My stock head gasket finally let go guys... Going with ARP studs. My question is should i run a thicker than stock gasket or go back with a stocker?

 

Unless you deck your block, run the stocker.

 

The shop I use decked the head .015 and used a .020 gasket which lowered compression a little. I think this is done to optimize for boost and give the valves a little more room. For me, it killed my fuel economy and low end power. If your shop recommends this, get some other professional opinions first. Im not 100% sure but I think for me it wasnt a good idea for my DD truck.

 

Thanks for the input fellas. I reckon i'll just run a stocker because decking the block or head doesn't sound like it would be good for my truck since it tows often and is sometimes driven daily.

 

What he said.

.015 is alot to take off of a head, you only need to take off enough to flatten it out. Yes, .020 gasket on a un-cut block is not a great idea for a DD, I had one and it went from starting real nice in the cold to being miserable.


If you going to have anything done, have the head checked for straightness and cut if its not.

 

I'm probably wrong but if u cut .015 off of the head wouldn't that bring the head, valves, an injector's .015 closer to the pistons so why wouldn't u want to go with a thicker head gasket? Am I wrong or wouldn't it affect the clearances just the same wether metal was removed from the head or the block?

 

You would want to go thicker if you took that much, but if you go thicker then the value you remove you enlarge the combustion chamber there for reducing compression..

 

I understand that if u cut .015 off an u put a .020 gasket on it you would add .005 to your combustion chamber.

What I was confused about was some of the guys that posted in this thread said that you should use a stock gasket unless you remove your material from the block instead of the head. Maybe I'm missing something but it shouldn't matter which part your removing material from your still bringing everything closer together so wouldn't u want to use the appropriate thickness gasket to adjust for the material removed wether it be the head or the block.

Also I'm in the middle of a head gasket job myself, I was wondering what psi u can run with just studs compared to having o-rings an studs. The closest place that can cut the head for me is 2 hours away an I was just wondering if it was worth the trouble?

 

The combustion chamber is the bowl in the piston. The head is flat. Whether you take .001" off, or .100" off, its still flat, so the volume is still the same inside the cylinder. If you deck the block, you are actually reducing the clearance between the piston and head, and thus the total volume, affecting compression ratio.

 

Oh ok I got ya now.

One more question, how much can u take off the head before the valves an injectors would come into contact with the pistons