Head bolt torque

I know what the manual says on how to torque the head bolts. What do you gurus of speed do? On most cars I pick a reasonable value depending on the head block combo {aluminum or cast iron} and do a 3 step torque procedure. Any feedback appreciated.

If your using torque to yeild follow the book to a tee. Most go with ARP head studs. Much better. Make sure you dont reuse the stock head bolts.

Buy the ARP's; Don't waste money on replacement torque-to-yield bolts. I just finished a top-end teardown, and used the ARP's; money well spent. Everything went back together basically stock, but I wouldn't risk having to do it over with TTY bolts. I bought my ARP's from Jegs for about $90 delivered. You want P/N 233-4003. These are for a Chevy engine, but fit the 3.8 SC perfectly. Better than the set listed for the 3.8 Ford.

JD

I have already bought the gasket set [felpro] and new bolts. But I may return the bolts or resell them and buy studs. Head gaskets arent bad yet but the intake gaskets are so I may as well do the heads while I am in there. Do you use the same torque procedure with studs or do use a set torque value? And what would that be?