knocking to melt the engine with high octane fuel, a bad tune can cause high enough cyl temps to melt everything to a slurry of ARP bolts and metal

 

I run 30-31psi daily with a one time accidentaly spiked to 37 (I let off as fast as I could). I have stock headstuds and have never lifted a head.

 

Of course every motor and tune etc is going to be different. Its very simple, cylinder pressure is what stretches the bolts to lift the head, its the only thing that is going to do it.

Cylinder pressures will change and be caused by many many different things. Higher your torque, the higher your pressure.... different tq will and can be tuned by various boost pressure, various timing maps, etc etc etc..... and of course detenation which can cause the highest cylinder pressures known to man.

 

so should i do them or let it ride ?

 

how much does it usualy cost to have someone replace the headstuds?
if its not that expensive, i think u should probably do it, incase u plan on upping the boost later on or run unto a detontaion issue. also, are u planning on spiking to 26 then possibily dropping to 24 or 25? cuz i don;t think u will be able to achieve 26 psi without spiking a lil higher. something to keep in mind. gl

 

I agree somewhat..but agree more with what scheides was saying; it's working fine now, no point in opening her up. That's like saying to do pistons and rods too, just because you don't want to take chances...


there are wayy to many variables into why engines fail sometimes, there is no empirical evidence that you need a aftermarket head gasket and head studs or you will lift your head from a bigger than stock turbo. It just isn't a fact, thus I would just "rung watcha brung" so to speak and take it easy

 

It's a judgment call.... There is no guarantee that you need them, and there is no guarantee that you don't. Just like there is no guarantee that all of your head studs are the same strength (faulty stud).

This thread can go around in circles all day, but by the end of the day you are the one ultimately which has to decide. Ppl have given you their experience, some lift some don't, of course there is no way to prove cylinder pressure etc.....

I think you see the point, if it makes you sleep better at night, replace the studs