Those with Stage 8 locking header bolts and LT's
01-24-2011, 09:34 AM
#21
One of the largest problems with the stage 8 bolts is that because the bolt head is 7/16" you can barely get a wrench on them to truly torque them to where a header bolt needs to be. Therefore you are depending on a "lock" to keep the bolts in place on a header bolt that isn't tightened where it should be to where the gasket will most likely eventually blow out.
Solving this problem is extremely easy. Either an ARP 5/16" or 3/8" header bolt will give ample room to properly torque the headers where they need to be. Gasket shrinkage and a required torquing? No problem! Because of all the room you have it takes a mere 5 minutes to retorque all the bolts. I challenge anyone with stage 8 junk be able to effectively torque their bolts and set the locks to where they need to be w/in that allotted time.
Solving this problem is extremely easy. Either an ARP 5/16" or 3/8" header bolt will give ample room to properly torque the headers where they need to be. Gasket shrinkage and a required torquing? No problem! Because of all the room you have it takes a mere 5 minutes to retorque all the bolts. I challenge anyone with stage 8 junk be able to effectively torque their bolts and set the locks to where they need to be w/in that allotted time.
The Stage 8 bolts I have are 7/16" on the outer hex and Allen head on 1/4" on the inner hex. If you dont factor in the removing and replacing the clips and locks, I can torque my dual hex Stage 8 bolts using Allen wrenches in just 5 minutes or less as well. Therfore this is equivilant in time and effort as any of the other non-locking bolts mentioned in this thread by others. If the Stage 8 bolts did not have the inner hex, I agree they would be very difficult to install and I would likely would not bother using them.
IMO the dual hex on the Stage 8's provide an advantage that none of the other bolts mentioned in the thread actually have. The Allen wrench works in much tighter spaces than just about anything plus I can use conventional wrenches or sockets to get the job done as well.
Then I can put the locks on if I choose to in about 10 minutes and make 100% sure the bolts never loosen due to vibration especially since I like to lay the slippery anti-sieze on the threads rather generously to assist in removing them when the need arises. The cost of the bolts many years ago was $35 IIRC to boot.
With all that said, I still fail to see why Stage 8 is junk and why "some" of the hating is really needed for silly little hardware.
01-24-2011, 01:03 PM
#22
Village Troll 
iTrader: (2)
Post up a vid with you tightening your stage 8's plz k thnx.
01-24-2011, 02:13 PM
#23
It's my opinion. Absolutely no reason to get worked up. Stage 8 bolts have no feelings that I am hurting so there's really no need to defend them like they are a beloved member of the form. I think they are junk. They aren't necessary when regular ol' ARP header bolts will do. Especially since with a 3/8" six-point bolt head a socket can be used on all of the drivers side and 3 on the passengers which pretty much trumps what I could do using a flimsy allen wrench with stage 8's. Have you used ARP 3/8" or smaller or are you simply trying to make sure nothing bad is said about stage 8 bolts?
Post up a vid with you tightening your stage 8's plz k thnx.
Post up a vid with you tightening your stage 8's plz k thnx.
The first time I put headers on several years ago I used the stainless ARP bolts with the 5/16" bolt heads. I retorqued them exactly as folks here have said and I still had some that seemed to loosen up and one actually fell out and was lost. Maybe it was the type of gasket, who knows? Maybe it was the flange, who knows?
The ARPs are very quality bolts and the small 5/16" heads were great for overall torqueing clearance but they just seemed to require a bit more attention than what I really wanted to give to bolts. When I went to the Stage 8 locking bolts, I no longer had any of these issues at all plus I found that the Allen head made them even easier to install compared to the ARPs with the small heads.
I dont have an agenda here. They are just silly bolts in the end.
