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High boost headgasket question

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Kingarex

10+ Year Contributor
95
0
Jul 3, 2012
Cheney, Washington
So I did some searching and found some opposite opinions on situations kinda like mine... So thought I'd just post my dilemma and see what comes of it.

I recently had my AC belt snap and get caught in my timing belt and caused my intake cam to skip a few teeth and wipe out my Valves. Still searching for a lower timing cover.... Anyway when I was rebuilding I sent my cousin out to buy oil/gaskets and put my car all back together before I realized that I used a Napa basic headgasket.... I'm on 27-32 psi.

I'm not too concerned, as I have ARP studs and the head was checked and came out flat at the machine shop. And the main reason for multi layer gaskets is so they will separate and reseal under heavy detonation (which I shouldn't have anyway)

But I'm still bothered by having a fully built engine running top of the line parts and a basic $30 headgasket.

Thoughts?
 
The Mitsubishi multi layer ones are great, I run it copper sprayed with the L19 head studs. I also personally know someone who runs the same one on a high 8 second quarter mile auto dsm on a 35r! They come special coated, since it has to block the combustion chamber yet at the same time seal oil and coolant. Power enterprise dsm head gasket would be an example of a bit of an overkill but why buy a composite one when they hate heat and high boost more power. I highly don't like the cometic ones because they been known to have issues and not seal well since there not coated. Sure they can break more with a stronger head gasket but on a proper set up car and tune I wouldn't worry about that at all.
 
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I have to ask, how'd you let your AC belt come in contact with your timing belt ?
 
I have to ask, how'd you let your AC belt come in contact with your timing belt ?

If I was to guess...
So I did some searching and found some opposite opinions on situations kinda like mine... So thought I'd just post my dilemma and see what comes of it.

I recently had my AC belt snap and get caught in my timing belt and caused my intake cam to skip a few teeth and wipe out my Valves. Still searching for a lower timing cover.... Anyway when I was rebuilding I sent my cousin out to buy oil/gaskets and put my car all back together before I realized that I used a Napa basic headgasket.... I'm on 27-32 psi.
 
Sure it wasn't balance shaft belt LOL? Did the belt snap the perfect odd ball way that it blew your timing cover apart? If so I thought I had bad luck, too much to ask for a pic of the carnage?
 
Sure they can break more with a stronger head gasket but on a proper set up car and tune I wouldn't worry about that at all.

Tell that to any one that has ever had a minor mishap and destroyed a motor.

Well your talking to someone who had a motor destroyed all over a improper balance shaft elimination I had a "professional" do wrong. I also don't base my opinions off others I base them by my experience. I'm not saying the cheap ones don't also work, just giving my opinion. But seriously why risk it if much over 400whp and especially if that power and up daily driven, composite hates the extreme heat.
 
I never had a timing cover. Been searching junk yards to no avail. Just bought one last night though.

I have balance shafts deleted
 
I would NOT copper spray any headgasket that could potentially come into contact with the oiling system of the car. Remember the copper in the spray can be considered an abrasive if it becomes suspended in oil. Also, guess who never uses copper spray on anything? OEMs.

You could try to debate that oem cars don't make the same power, but the point is a proper gasket installation is a proper gasket installation.

I agree 100% with bastarddsm. The cardboard gasket works very well at higher boost levels with head studs and if anything goes sour with the tune the gasket should let go before any of the more expensive hard parts.
 
I have years of experience as well bastard dsm. Bling5status I know many people who copper spray them its such a thin film that it is not going to get into the oil. Yeah stock ones don't use a coating because its a composite most composite's don't and if they do it don't help them last longer. I'm just saying from my experience I wouldn't run a composite on anything high boost or over 400 wheel or so.
 
My car gets a gasket about once a year. I drive it about 10000mi, and year before last i made over 200 low 11's passes with most being enough mph for 9's.

Eventually it pushed coolant, but that's from the head flexing between the studs, not the cheap gasket.

I'd like to remind you that what you expect it to run and what it does run are pretty different things. There are a lot of us with composite gaskets who have run 11, 10, and even 9s and have slips to prove it.

Like I said the composit is a nice safety fuse, look at sonyslave he obviously knows what he's doing running 9s on a 3065, but a partially clogged injector bit him and torched the head. If that was a composite it would have shown signs of trouble long before it torched the head and put coolant on the ground.
 
