Lost compression at drag strip

[Reggie West]

Felpro 1000s. Remember this if you are blowing headgaskets your tune is off a lot.

Better the head gasket than a piston or rod out of the block.

 

[buickGN3:16]

First time its happend in the 5 years i've owned & raced this car. Its had about 15 or so passes in those 5 years. Full street car too.. Thanks for the info

 

[buickGN3:16]

I have a aluminum pan under my intake, does that need to be cleaned & re-used or does that need to be replaced??

 

[earlbrown]

post a picture of the pan

 

[buickGN3:16]

It looks like the fel pro valley pan intake gasket if u've seen that, i just saw a picture of it & thats deff it so i guess thats what i need to order & i just didnt realize that is the actual gasket! But ill post a pic as soon as i get a chance.

 

[earlbrown]

That's why I asked. the factory replacement intake gasket is a valley pan type.

 

[buickGN3:16]

Ok i gotcha, its my first time going into the motor so these weird looking gaskets threw me for a loop haha, between the GM head gasket & the fel pro 1000 head gasket which one would be the best choice? Price is similar.

 

[earlbrown]

If your base engine is stock you can't beat the stock V-R gaskets. They can take a beating and keep coming back for more.... Until you blow them. They blow big and messy!!


Personally I'm a fan of bumping up base compression to the extra volumetric efficiency that comes with it. A thinner shim gasket is the trick but it might come with extra problems due to trying to seal unmachined decks and heads.

 

[buickGN3:16]

Yeah my engine is mostly stock but i dont know what V-R that your talking bout means, sorry never had to do these gaskets before, if u dont mind telling me a little more about this i will appreciate it & be well on my way! Thanks

 

[getdowngranny]

By saying "VR" I'm pretty sure he was referring to Victor Reinz gaskets.

 

[buickGN3:16]

Ok thanks, where can i buy them?

 

[MeanBuicks]

Victor Reinz are the GM originals so the GM parts counter would be good place to start. Also, be sure to pick up a fresh set of head bolts from GM too. They are TTY (torque to yield) which basically means that, once installed, are permanently stretched and can not (& should not) be reused.

 

[buickGN3:16]

Ok thanks for the info, really helpful

 

[buickGN3:16]

Would u say the gm head bolts r better than the arp brand or does it really matter??

 

[buickGN3:16]

How important is it to use new head bolts? is this really necessary? Some say yeah some say no, i dont know!

 

[earlbrown]

Technically, it's very important as the TTY bolts get 'sprung' after one torque cycle....
....that being said I've reused TTY bolts twice and gotten away with it.

I don't recommend it but if you want to do the math... ask yourself if you don't mind losing $200 in head gaskets and $40 in valley gaskets, to save $50 in bolts. (and then do the job twice, repurchase the gaskets AND THEN buy the bolts)

Since you're dragging the car, go ahead and get a set of ARP studs and be done with it.

 

[buickGN3:16]

Ok that makes sense. Do u think i should have the heads checked since the gasket blew or do u think they should be ok?

 

[earlbrown]

While they're off I would tear them down to look at the valve job and open up the bowls. That's free horsepower.

 

[buickGN3:16]

True, do u think the 100lb springs would be too hard on a 120,000 mile cam? Id like to freshen up the springs too!

 

[earlbrown]

They'll be fine. You 120,000 cam is actually a good thing. It's made out of a better blank that's what's available today and it's already been fully work hardened. It's ready for the springs.

It's actually be easier on the cam as the lifters will ride on the entire lobe now instead of getting launched off the nose and slamming down on the closing ramp.