dont go too thick on that gasket. they dont work as well as everyone wants you to think. sure they lower compression, but they also screw up the quench zones in the cylinder head, so it makes detonation easier. so in lowering the CR 1.0, you actually only get about .75 worth of detonation resistence, but you lose the full points worth of torque.

 

and a thicker gasket is easier to blow out.

 

So should I just get a nice strong head gasket that keeps the same c/r? I'm just worried about blowing the stock head gasket and I want something strong.

 

Speaking of head gaskets, is it totally neccessary to replace when running a turbo? Im talking like 6-7 PSI? Also, are the APR head bolts totaly neccessary? It seems everyone's getting them, I haven't thought about it.

 

for the D series I highly recommend the head bolts because the stockers just arent that strong and I also recommend upgraded the head gasket but running low boost you should be ok as long as you dont have like 150k on your original.

 

They're not totally necessary, but it's much better to be proactive than reactive.

 

damn, I got 142K on my motor so that means a gaskets a must huh? Also, when it comes to those bolts, are we talking about the head studs, or bolts you see on the valve cover?

 

the bolts that you have to pull the cover off to get to. that actually hold the head on. and they are bolts stock, and studs aftermarket (ARP) and chances are, your headgasket and bolts are fine, but $150 now while youre already working on your car is better than blowing out a head gasket later and having to wait for them in the mail for a few days, then putting them in. esp if you warp the head from overheating due to the blown gasket.

 

ok thanks

 

So any recommendations on the head gasket?