I've heard of the nuts stripping out too. Not going to stop me from running them though, ha.

 

I used the cheap ones on my lq4, and I also went 5more lbs of tq from what arp recommended. They worked fine

 

Great feedback here. Thank you all. I just ordered a set for the current ptoject. Sure beats buying factory replacement TTY bolts for only $10 less that you can only use once.

 

i will just eat sandwiches for a couple of weeks and save up for arp. im all for saving money, but very critical points such as head studs is not my place to do so.

here is a question. would you guys use $20 rod bolts off ebay too??

 

that's not apples to apples. rod bolts are very critical. If they go, the whole lower end goes. With The head bolt all that could happen is that you have to extract the bold if it breaks.

For me to decide if I would use eBay head bolts would depend on the build and its value. Regular head job on a stock engine fine. But if I was building an expensive ($5-$10k) build then I would probably go ARP.

 

When I get my afr's installed, eBay head studs will be keeping them held down.

If you want to be a slave to your hobby, cool. That **** isn't for me. I like premium channels, name brand toilet paper, and putting the thermostat on 70. All while blowing money on my small fleet of beaters.

And if those $20 rod bolts held up as good as the head studs, yes.

 

It is apples to apples. You have to hope nothing goes on with those head studs every day. I don't know what all complaints people have had with them, but i know they would be in the back of my mind when i turned my truck up to 18-20psi. With arp rod and head bolts, i dont even think twice when i shift my stock 5.3 at 7k or more running as much boost as i please.


It has nothing to do with being a slave to a hobby. It has to do with doing things right. I can afford my arp bolts, but if I couldnt then I would do something to actually afford them instead. The first time you have a mistake that kills a head gasket or worse then you have payed for those arps.



to be clear yes i wouldnt have a problem with these studs on a stock or maybe a mild na build, but pushing an engine to its limits is not the best place to skimp on critical parts.

 

The Chinese studs may work perfectly fine in any given application, however, they are in no way the "same" as the ARP studs. ARP are made in-house in the U.S. with alloys that meet much higher than minimum standards of purity, etc. Quality control is much higher and the threads are cold rolled J threads. NOT equivalent products.

 

Agreed! And well said!

 

like I said it depends on the build.

Also I wouldn't mind having the question of if ill hold on my current application. If they break, I'll fix it no problem. But again it depends on the build. Current build is naturally aspirated p.o.s.