copper headgaskets

[babyblueMX3]

hey guys..
anybody ever used copper headgaskets...i heard good and bad things about it and was wondering waht was the opinion of the guys that used them..

I'm thinking of buying some for my ze but checking for feedback first..

I'm going to boost 15psi this summer so I'm building my engine right now for it. some people says that the stocker will hold and other says they'll blow

[Josh]

the only time to use one is if your getting your block ringed, for an optimum seal. im running a copper head gasket, i hate it. had tones of problems getting it to seal correctly. and it seeps oil like a 2 stroke motercycle. all in all it works great. but if i could use another one i probably would.

[babyblueMX3]

mm sorry fot this dumb question (I'm more used with the french terms) but is ringing a block the same as boring a block ?? If so I'm getting mine bore 0.020" next week..

did you have to retorque the head bolts after like 10 min.s driving with it...I heard they have to be torque again after installation

[What]

o-rings are seperate grooves cut/machined into top of block and/or head. A thin piece of wire gets placed in that groove. When the head gasket goes in between the grooves, and your motor put back together, the wire puts pressure on the head gasket to create a better seal.

If your motor is what they call 'open deck' where you can see coolant all around the top of the cylinders in a lot of cases it's neccessary for more than 15psi of boost (more/less). To picture open deck, imagine the cylinder sleeves not joined to outside wall of block... motors like Hondas/certain suzuki/etc..

On something like the BP where you see metal at the top of the block and not coolant going around the cylinders, it is what they call closed deck. On a BP, with the stock MLS head gasket, and basic design, I can't say that I see the point of o-ringing.

oh, and I'm not a fan of copper head gaskets either. Too maleable of a material and for a lot of cases, the only way they seal properly is with o-ringing.

[Josh]

on my page i have a few pics of the block and the head.

http://www.geocities.com/jf550/mods.html

[babyblueMX3]

thnaks guys..any idea how much o-ringing a block costs ?

[rebel2k4]

Considering KL's do not have the composite gaskets from the factory, it is a little pointless.

Stock head gaskets are metal and very strong.