I'm deciding whether or not to go with a thinner head gasket. the kit i have for my 350 says approx. 9.35:1 comp with flat tops and 64cc heads. I've got 67cc S/R torquers that I'm having cleaned up, and i was wondering if it would be worth going with .020 head gaskets for some more power. I've got an xe268h cam installed, need to pass emissions, and don't really want to run premium. so, should i just stick with the standard gaskets, or get thinner ones?

 

well that will depend on if you have had the block decked to those pistons or not...

 

Keep the thicker gaskets if you don't want to run the risk of needing premium. Depending on the thickness of the ones you have now, if you run .02 gaskets, you could increase your compression ratio to the point of needing to run it. The power gains are negligible anyhow, I say you keep the 9.3 ratio and run regular/plus with the way gas is now.

 

but the added quench depending on what his is at with the replacement gaskets would deff be a benifit and help reduce detonation with those flat tops

 

The numbers I ran show it will drop the C/R only from 9.35 to 9.1 using the 67cc heads instead of 64cc heads with an .040 gasket thickness. That's going to be in the upper end of 87 octane gas without a knock sensor anyway.

 

yeah, the cam isn't that big to need the higher compression, i think i'll stick with the standard gaskets. thanks for the help.