480sx wrote:Man, that statement carries no sustenance. ARP studs are a great freaken move if you have the money and the means to install them. For instance, if your pulling your motor apart and you have the head off AND the money to spend, ARP hardware is just cheap insurance. Except when it comes to main studs..
I'm not saying its a bad idea. Just no reason to go out of the way to get them. For the most part, I would have to hunt for a set of ARP studs or find them online and have to wait and pay shipping. Where as I can simply go to the Nissan dealer and buy a set of OE studs which from my experience are generally in stock.
480sx wrote:I have literally broken and removed more than eh.. 5-6 studs from Ka heads. They are sometimes a b**** to get out. Aluminum and steel heat cycling together... (i stripped 6 ka heads and scrapped them.. money for trash thats taking up space? Sweet![truth be told, iv only broken.. two studs on my mannyyy motors(tht powrd my car..) lol. Its always either the top right one that breaks or the bottom left.])
This is exactly what I was talking about preventing in my previous post (I wanted to elaborate but I had to get going). With any exhaust manifold, especially those that see higher heat (thus greater expansion), you have to drill the holes towards the end wider than those in the middle (the holes on the end will displace the most under expansion; which is likely what was happening when yours broke). Well made manifolds exhibit this trait. I assume you have Maximum Boost. It talks about this specifically and that a manifold can shear off studs. Part of the prep work I put into the revhard mani I used with my turbo system was to enlarge the holes mto allow for expansion. I never had to replace any of the studs. The only reason I know of the availability of these studs is that the turbo-to-mani studs were the same size and the dealer was an easy place to find them. While a better stud may be able to resist being sheared off as easily, the better solution is to properly address the problem. If the manifold is pushing on a stud sideways its putting unintended forces on the head and manifold.
480sx wrote:What you have to remember is this. The OEM studs while being high quality, were NEVER intended to see the kind of temperatures that a turbo manifold creates. Even if they are torqued perfectly, that many extreme heat cycles fatigues the metal. Same is true with the ARP studs, but they are designed for the extra heat.
While I've never had a problem with them, if you are that concerned, ask for the ones for a 300ZX TT.
WDRacing wrote:Also, I've probably installed 100 various manifolds throughout my life. Never once used a torque wrench Anything critical gets torqued, everything else gets tightened. Not saying this method is best for everyone, but I've yet to break a stud.
Somteimes its impossible to get a torque wrench on some parts. Especially with aftermarket turbo systems. The rev-hard mani wasn't designed with much, if any, thought to getting proper access to the nuts that secure it to the head. One or two nuts had to be put on with that end of the manifold away from the head and you had to bring the manifold closer to the head as you tightened the nuts. Otherwise, the runner would hit the nut and prevent you from even gettin a wrench on it. Even then, you were limited to using open ended wrenches on some of the nuts. Don't even get me started on the turbo to mani nuts. Lets just say shorty wrenches or a god send.
