As with anything performance built there are going to be risk and also you trying to minimize the chance of failure. did you get lucky and not need a girdle and happen to catch cap walk before your block failed? maybe. is the average guy who buys a girlde to push his engine a little harder going to pulling it apart at the end of every season to inspect it? probably not. this is the guy the girdle kits are marketed towards, the kit was developed to put the best possible parts in combination to help hold your engine together at higher than stock power levels. there is no doubt that a girdle will help keep your main caps from dancing around, the only question remains is will you catch your caps before they fail if you don't have a girdle.


and back to the ops original question, you'll be fine with the bolts at 550 hp. studs would be better, but your arp bolts are not the weak link at that power level. good luck with your engine project and if you see cap walk next time you tear it down, know that we are here to help with an in budget solution to the problem.