My gasket kit came with 2 different types of intake gaskets.
One has restrictors for the coolant passages, the other doesn't.
What are the pro and cons of using restricted gaskets and non-restricted ones?

BTW; the old TPI intake doesn't have water passages at the rear, but the super ram intake going on does have the rear water passage.

 

Is it the exhaust crossover your talking about, not the water passages? If it is, its used to restrict heating of the intake.

 

It's not the exhaust cross-over in the middle.
It's the coolant passage near the rear of the intake.

 

ttt

 

I've seen (and usually discarded) the steel restrictor you are speaking of. I've never had any cooling problems resulting from that on iron heads. I'm not even sure what their purpose might be. Obviously, they are installed to restrict flow and redirect it toward the front, but I don't understand the philosophy behind that. As long as the water pump and cooling system have adequate flow capacity, I cannot understand the need for the restrictors. It's really baffling when you consider that the only flow that would be restricted is to the heater core.

 

A possible benefit, I supppose, would be if the water pump was supplying one bank with a significantly higher flow, having the rear coolant passages open would help to balance the press/flow.

Humm,,guess I'll go with the non-restricted version..

BTW, If the gasket is flipped over, it will fit the other head and block the front coolant passage!