hey, just wonderin who in there turbo builds, have felt it neccessary to replace the ex manifold bolts to a larger or stronger bolt. arp make a set of 8x1.25 studs but im thinking of boring it out to a larger 10x1.25 or just use a 3x8, like a standard chevy ex maifold stud. i think if i build a support from the block to my downpipe that replacing these bolts will be overkill. but a snapped off ex stud is gonna be a nightmare to fix. anyone got any experiences to share? has anyone bored larger holes in this area and had any problems?

 

I had no issues with stock exhaust studs on a PFAB ELTM with a GT35R. Just don't overtorque the nuts on the mani and you will be fine...unless you have some crazy manifold that needs supports, but doesn't use them.

 

It's a toss up really.

For no more than they cost, I did it.

I've read plenty of stories of people having problems on these cars, as the motors vibrate them loose.

On my civic I didn't, but on the s2k, I did.

If you want to worry about checking them, every 1k miles, don't do it.

For me it wasn't worth the hassle.

Not to mention if you ever swap manifolds/etc, you run a higher risk of them snapping off.

My .02 cents.

 

I ran with both. When I bought the car, it didn't have them on it. And I never had any issues. When I upgraded the head, I went ahead and installed them for insurance.

I agree, seems like a toss up, but good insurance I believe.

 

When I had the stock exhaust manifold studs on my sidewinder manifold, I had all kinds of problems with nuts backing off and the studs breaking. I then went with the ARP Neon SRT4 studs that are the same thread as the stockers and havent had any issues in the 3 years I've had them. They also have a specific pitch to the threads that when you tighten the nuts down, they lock so not to come loose. Its a common type of thread pitch also used in aerospace that works very well.