Stud girdles
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,429
Likes: 20
From: Kingston Ontario
Stud girdles
I'm putting my BBC together and I have a question on at what point stud girdles are actually needed. I was under the impression that for high lift cams it's a good idea so I bought one. What I'm building is a 496 with a hydraulic roller . It has .629 lift in/exh and the open spring pressure is just over 400lbs with new 7/16 studs. I will eventually see very limited 1/4 mile time and was thinking maybe around 6500 rpm's. This setup may runout long before 6500 with my ported oval ports so this my never be an issue. The reason I ask is because I bought the GMPP valve covers with the breathers already on them and the underside nut on one side hits the stud and are very close to the girdle on both sides. I can fix this easy enough but is it worth modifying the girdle to fit if I don't need it. I've also read that you can break studs if the girdle doesn't fit perfect. Whats everybodies take on this.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 6,048
Likes: 5
From: "cutesy" TN
For the street........... no. If you are turning 6000+ RPMs all the time then yes, a girdle helps. But only to keep from adjusting the rocker arm clearances. Shaft rockers are better than a girdle. 
You are running a hydraulic cam, you do not need one.
You are running a hydraulic cam, you do not need one.
