head gasket question

[blown_ss]

im looking at a short block with high compression pistons. when i combine my head with the block the compression is going to be too high. what im wondering if there is any risk in running a thicker head gasket to lower the compression. im not going too thick. the stock head gasket is .026 and im looking to run .051.

[NEMO]

why dont you just take your pistons to a machine shop and have the shaved down some

[*EFilliated*]

dont think that was the question. just saying


why dont you just take your pistons to a machine shop and have the shaved down some

[RBS]

thicker headgaskets are perfectly safe in most cases, the only downside is you have a bigger "weakspot?" i dont know if its the right term but thats what i call it LOL, and also be sure BOTH mating surfaces are clean. you can also look into increasing your combustion chamber volume, or like NEMO stated shave the pistons down

[SPOOLIN]

how high is the compression going to be first of all?

[RBS]

high enough to blow the welds off the intake

[mitch lab]

thicker head gasket is fine

[Spent]

What the guys above said. I would simply add that technically speaking, ideally you want a quench area of no less than .035". So if you your block deck height has been reduced, take this figure into consideration when choosing the right head gasket thickness.

Also, we would suggest copper spray on both sides of the gasket for added security, even on sleeved blocks.

[chaseamundo]

Im sure if you have good headstuds to hold that head down then you should be fine.

[Black4DrEK]

Fuck that run a OEM headgasket..

HIGH COMP FOR THE WIN!

[chaseamundo]

X2^^^

[*EFilliated*]

if im not mistaken this question was asked because he doesnt kno if its safe to run pump gas with compression higher than 12 : 5, i told him it was ok aslong as it is TUNED

[h22 jones]

There is nothing wrong with running a thicker head gasket and you dont need head studs . I do run arp head studs in my motor but just so that im not pulling on the threads in the block every time i take the head off (i change shit alot lol) not to hold the head down . If your running over ten pounds of boost then yea head studs would be a nice thing to have . Running all motor stock head bolts are fine just make sure they are tourqed properly. Everybody tends to want to buy all this stuff so that they can say i have all this in my build when alot of it doesnt make the motor any faster and is not needed in certain builds. Also rememmber guys more compression does not mean more hp always.We actually cut our pistons to get to 12.2 compression . I mean why didnt we run 13.1 or higher ? Scottie said he could tune 13.1 on pump gas but alot of people have actualy made more power going from 13.1 to 12.1 on pump gas so we choose a happy medium . As it is now our cranking pressure is right were it needs to be so if we would have went 13.1 we would have lost power or at the very least had to do alot of cam degreeing to find it . Its alot more tricky to make big hp on na set ups . Alot depends on what cams you are running and weither they bleed off cranking pressure as to weither you can run higher compression. if you stay around 12.1 you should be ok. Anything higher then that you need to do alot of research. Also if your trying to run a thicker head gasket to get down to 12.5 you have a hell of a dome on your pistons meaning piston to valve and valve to valve clearance should be checked this is not a motor you just threw together and hope for the best you need to check everything.

[Black4DrEK]

Well if he is wanting purchase the block from you (EFilliated), The OEM headgasket is Fine.

BUT. He gave us NO other info, as to what head/cams he is going to use.


^^ That makes a big difference

[Bacon]

What is the approximate compression ratio to be?

[blown_ss]

Well if he is wanting purchase the block from you (EFilliated), The OEM headgasket is Fine.

BUT. He gave us NO other info, as to what head/cams he is going to use.


^^ That makes a big difference

yes i was wanting to get that block but i was going to run a gsr head and not a b16 which is a big difference. the compression would have been about 13.1 and with the thicker head gasket it woudl have pulled that down to about 12.1 which is fine. my problem with the block is the pistons with the head. all post that i have read including the one on here said that the combo is not good. im still on the fence about the short block because of the pistons more so then the compression. im not wanting to pull the pistions to have them shaved down when i could just do a rebuild on a cheaper block to put the pistons in that i want.

[RBS]

no point in shaving down pistons when you can just buy new ones or trade someone.

[h22 jones]

there is actually a big point in shaving down pistons but i want get into all that . I say stay bellow 12.5 on pump gas just my opion.

[Black4DrEK]

yes i was wanting to get that block but i was going to run a gsr head and not a b16 which is a big difference. the compression would have been about 13.1 and with the thicker head gasket it woudl have pulled that down to about 12.1 which is fine. my problem with the block is the pistons with the head. all post that i have read including the one on here said that the combo is not good. im still on the fence about the short block because of the pistons more so then the compression. im not wanting to pull the pistions to have them shaved down when i could just do a rebuild on a cheaper block to put the pistons in that i want.


Yea. The GSR head on that block would be a bit too much.

IMO dont use the CTR pistons in that build. Get some JDM ITR, If not that get some High compression Forged pistons.

The CTR piston will give power cause of its HIGH compression it gets you. High compression is Awesome for NA obviosly. But the Dome on them is pretty high. You wont have good flame travel/ The air flow will have to go UP and OVER the pistons..

Dont get me wrong, I just had CTR pistons in a B18C5 block/ B16 head,With cams. It was VERY NICE. (to me) Pulled very strong in top end!

But You can make the Same power with the JDM ITR pistons.


Whatever you do GL with the build man!

[blown_ss]

no point in shaving down pistons when you can just buy new ones or trade someone.

i didnt want to buy a short block for 700 and then have to turn around and put new pistons in it.