So doing a rebuild AGAIN I was looking at the HR mod and that extra cooling sounds great. Butttttt...... What kind of power does the HR gaskets take? Currently using L19 studs and mains. But it makes we wonder should I buy a aftermarket gasket for HR or??? My "power goals" are 500 low 700high. Already built it to 550whp. This is a track car so cooling is a must for my hot laps. Doing my 36k rebuild/checkup.

 

You’re head gaskets are very important … obviously

whats more important as it relates to sealing the head to block are:

Headstuds and their installation - IMO L19 headstuds are your best bet (for commonly obtained studs). I would not go with Juke Headbolts and ARP2000s are great headstuds but L19s are superior. And ensure you torque them to spec, using lubrication, proper order, etc

Machining - are your heads 100% flat … if they are not within tolerance your gaskets nor headstuds wont matter

Tuning - is your tune accurate / safe / has tolerance. No gasket or headstud setup will survive a bad tune or a tune run on a car with the wrong fuel (too aggressive timing).

To answer your question - I think HR gaskets have been taken well up to the 600hp to 700hp range. Further, OEM HR guys are taking their OEM blocks into the 600hp range.

 

That's what I was wanting to know lol. What's the limits and would after market would be better? I had a hks gasket for my original build. I'm just refreshing for off season my tolerance for my heads is great and has held up very well though 50+ track days. Was mainly doing the HR mod for cooling as if that gets me more run time it's worth it. As for tune my guy is great no "boom" for over 2 years of abuse. For 600-700 is no issue with the OEM one I wonder if there is a better aftermarket version.

 

I dont think the HR or aftermarket head gaskets have a defined limit below 800hp or so (at this point you need fire-rings) the attributes mentioned above will be your controlling factors.

For the sake of the argument - consider OEM HR head gaskets as good or better than aftermarket head gaskets.

and you can reverse my previous post by saying that no head gasket will survive a warped head, a bad tune, or weak head studs

 

What's firing rings? And was not arguing lol was just wondering about weak point of failure. I mean most people who have built a engine know it's good to surface heads and block. To also make sure the gasket is just as thick as needs to be as our engines are not like Honda's where we can add thicker or thinner gasket. Lol thank you for letting me know the power limits as long as everything else is spot on.

 

Youre good - didnt take it as argumentative

Google fire rings … it’s basically whats required when head gaskets wont do the job. Fair warning … it’s probably $1k to $1500 to have it done…