I think I need better than stock head gasket..

[tn325i]

I just blew the second one out on a drive with a bunch of friends..

The first one I blew in Nov last year, that was on the track.. I didn't think much of that because I was pushing the car pretty hard for a DE.. ie:track fun..
Today however I was pushing it a little but not as hard...

My setup is, ETA bottom end, I head and intake, headers. M90 supercharger pushing maybe 10psi (conservatively). And MS for ECU..

Where can I find stronger head gaskets ?????? I'm tired of replacing these things...

[LowR3V'in]

The head gasket is good for at least twice that power.
Probably the tune. Are you using stock bolts?

TCD sells the MLS gaskets.

[Jbpka06]

ARP head studs and a good ignition tune will solve the headgasket problems.

[Jordan325iC]

You want and MLS gasket. vacmotorsports.com, turbochargingdynamics.com, ebay all have them.

[tn325i]

Yes, I do need a good dyno tune.. Unfortunately there is no one around my area that I have found as of yet..

I have been doing some reading on various forums. The weak point seems to be the OEM head bolts.. Am I wrong ?

Who is a vender for ARP to fit the M20 ? i'm having trouble finding them... ARP doesn't seem to list them online ?

Are there any cross over fits? Like from an M50 or some other engine.

Sorry for what may seem dumb questions but I am learning...:)

[Aptyp]

your sig is AWESOMe. love that flap trick.

[Mtriple]

Raceware studs for the M20 are available though TCD.

http://www.turbochargingdynamics.com/product-87-32-35-Cylinder_Head_Studs_m20.php

You can also find Cometic headgaskets on his site if you're interested.

[Jbpka06]

the arp's are on VAC if you prefer them

[tn325i]

I don't know what to prefer ???lol...

And what is a good ignition tune... I am running 35-38 degrees advance in the upper rpm ranges.. I have been up to around 40 degrees but was getting slight knock.

[matt]

You need to get on a dyno and figure it out.

[StereoInstaller1]

ghetto fix for head gasket woes: "O-ring" your head, use "Metric Blues" head bolts, and use JB Weld to fill the coolant passage gaps in the head.

You guys will all give me shit about this, but it is an M20 for fucks sake..why spend major money on it? JB Weld will do just as good as welding for the fucking coolant passages, all it does is keep the head gasket from sliding off the edge, plus then you don't have to heat the head to a bajillion degrees. O Ringing is generally not too expensive, and while raceware or ARP or whatever high tech studs you have are certainly better than shitty old Metric Blues, they do the damn job just fine for what, $50/set?

Stock HG + ORings + JB Weld = winning on teh cheap...Yay R3V!

[Jordan325iC]

ghetto fix for head gasket woes: "O-ring" your head, use "Metric Blues" head bolts, and use JB Weld to fill the coolant passage gaps in the head.

You guys will all give me shit about this, but it is an M20 for fucks sake..why spend major money on it? JB Weld will do just as good as welding for the fucking coolant passages, all it does is keep the head gasket from sliding off the edge, plus then you don't have to heat the head to a bajillion degrees. O Ringing is generally not too expensive, and while raceware or ARP or whatever high tech studs you have are certainly better than shitty old Metric Blues, they do the damn job just fine for what, $50/set?

Stock HG + ORings + JB Weld = winning on teh cheap...Yay R3V!

I didn't JB weld anything, but I will attest that MBlues and o-ringing can take a lot of abuse.

[tn325i]

So does any have or know of a write up or instructions on how to do "O" Ring thing ?

I have not seen this before..

[Mossman]

you cant do it yourself, find a machine shop who does it. They cut a circular groove around each cylinder, either in the head or block, then put welding wire or something similar, steel, hard and thin the groove, peaking out a smidge and with the ends of the wire trimmed perfectly so there is no gap or overlap. You use this with a stock head gasket, and when you torque the head the wire bites into the gasket giving you a better seal and making sure it won't move at all.

[mafoose]

I think it's your timing.

Think of your headgasket as a fuse. If you don't blow it (buy using an MLS gasket) you run this risk of breaking pistons or other internal parts instead.

How much compression are you running? I think you are running WAY too much timing for the amount of boost. Timing should be max around cruise for best gas mileage, then slightly less at about atmospheric (what do NA guys run for max power? probably around mid 30deg), then you're supposed to pull 1 degree of timing for every pound of boost.

This is just a general rule, but you should be around mid to high 20s degrees of absolute timing in your high boost/high rpm areas.