Fire rings or O rings

[SMOKEY]

I am planing on getting to about 550 to 600 HP are fire rings or O rings needed at this point? If so witch would be better to use? And this will be a daily driver.

 

[pontiacross]

are you rebuilding the engine?

stock gaskets with studs should be fine especially if you don't pull the heads to install the studs.

 

[MadDiesel73]

I had my heads Oringed but I don't see to many ford guys using orings just fire rings

 

[PowerstrokeJunkie]

Seasoned headgaskets with head studs one at a time is more than enough for anything stock forged rods can hold. If you go to the power level where you need aftermarket rods, the heads will already be off and fire rings in the head/block are a good idea. for your goals just a simple headstud install without compromising the gasket will be best

 

[SMOKEY]

Well the motor is already apart. I had to pull heads off to put on another block and both block and heads are at the machine shop now. Just wonduring if its worth doing either of the 2 and witch one would be better?

 

[PSDEng]

Personally I wouldn't fire ring a daily driver. It has been my understanding that they don't perfectly seal until a certain temperature is reached.

 

[MadDiesel73]

I think the stock 7.3 head gaskets are good to 700+ hp and 60-70psi

 

[PSDEng]

I would caution against putting the limits of the factory head gaskets in terms of horsepower and boost.....think more along the lines of cylinder pressure and its detrimental effects on head gaskets.

There is a current thread on this: Click Here

 

[strokin'_tatsch]

It's my understanding from talking to Cummins guys that o-rings are better for a daily driver for the reason mentioned above by PSDEng. For your application though, I would stick with stock head gaskets and don't drive it all out for a few thousand miles if you can. Stock head gaskets seal better the longer they are run, but the for first few thousand miles they can be easy to blow out at times.