head gaskets

[scottk]

whats wrong with fel-pro 1007 gaskets? why is it so hard to machine the head grooves?

 

[boostingbuick]

Not sure why people run these gaskets. I like to know my headgasket will fail befor the pistons or head. If your A/F is good then the gasket should stay put. Other parts will fail from HP first, crank, rods, trans, driveshaft, etc.

 

[BlackBandit]

I've never run them but the only problem I've heard of with these is the machine shop HAS to do a good job with the groove in order for them to seal properly. As long as that happens they shouldn't give you any problems. You don't really need them unless you're going pretty fast. I'm only going to push my current engine to mid to low 11's so I'm using stock style. Maybe when I build another with a better bottom end to run 10's I'll put in a wire-loc or cometic, but until then I'm going to stick with the stocker as you really shouldn't need anything else. In fact, like boostingbuick said, at that level if your popping head gaskets then your probably doing something wrong and stronger headgaskets will just cause other stuff to break.

 

[Turbo1dr]

The Buick Power Source book states that at 600+ HP the gasket is the problem due to the 4 bolt head design. High cylinder pressures literally "push" the gasket out. This is where the 1007's and other high performance gaskets keep it sealed.