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Head Gasket 101

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Old Feb 23, 2003 | 07:04 PM
  #1  
westcoaststyle's Avatar
westcoaststyle
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Default Head Gasket 101

Ok, so, here's my motor setup:

Block
B18C1 Swap
SRP 9.5:1 pistons
Eagle "H" rods
ARP rod bolts
Total Seal rings
Cylinders bored 0.0010 over
Honda green & brown rod bearings
Summit Racing main bearings
Balanced & blueprinted crank, rods, pistons, flywheel, clutch, and crank pulley
Unorthodox racing crank pulley
ACT XT-SS clutch
B&M short shifter w/ Energy Suspension bushings
Clutchmasters 7.5lb flywheel
Acid dipped block
Full new conversion kit (bottom end gasket set - Summit Racing)
DC Sports 4-1 cc LS header
Custom 2.5" exhaust piping to an Apexi Dunk universal (currently)
Will be going to a dual N1 setup shortly (I have the mufflers now)
AEM CAI
Venom dipstick (polished)
DC Sports battery tie-down (polished)
Energy Suspension motor mount inserts

Head
Port matched on the intake side
3 angle valve job
Decked
ARP head studs & nuts
Acid dipped & glass bead blasted head
All new head gasket/seal set (OEM Honda)
OEM head gasket
JDM ITR red valve cover
DC Sports wire cover (polished)
Magnacor 10mm plug wires (red)
MSD Blaster external coil w/ distributor cap

Fuel
AEM fuel rail (red)
AEM high flow fuel filter (silver)
Venom injectors (10% over stock cc)
ITR FPR
GSR throttle cable and bracket

Misc
P52 '94+ Del Sol DOHC VTEC AC mount (so I could keep my AC)
P72 OBD1 ECU
All mounts and caps are painted flat black

****************************
With that posted, I'm planning to go turbo in the next few months. Particularly looking at a Drag III kit with all the goodies (V/S AFC, FMI, electronics...) and I have no idea what head gasket to get. I know that Summit sells a bunch and then there's always Mugen, Spoon, JUN, JG... what do you think? I plan to run about 18+ lbs of boost. Any ideas?

Thanks!
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Old Feb 23, 2003 | 10:35 PM
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Stock, or Cometic. Copper spray is a good idea, as well.
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Old Feb 24, 2003 | 10:51 AM
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ditto.
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Old Apr 28, 2003 | 10:10 AM
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I'm also looking for a head gasket. Got a turbo'd H22 with bad ring lands. Gonna rebuild this summer and get JE pistons @ 9.0:1, rods, sleeves, etc and turn up the boost to about 18-20. Any suggestions for me for a head gasket? I dont think the stock one will cut it. What is copper spray?
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Old Apr 28, 2003 | 12:01 PM
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Stock headgaskets seal very well, and a lot of drag racers use nothing but stock gaskets. Golden Eagle also recommends you use stock gaskets with their sleeves. They also happen to sell precision overbored stock gaskets that they machine in-house. If you still don't want to use a stock gasket, or want a different thickness, go with a Cometic HP, or the MLS if you're having o-rings put in. Copper spray is this stuff that comes in a can. You spray it onto both sides of the headgasket and it becomes tacky when it dries, and stays tacky. It helps the headgasket seal.
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Old Apr 28, 2003 | 02:40 PM
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Awesome. Thanks for you help!!
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Old May 1, 2003 | 10:55 AM
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Hey inspyral, one more question - should i get anything to strengthen my block? I'm told the h22 (other than being sleeved) does not require anything else for high boost. You seem to really know your stuff, any suggestions?
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Old May 1, 2003 | 01:11 PM
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I would get some ARP headstuds, since you'll be opening it up anyway. Make sure you pre-torque them to about 10 lb-ft to make sure thay're all even. I don't care what ARP says, "finger-tight" usually leaves them sitting at different heights, which obviously means they're not seated all the way. This can happen even when you run a tap down the threads before installing the studs, so double-nutting them and torquing them slightly is a very good idea.
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Old May 1, 2003 | 10:51 PM
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Cool. I'll look into that. Anything else? I hear a lot about block gaurds, etc. but i have a closed deck, so I would'nt need those, right?
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Old May 2, 2003 | 11:02 AM
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yea, cause the older h22 or jdm h22s were closed block unlike the newer USDM h22a4, so no you wouldnt need a block guard if you have a 96or below usdm h22, or any jdm h22a I believe......
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