I know everyone seems to do rod bolts with ARP. Do most do head studs at 12-14 psi? Looking for a 4.8 preferably(6.0 or 5.3 if they come up) to boost stock bottom end. I currently have arp head studs for my 408 build but would like to sell them to fund current necessities. Is there a strong need to keep them if I plan to boost the stock bottom end to 12-14?

 

No, stock will be fine at that level.

 

How about ARP head bolts? Reusable and costs less than 75 bucks.

 

Where did you get them for under $75?

I have studs that I am looking to sell but don't want to sell them if I need them for my boosted stock bottom end.

 

I have ls9 head gaskets and arp bolts with no issues at my boost levels. Also just le personally i would not replace rod bolts.

 

How much are you boosting black?

 

10psi right now.

 

I’m with you on this one; this is where most backyard builds go awry. Changing rod-bolts without rechecking the big-ends for roundness can a recipe for disaster. Usually with cap screw type bolts the distortion isn’t as great as it is with the older press-fit style, but never-the-less ARP recommends that the connecting rods always be re-sized after new rod bolts are installed. People do report that generally there is even less distortion to the rods using the bolts from Katech, but I have no proof of this. If you do decide to do this, just make sure to remove the ferrules from the rods. Again, unless your build requires stronger components or you plan on having the rods checked for roundness afterwards, I suggest leaving the bottom end as is, and if I felt the need from stronger bolts, I would probably at least upgrade the rods to a budget friendly set from K1. Of course if the build dictated a stronger bottom end than that, my choices for components would likely change as well.

 

Like I said, for that level leave the bottom end alone. You cant go off of what Corey has, if he is running 10psi then he may have seen that once on the gauge as he is a wuss and wont let it eat. On a 6.0 I would say up to 15 I would not be worried, much past that and I would do LS9 Gaskets and studs. I wouldnt mess with the bottom unless you are gonna change rods. I personally feel you can get away with more on the smaller bore motors, so I would push a 4.8 harder before I was worried about it. This is just my .02.

My bottom end is stock. TimZ's bottom is stock, both similar setups.

 

12-14 psi isn't ****.