GM MAN VINCE

I have 806 heads on my 98 c5 planning on adding a t trim, blower cam, meth etc and making 600whp.

Do I need to look for another set of heads considering you can only run the graphite gaskets on the 806 heads? I'm going to be running arp studs as well. 10lbs of boost is what I will start with on stock bottom end.

What are my options here?

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

I think you'll be fine. Few guys pushed the OEM paper and graphite gaskets on the OEM head bolts over 600whp without issue. Always heard Denmah mention paper head gaskets anyway. I've never seen them on an LS motor.

redss82

victor reinz head gasket 54442 are mls made for notch 5.7

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

I've thrown 34lbs and 8500RPM at composite Vic Reinz and Felpro gaskets on 4 cyl applications. I'm sure cylinder pressures were through the roof. No reason a composite gasket can't hold a decent amount of power if the tune is spot on. And if your tune isn't perfect it's better to have the HG be the weakest link.

Another cool thing I found with composite gaskets is they tend to fail slowly. If you split your oil filter on a regular basis you can see when your HG is going to let loose. Little bits of graphite start to show up. So I'd know to change HG's before they actually blew.

This was 30lbs and 6000 rpm on a 3.8 v6. I'd get about a year of abuse before I started seeing this in my oil filter. Aside from the material in the filter, the engine showed no signs of a problem.

GM MAN VINCE

That's good info forcefed86. I think I may just go with a set of 317 heads and ls9 gaskets just to be on the safe side. I found a set of 317s for $100.

This will lower my compression some I'm going to start with 10lbs of boost but I'm sure that number will go up in the future.

truckdoug

iTrader: (25)

i'm running 806's with the notch welded up. i got them cheap and they had a recent multi-angle valve job.

if they had needed other work like guides and valve grinding i'd look for something else that takes centerbolt valve covers

also the VR 54442's are news to me. coulda saved a couple bucks on machining there.

redss82

yea the vr54442 is for the 5.7 bore they also make vr54441 which are 4.8/5.3 bore I use the 54441 in my car making close to 700hp with out a single problem

GM MAN VINCE

Is anyone running the vr54442 gaskets on 806 heads? I can't find any info on them

GM MAN VINCE

I ended up picking some 317 heads and valve covers up for $150 they had 80k on them I will carry them to the machine shop and have them checked out. Planning on running them with ls9 gaskets and a T trim.