When it comes to any car, we don’t need to tell you that the most important part is the engine. While the world is filled with people who buy a Honda and never pop up the hood by themselves, there are those who love spending the time under the bonnet. Car enthusiasts can be found all over the place, and they only want one thing- to make their ride better in any possible way. This is best achieved by doing improvements in the engine bay. Of course, this is not something one should take lightly but if you know your way around a powerplant, there’s no reason why shouldn’t tweak your car.
One of the parts most people are eager to replace is of course the head studs. Of course, they come with many advantages, but they also have a hefty price tag for more quality stuff and most people are turned off by the cost. But, some remain curious about it and the question of why are head studs so expensive & are they worth it remains. It is not an easy one to answer, but we could lay out a few benefits of having them under the hood, and you judge by yourself about their cost-effectiveness. Let’s start with the most important part – where does the price come from.
Why so Expensive?
Well, if you knew the whole process behind making the head studs, you wouldn’t be asking this question. For one, to launch a quality product one needs to be thermally treated. This is done not for the fun of it, but to make the product strong by improving its structure. Creating a head stud takes a long process due to its specific design. If you held one in your hand you probably noticed their concentric shape which is achieved through numerous surgically made cuts. This is a part of the engine that needs to be perfectly balanced, as all things should be (thank you Thanos), and straighten out to perfection. Creating this product is not only hard, it costs money to its manufacturers. Hence the hefty starting price. All good things in life are not cheap. The final product in this branch needs to be roll-threaded which can be done before the heat treatment or even better, later. If you do it later, as some people tend to do these days you’ll add to its strength and stress tolerance. You can even strive for more expensive versions and we’re talking about those that come with a gasket and potentially a cylinder alignment.
What Does It Do to Your Engine?
Installing a head stud, like the one you can see if you check out here, is not a hard task. It is rather a straightforward mission. You can tighten it on your own without the need to use excessive force on the clamps. Yes, you heard it right. You only need to use your hands, and the components could be tightened only by your hands and fingers. The real deal comes later when you use a cylinder head and a nut both of which are positioned and tightened by the sheer force of torque of your mill. This process puts together the head stud and the two things we mentioned in this paragraph. While this part can sound a bit complicated, trust us it’s not. We’ll try to explain what happens in a few short lines without trying to sound too scientific.
It all starts with the nut toque which creates the clamping force that as a result is the power behind the tightening instead of the torque itself. Thanks to this you’ll have no rotational force present. When things are done like this, it’s not possible to damage the goods, but they’re instead stretched the way they should be and thanks to a head stud positioned carefully you lower than chances of any failure, including gasket and increase the general reliability of your engine.
How About The Head Assembly
In this department head studs also offer some advantages over other components. It’s best seen when you need to assemble or repair an engine. Of course, things are made easier and everything is more reliable if you use a high-end product in the form of head studs. With the right option, you can always be sure that the head gasket is aligned with the cylinders in perfect order, while tolerance and reliability are up to par to even something that Elders would make in Altered Carbon. Well, not exactly like that, but you get the picture. Because of what we said above, assembling a powerplant of your desire was never easier. But, the even better part comes when you need to tear an engine apart or make any repair or just when it’s time for maintenance. These are all important aspects of car ownership for most people and not only car enthusiasts. Being able to access the engine bay with as and do repairs and maintenance is a dream for many mechanics being it professional or amateur. Of course, all of this is in line if you do not own a Honda or a Mazda as we mentioned above, but is more suitable for sports care and those with high-performance attributes.
Bottom Line
As you can see head studs do serve a purpose and it’s a good one if you are a car enthusiast who owns a horsepower beast. These parts are more suited for sports cars as we already mentioned, and if you own one, you should have these installed. Of course, they come with a hefty price tag but for the reasons we mentioned above which justify the cost. You could always try to find cheaper components, and try to achieve the same results but it simply won’t be possible. So, while the price is high, we can say that head studs are worth it for what they bring to the table. All you need to do is to find the balance between your budget and what your car needs. The truth lies somewhere in between.
