ARP 2000 Rod Bolt Kit for B16A B17A B18C VTEC

ARP 2000 Rod Bolt Kit for Honda B16A B17A B18C - Part #208-6401

A stock-rod B18C1 pulling to 8,200 rpm every weekend is asking a lot of its factory rod bolts, and rod bolt stretch is the failure that takes the whole block with it. The ARP 2000 rod bolt kit is the 9mm upgrade for the VTEC B-series: B16A2 and B16A3, the B17A1 in the 92-93 GS-R, and the B18C1 and B18C5.

What It Is and Why It Works

These are Pro Series bolts made from ARP2000 alloy rather than the standard 8740 chromoly. ARP2000 carries a 220,000 psi tensile rating and roughly twice the fatigue life of 8740, which is the number that actually matters on a rod bolt, because they die from millions of stretch cycles at high rpm rather than a single overload. Each bolt is CNC machined, heat treated on vertical racks for full penetration, and thread rolled after heat treat. The kit is 8 bolts, 8 nuts, and ARP's assembly lubricant, sized as a direct 9mm replacement for the factory hardware on stock rods. Install torque is 40 ft-lbs with the included Ultra-Torque, or 0.0075 to 0.0080 inch of measured bolt stretch if you build with a stretch gauge, which is the more accurate method.

Specs

Fitment

Covers the 9mm rod bolt VTEC B-series engines. The non-VTEC B18A/B18B and B20, and the D-series, use 8mm bolts, which is ARP kit 208-6001.

What to Know Before You Buy

These fit factory rods only. Aftermarket rods ship with their own ARP hardware, so if you're buying Manley or Eagle rods, skip this kit. If you're staying on stock rods with bolt-ons, cams, and a proper tune, or running mild boost on a stock B18C bottom end, this is the single cheapest piece of insurance in the engine. Have the rods resized with the new bolts torqued in place, because the fresh clamp load changes the big end bore, and set your bearing clearances afterward. Confirm your engine before ordering: the LS B18A/B18B and the B20 take the 8mm 208-6001 kit, not this one.