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It has always been a practice of mine (many other people as well) to use studs whenever possible and in as many applications as possible. Bolts are just inferior in every way, but there are times where they must be used due to clearence issues.
First of all, the use of studs makes jobs easier. Picture yourself installing a set of heads onto a motor. It would be very easy and hassle free to have the surfaces clean, thread the studs into the block, slide the gaskets over the studs, slide the heads over the studs, slide the washers over the studs then torque the nuts down. Imagine doing this with bolts as opposed to studs; you would have to set the gaskets onto the heads then set the heads onto the gaskets hoping that the gasket does not shift and possibly scar itself in the process. Trying to monkey around with the head and gasket and keep everything in alignment while trying to get some of the bolts started is NO FUN. Same goes for headers/manifolds, intake plenums, throttle bodies, tranny pans, water pumps, valve covers, mains and so on. Studs always allow for perfect alignment and a smooth / easy installation.
Studs also alow for a more accurate and consistant torque loading than do bolts. There a few reasons for this. The first reason is that most studs have a FINE THREAD on the end that the nut goes onto. The finer the thread the less the torque gets applied per turn of the nut which makes for a more precise adjustment due to the smaller hex angle. The coarse threads act as an anchor and the actual tightening is being done with the fine threads. The lower pitch angle of the fine threads also reduces errors caused by momentum on the torque wrench. The other reason for the more accurate and consistant torque loading is that when you use bolts, the fastener is actually being "twisted" while its being torqued and thus the bolt is reacting to two different forces simultaneously - thats bad because the amount of torque that is being used to secure the item in question (head, valve cover or whatever) no longer corresponds with the amount of torque applied at the torque wrench. A stud however, when installed in a relaxed mode (never bottom a stud out or use a jam nut), will only stretch only in the vertical axis and will not twist at all. This is good because all the torque applied at the torque wrench will go towards fastening the item in question thus making the torque loading more accurate. The stud will stretch some though and to make up for that you torque the nuts to spec, then re-torque them a few minutes later (and again a few minutes after that preferably) to make up for unavoidable stretching. The use of high quality studs (ie. ARP brand studs) will minimize the amount of stretching that takes place.
There are other advantages as well...
First of all, the use of studs makes jobs easier. Picture yourself installing a set of heads onto a motor. It would be very easy and hassle free to have the surfaces clean, thread the studs into the block, slide the gaskets over the studs, slide the heads over the studs, slide the washers over the studs then torque the nuts down. Imagine doing this with bolts as opposed to studs; you would have to set the gaskets onto the heads then set the heads onto the gaskets hoping that the gasket does not shift and possibly scar itself in the process. Trying to monkey around with the head and gasket and keep everything in alignment while trying to get some of the bolts started is NO FUN. Same goes for headers/manifolds, intake plenums, throttle bodies, tranny pans, water pumps, valve covers, mains and so on. Studs always allow for perfect alignment and a smooth / easy installation.
Studs also alow for a more accurate and consistant torque loading than do bolts. There a few reasons for this. The first reason is that most studs have a FINE THREAD on the end that the nut goes onto. The finer the thread the less the torque gets applied per turn of the nut which makes for a more precise adjustment due to the smaller hex angle. The coarse threads act as an anchor and the actual tightening is being done with the fine threads. The lower pitch angle of the fine threads also reduces errors caused by momentum on the torque wrench. The other reason for the more accurate and consistant torque loading is that when you use bolts, the fastener is actually being "twisted" while its being torqued and thus the bolt is reacting to two different forces simultaneously - thats bad because the amount of torque that is being used to secure the item in question (head, valve cover or whatever) no longer corresponds with the amount of torque applied at the torque wrench. A stud however, when installed in a relaxed mode (never bottom a stud out or use a jam nut), will only stretch only in the vertical axis and will not twist at all. This is good because all the torque applied at the torque wrench will go towards fastening the item in question thus making the torque loading more accurate. The stud will stretch some though and to make up for that you torque the nuts to spec, then re-torque them a few minutes later (and again a few minutes after that preferably) to make up for unavoidable stretching. The use of high quality studs (ie. ARP brand studs) will minimize the amount of stretching that takes place.
There are other advantages as well...
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