A blown head gasket is not the cause of a problem, but a result of a problem.

But each style of HG has its own place.

With a MLS both the mating surfaces have to be near perfect in flatness n smoothness for then to seal like they should.

Composites are much more forgiving, and will absorb more distortion on either side of it.

But it come down to personal preference, you want to replace a $50 head gasket and a $60 surface?

Or do you want to replace a $100+ head gasket AND a $500 or more head?

Now OP, you have a composite installed, I would say run it untill you have issues from over heating, detonation, or some other cause.
 
The question is about the cheap headgasket the OP used in his DSM from NAPA, help further along the discussion by answering the OP's question or don't post.
 
I know it’s an old post but I’ve always ran the composite gaskets and l19’s without an o ringed block or head. My current car is making 638@31lbs and going back to English to try to see how much it can handle shooting for low 800 mark, but you know what they say aim for the moon. Also do as I say not as I do LOL.
 
Composites are nice in the fact that 1: you dont need a perfect mating surface (mirror finish to seal), and 2: the HG is the fuse, that will blow before a rod goes through the block, head etc. However, they are limited in the amount of cylinder pressure they can hold, which therefor limits hp
 
I disagree. I have made 830whp with a composite gasket. That car did 218mph at the salt flats. If that doesn’t show that it can hold I don’t know what does. To be honest, I don’t think we found the limit yet of a composite gasket. Just waiting for someone to get crazy enough to let me do it.
 
I disagree. I have made 830whp with a composite gasket. That car did 218mph at the salt flats. If that doesn’t show that it can hold I don’t know what does. To be honest, I don’t think we found the limit yet of a composite gasket. Just waiting for someone to get crazy enough to let me do it.
Bringing back from the dead but how much boost are you running if I may ask? I'm running a 76mm with L19's and steel o-rings in the block.

Was just at the track and running 49 pounds of boost but coolant started spraying from the side of the block. Don't believe it was the gaskets fault though, but old stretched out, not properly handled L19's that were the problem. So ordered new ones. Still makes me wonder how far I can push it though. Wondering if this setup can handle 60-70 pounds of boost. Guess I'll find out but just wondering what you were doing. Thanks!
 
What are you torquing your L19's to?
Perfect deck and RA of 50 or better on the head for your boost levels and a good clamp to hold the head down. I was running 44lbs on my Red 90 Talon when I had her running.
How did you do at the track?
 
Well, I didn't get any fast times because I dumped all of my E85, cleaned out the tank completely, and put in some fresh 93 octane and had to do 100% of the tuning compensation at the track with a brand new AEM Meth injection kit. Was a bit on the richer side so was trying to cut it back. But with a Precision #6 converter and no nitrous (because I wanted to make sure the tune was perfect before hitting the nitrous), it was SLOW going down an 1/8th mile track because I had no hard launches to get me going. I tried hitting the nitrous on the 3rd and final pull but temps got up to 216 which is where I have the nitrous shutting off as a safety measure. So it worked for maybe a foot or two and then fell on its face and went slow like the other runs. After that last run, the water started pouring out as you can see in the video I'm posting.

I will say though that when this big ole turbo finally gets up there, it moves out but by the time it got going I was going past the clocks. I can't wait to pull the fuel and see how it does and hit the nitrous. You can see how it was pretty close on the tune on the 2nd run but when the meth kicks in it's pretty rich and killing my power. But in the 1/8th, it did 9.7@96 mph. I've made 7.5 1/8th mile runs that didn't have my mph that fast. I'll start with a 50 shot next time I'm out and gradually go up from there though. Still some cleaning up to do on the tune though however.
P.S. The spike in the log was me hitting the rev limiter because I was manually shifting this auto until my new shift box comes in.
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Yeah she was rich, but better that than to lean and melting stuff. I follow you since I am doing the same thing with an unknown stall converter (if it stalls at all, but I will see). I had to get my fueling lined out also, before getting the nitrous all hooked up so I can get out of the hole myself!
Best of luck, looking good!
Marty
 
New Felpro showed up this morning. If it doesn't seal up this time I'll just have to pull the engine and deck it but sooooo don't wanna do that. So crossing my fingers. Might just copper spray the top of this gasket in addition to new L19's and oring'd block.
 
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