Performance Gaskets & Surface Finishes

[Terry Haines]

Performance Gaskets & Surface Finishes

 

A performance engine is only as reliable as the gaskets and surface finish used to seal it

By Larry Carley

 

The most critical engine gaskets are the head gaskets since they have to withstand the heat and pressure of combustion. And unless the engine is a drag motor with a solid billet or filled block, the head gaskets also have to keep coolant out of the cylinders.

Many performance engines are capable of making several times as much horsepower as a stock engine of comparable displacement, so the head gaskets must be durable enough to withstand the higher pressures. Head lift is probably the most common cause of head gasket failure in a performance engine, and some engines are worse than others (such as Ford small blocks). The amount of head lift an engine experiences depends on combustion pressures as well as the number and pattern of the head bolts, the size of the head bolts, and the rigidity of the block and heads……

　

Full article here……

 

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/Article/112949/performance_gaskets__surface_finishes.aspx

 

 

 

 

The Engine Builder mag site has a lot of info on many aspects ...Dig around,always worth a read..

 

http://www.enginebuildermag.com/

 

[mondeoman]

Excellent information - THANKS TERRY!!!

[spridget]

I have always wondered why head gaskets have tiny holes in some coolant passages while the casting has a large port. What is the reason for that? Keep pressures up? Adjust flow to certain areas?

[PNWContour]

maybe for expansion when it gets heated up?