Mad Maxx
New member
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2015
- Location
- Denver, Colorado
So I've got a '90 240 sedan that I +t'd a year or two ago and I'm going to be dropping it's drive train into an '80 242 shell I picked up recently. I figured that while I've got the engine out of the car and on a stand I might as well throw a new head gasket in it, but I wanted to get some opinions on what gasket to use. I have done a lot of searching around the forums, but there are some pretty conflicting arguments about gasket set ups so I figured I should start my own thread and give as much info about my "build" as possible.
I'm planning to run 8-10psi on a b230f with a factory Garrett T3, factory LH 2.4 ECU and ignition module from a '90 740 turbo, 740 turbo injectors, IPD upgraded in-tank pump, and an IPD turbo cam. I won't be tuning it for now, but I am going to get a wideband so I can at least know whether it's about to explode on me. I already ordered an Elring head gasket and ajusa TTY head studs because they were dirt cheap, but I'm open to other options too. I'll admit I'd really rather not drop $400 on a cometic gasket and ARP head studs because my engine has 209k miles and I could probably find a b230ft for close to that price, but I'm not ruling it out yet. If I could get away with it 12-15psi that would be fantastic, but I'm doubting that's really possible with a $12 head gasket. The car will be seeing some track/drift time, but it's not a dedicated race car in anyway. I'm planning to mostly use it as a canyon car. I'm in Colorado too, so it'll be running at high altitude.
So I guess my question is, should I just slap some copper sealant on the elring, tighten the studs to like 110 degrees and call it a day, or is there any sort of option that's more than $40 but less than $400? What about an elring gasket with ARP studs, or cometic gasket with ajusa studs? If I did go with a cometic head gasket, would it be worth it to get a thicker gasket to lower my CR a bit or am I just opening up a whole new can of worms by doing that?
Thanks guys!
I'm planning to run 8-10psi on a b230f with a factory Garrett T3, factory LH 2.4 ECU and ignition module from a '90 740 turbo, 740 turbo injectors, IPD upgraded in-tank pump, and an IPD turbo cam. I won't be tuning it for now, but I am going to get a wideband so I can at least know whether it's about to explode on me. I already ordered an Elring head gasket and ajusa TTY head studs because they were dirt cheap, but I'm open to other options too. I'll admit I'd really rather not drop $400 on a cometic gasket and ARP head studs because my engine has 209k miles and I could probably find a b230ft for close to that price, but I'm not ruling it out yet. If I could get away with it 12-15psi that would be fantastic, but I'm doubting that's really possible with a $12 head gasket. The car will be seeing some track/drift time, but it's not a dedicated race car in anyway. I'm planning to mostly use it as a canyon car. I'm in Colorado too, so it'll be running at high altitude.
So I guess my question is, should I just slap some copper sealant on the elring, tighten the studs to like 110 degrees and call it a day, or is there any sort of option that's more than $40 but less than $400? What about an elring gasket with ARP studs, or cometic gasket with ajusa studs? If I did go with a cometic head gasket, would it be worth it to get a thicker gasket to lower my CR a bit or am I just opening up a whole new can of worms by doing that?
Thanks guys!