To o-ring or not to o-ring?

[Timberwolf]

in talking to an engine builder we were discussing o-rings. My thought was to use o-rings to keep the gaskets from blowing as easily and be able to handle higher boost.

his point was that would you rather blow a head gasket if your tuning is off, something sticks or goes wrong...or would you rather replace a piston?

Interesting point, so I thought I would ask you guys...

 

[Fuelie600]

You still have a safety valve---the gaskets will still "blow" or "track"with o-rings. What o-ringing the heads or block does, is give you a little more insurance, and might get you to the final round. Even with a substantial amount of gasket material lost around the combustion chambers, I managed several more passes and still held compression. We're not talking about 14 bolt heads w/ the added clampimg force. Brian

 

[rking]

I just blew a head gasket - not expensive. Would much rather do this than destroy a piston, head, or even the block!! Especially if its only a street car, with good tuning you can run more than enough boost to make you happy !!