Is ARP hardware really worth the expense?!?!?!?

[KI11Z]

Is ARP hardware really worth the expense?!?!?!?

for the head bolts we're talking $70 vs $300!? i think. . .

or please correct me on the prices?

[Golf Houso]

Ebay if your friend Alex

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ARP-MAIN-STUDS-STUD-VW-AUDI-VR6-GOLF-JETTA-TT-204-5403_W0QQitemZ180352663024QQcmdZViewItemQQptZMotors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item29fddb3df0&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=72%3A1205|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318

[KI11Z]

mate they're the main studs not the head studs . . . looking for this part number 204-4705 . . .

[Golf Houso]

Oh right yeah they go in the bottom end, not the head my mistake.

[KI11Z]

lol, aw good

[DubSteve]

Heaps of guys use them in the US but we are also talking FI maybe not worth it on the NA cars

[KI11Z]

its what i'm thinking, it's an overkill perhaps . . .

[rayray086]

It'd be a good investment I think. Would you have any aspirations for FI later on Alex? I remember reading somewhere ARP hardware are reusable?

[KI11Z]

yes they're reusable ray, and i've also heard that you need to re-torque them every so often? As for turbo . . . i doubt it, i like my n/a situation, i'll probably just work it that way, it's my goal to have a wicked n/a vr . . .

[Jarred]

well there is that saying, do it once, do it right....

[Peter Jones]

I'll use them on my next race motor and I've just bought a few sets of their diff bolts for some gearboxes I need to rebuild.

For a street car motor I just use new bolts from GAP, (they're stretch bolts and need to be replaced each time).

Because I race my street car I keep a set of new bolts in the spares cupboard in case I need to replace a head gasket afer a race.

Good range of ARP products here to give an indication of price.

http://www.bahnbrenner.com/vw_audi/categories/118/Engine_Hardware?start=0&ind=0

by comparison new headbolts for a VR are US$40 over at GAP

http://www.germanautoparts.com/Volkswagen/Golf/Engine/21/5

Pete

[KI11Z]

well there is that saying, do it once, do it right....

i dont think its a case of that because they both do exactly the same job, just that you can reuse the arp's . . . for the amount of compression and power i'd be running i felt that maybe its unnessasary? i can have the head off and back again 6 times using the standard stretch bolts till they nearly come to the price of the ARP studs? surely i wont get anywhere near that . . .

jeez, no one has really given me any major + to sway me so i dont think its worth the expense on my project . . . .

Thanks!

[Peter Jones]

jeez, no one has really given me any major + to sway me so i dont think its worth the expense on my project . . . .

Thanks!

Sometimes you've just got to make your own decisions

The ARP bolts are stronger than stock but the stock ones are probably strong enough for your application by the sounds of it.

An automotive engineer could give a definitive answer if he had all of the data on the stock bolt, the ARP bolt and all your engine parameters. Trouble is the answer will cost as much as the ARP bolts which is one of the reasons why I'll be using them - it just removes the guesswork.

I'm using ARP diff bolts because the 020 box rivets have a well documented history of catastophic failure.

Sounds like a fun project, look forward to reading all about it.

Pete

[twin eng, twin turbs]

Using ARP bolts is a safety measure in big horse power engines.

The stock bolts will be fine unless your chasing big numbers from your engine. I ran an internally standard 1.8 8v engine with a turbo setup for years with no issues from it putting out 138kw atw's.

I would get the ARP gearbox differential bolt kit though... The rivets break all the time.

[Preen59]

Using ARP bolts is a safety measure in big horse power engines.

The stock bolts will be fine unless your chasing big numbers from your engine. I ran an internally standard 1.8 8v engine with a turbo setup for years with no issues from it putting out 138kw atw's.

I would get the ARP gearbox differential bolt kit though... The rivets break all the time.

Apart from it blowing head gaskets.. (Just kidding, its pretty fast!)

I'm going to be using a full ARP top and bottom stud kit in the 16v, running 11:1 compression. There's actually really no need to do it, but i figured if i'm doing the whole lot, i may as well do the WHOLE lot.

As an example.. The 1.8t's can produce ~700hp before you need to upgrade head bolts and the head gasket.