Heads Studs vs. Head Bolts

Duane said
I agree that a bad tune can blow the head gaskets, so can excessive overheating etc. IMHO though we are missing the point.
The op has asked when to go studs.
Before the release of the Fel pro 1008 head gasket, sbm,s even in good states of tune and proper fuel, were notorious for head gasket failure.
The root cause as mentioned in a previous post is that the sbm only uses 4 bolts per cylinder compared to say a Chev that used five.
The design of the engine has less clamping force on the heads.
Running up the ratio aggravates this.
Mopar use to recommend the Fel pro after 11:1 I believe.
The 1008 gasket was a big break through for sbm in the day.
Today we have the Cometic taken from Diesel engine technology.
The Cometic with studs greatly improved reliability with high compression ratios. The arp studs instructions call for an additional
20 ft lbs of torque to get to optimum clamp. This alone is a torque, that stock bolts will not take because of the metallurgy of the bolt materials. The op has already committed to buying some kind of aftermarket arp product. For my money I would go right to the studs, because it is a better choice for reliability. IMHO

I've put a few together with cometics and stock head bolts. I even spoke with cometic on the phone and they never said I couldn't use the stock head bolts..and they knew I was.
Dont get me wrong about the 4 bolts, but its played out chevy guy jab nowadays.
Better gaskets and more knowledge about where to start with tune.

He is at 11.1, then figure the camshafts role in determining the actual dynamic/effective.
I gave my cents already, I wouldn't bother with studs . Illinois has better gas than I do in California, so that should speak for itself.
If he wants bulletproof sure go studs, cometics, bottom end studs, main girdle, o ring it..the works..in fact the block could be the weak link..better sonic test every hole 6 ways to sunday..cause they're know for deep pock cavities water jacket side...then that rear lifter bore at no.7.. that thing might break, according to chevy lovers...so buy an R block now.

Joking aside. .
Do whatever you want, it's not always as complex as you might think it should be.