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Met a GM mechanic who stated Northstar Performance head bolt kit and Norms Tserts are very similar, that Norms tserts do not fail, and that Northstar is often hard to deal with. I was under the impression Northstar was the only head bolt kit to go with.

Looking for comments comparing Northstar to Norms.

Isn't Norms stuff overpriced stuff that most consider to be re-packaged other brands...

I haven't read much into them though. N* Performance is kinda the standard.

From what I've heard and read N*Performance is the best solution to the head bolt problems but I have heard they can be hard to get a hold of or backordered.

If I was to do a Northstar headjob, I would only use that stud kit.

Me three on what Lane and Clay have said.

Before me, my former 04 GXP was owned and studded by the guy who ran Northstar Performance. Combined with a complete regasketing, I had no qualms with hard driving and the motor was rock solid. It's still treating the current owner very well. If you can get your hands on a Northstar Performance kit, do that. If you can't and only plan on keeping the car short term, the timesert might work for you.

Really at the end of the day, all it is, is an insert to hold the threads of the new studs. What is more important is following the basic rules of proper drilling, tapping, and then insertion of any insert.

- Drilling requires that you drill to the bottom of the hole. Nothing more. A jug may need to be used to ensure that 90* angles between drill bit and the deck are maintained.
- Cleaning the new bore.
- Thread the bore with a tap to accomodate the insert.
- Clean the bore again.
- Thread in the insert using Loctite or other suitable locking sealant. Depending on where the stud is physically located, making sure the new insert is properly seated, in most cases, in the countersink section of the deck.

I just did mine with Northstar performance studs, because I plan on keeping my car for ever.

I would only use a Sert in my engine if I planned on selling it.....

There is a right tool for the job and the only way to do a Northstar is by studding the block. I have seen to many Northstars with cracked block from Serts being used and gaskets leaking because the Serts failed.

Went the stud route last May 2013 when my GXP Northstar developed the cold start miss and white smoke
@120K mi.

I had Dr Joe at Midwest Cadillac install the Carroll Cadillac LLC performance head stud kit. 9 months and 22k
miles later she is still running like new! Carroll was easy to work with and was able to ship the
stud kit out to me in under a weeks time unlike those Canadian boys who never answered their phone nor returned
the phone calls.

http://www.carrollcustomcadillac.com/Pa ... Studs.aspx

http://www.midwestcadillacrepair.com/

A lot of the times people call us after business hours, don't leave a phone number, don't leave a voicemail, the next day our phone will say "missed call from unknown number". Doesn't help a lot.

Everyone who wants a stud kit from us will always get one. There are times, such as right now, we are backordered by approx. 1 week. Fact of life, sometimes demand is higher than supply, sometimes not. Best way is order before you start your repair job, if you know ahead of time that you'll be doing this project. Often we get calls "my engine is torn down, can you overnight a kit to us?". While we try to accomodate everybody, and we welcome last minute orders; that puts a lot of stress on everyone. We have rushed kits to shipping depots, racing the clock. Best to order a few days ahead if you can.

I invented a product that has had great reception and great results. It certainly has not been easy taking it to market; we found that every time we hired a machine shop to produce what we wanted; there was always something not quite to spec. Even with engineered drawings; they still couldn't understand how important tolerance and O.D. was for a specialty fastener.

We have set up production and have been producing in-house for about two years now, with great success. Quality is something we are very proud of. Rolled threads on a special alloy chromoly steel.

The only reason I found this thread; is because I just bought a 2004 GXP this evening. I missed the one I sold in 2010 so much, I finally found a great replacement for it. Black on black.

There is a U.S. Patent pending on my stud kit. I will make this clear; I will protect my intellectual property at all costs. My intentions of bringing this to market was to help Northstar owners with the best possible repair method; and now; more than ever; we will be doing so. We have a LOT of work to do in not only making sure the product is available and manufactured to spec., we also need qualified people to install.

I am here for Northstar Owners; Regardless of which vehicle they are under the hood of. I absolutely love the GXP's. Cadillac's should have had the brakes found on these cars. Responsive!

I hope I will be welcomed in these forums here; I'm assuming I will be contacted regarding vendor status; which is fine. I am willing to support forums such as this one; who support us. We are all here because we share a passion for GM full size cars with 32 valve V8 engines.

Absolutely man. Congrats on the GXP. Watch it be my old one as it was a 2004 black on black. :p

NorthstarPerformance wrote:A lot of the times people call us after business hours, don't leave a phone number, don't leave a voicemail, the next day our phone will say "missed call from unknown number". Doesn't help a lot.

Everyone who wants a stud kit from us will always get one. There are times, such as right now, we are backordered by approx. 1 week. Fact of life, sometimes demand is higher than supply, sometimes not. Best way is order before you start your repair job, if you know ahead of time that you'll be doing this project. Often we get calls "my engine is torn down, can you overnight a kit to us?". While we try to accomodate everybody, and we welcome last minute orders; that puts a lot of stress on everyone. We have rushed kits to shipping depots, racing the clock. Best to order a few days ahead if you can.

I invented a product that has had great reception and great results. It certainly has not been easy taking it to market; we found that every time we hired a machine shop to produce what we wanted; there was always something not quite to spec. Even with engineered drawings; they still couldn't understand how important tolerance and O.D. was for a specialty fastener.

We have set up production and have been producing in-house for about two years now, with great success. Quality is something we are very proud of. Rolled threads on a special alloy chromoly steel.

The only reason I found this thread; is because I just bought a 2004 GXP this evening. I missed the one I sold in 2010 so much, I finally found a great replacement for it. Black on black.

There is a U.S. Patent pending on my stud kit. I will make this clear; I will protect my intellectual property at all costs. My intentions of bringing this to market was to help Northstar owners with the best possible repair method; and now; more than ever; we will be doing so. We have a LOT of work to do in not only making sure the product is available and manufactured to spec., we also need qualified people to install.

I am here for Northstar Owners; Regardless of which vehicle they are under the hood of. I absolutely love the GXP's. Cadillac's should have had the brakes found on these cars. Responsive!

I hope I will be welcomed in these forums here; I'm assuming I will be contacted regarding vendor status; which is fine. I am willing to support forums such as this one; who support us. We are all here because we share a passion for GM full size cars with 32 valve V8 engines.

I did much more searching on the subject, and in my very humble opinion the N* P kit is and its patent pending stuff is a marketing gimmick. N* P is not seeking a patent on its "studs", but on the kit itself. Kind of like McDonalds patenting the container that holds a big mac. I would also speculate that no patent will every be awarded- seems the "kit" is it pending mode purgatory.

After all I have read about all the N* engine stud retrofits; I would recommend anyone do extensive research before selecting a solution. My initial thought was N* P was the best and only way to go. After many hours of research, I would be going with another vendor like Norm Insert or Carroll Cadillac.

Pretty interesting read : http://www.carrollcustomcadillac.com/Pa ... Studs.aspx