yes it will feel different as you tighten them. 20-25 foot pounds is perfect and no need to re torque pounds. And don’t re torque them just leave them alone.
thanks Sean ......... i tightened them to 20 pounds per remflex's recommendation for this set and it was different and of course pushed/crushed the material ........... I can see how it's better
Guys, The 18 ft/lbs torque spec is for the stock exhaust manifolds, with the ramp loc bolts.. At that torque, flat cast iron surfaces will seal. The manifold runs a lot hotter than the head, and the engineers wanted to allow the manifold to move slightly, due to the different tempratures of the head vs the manifold. The ramp loc bolts keep the 3/8 bolts at that torque... because your not hardly stretching a 3/8 bolt at 18 ft lbs. Certainly not enough to keep it tight. Now, put headers on, and your talking about a whole different deal here. Remflex gaskets and the header bolts "tight" with a long handle header bolt wrench, will do the trick for you. 30-35 lbs, iron or alum heads. If your running a combo that comes apart at a regular interval, like a race car, then I recommend studs in the headers where you can use them. The factory iron manifold/ramp loc bolts spec does not come into play here. JW
Cranked it up today and no leaks around the Remflex manifold gaskets. Resurfacing the manifolds at the machine shop probably helped. thanks everyone lane