Fire Ring headgaskets

[diehardstroker]

I would like to know when one shoud start thinking about fire ring'd gaskets, the pros, and cons compared to other gaskets (o-ring or OE), and are they safe to daily drive with?

 

[ghohouston]

I'd say you won't likely have any issues under 600 with studs. Plenty of guys above that level with just studs and stock gaskets as well.

 

[sootie]

What are your goals with the truck? getting a 7.3 into the 600's is a fair bit of work

 

[diehardstroker]

What are your goals with the truck? getting a 7.3 into the 600's is a fair bit of work

Here is the build list
650's is the goal.
300/200's
s366/s475 compounds
twin terminator hpops
full fuel system (regulated return, 2 stock fuel pumps, fuel bowl delete, all the goodies)
BTS trans
girdle
carillo or billet rods
swamps pushrods and valve springs
possibly Colts stage 2 or 3 cam

it already has the fuel system, intake and exhaust, tuned, slight turbo mods. just a basic tuned truck at the moment, nothin special.
its a daily driver that will see the track, most likely wont see any weight pulls.

 

[mattman347]

With the compounds I would do the fire ring gaskets for sure. That power/cylinder pressure comes on quick compared to a single.

 

[diehardstroker]

My real concern is whether the Fire Ring gaskets will be daily driveable, the truck is driven every single day. if theres a better gasket id love to know. im not new to the 7.3, just newer to the bigger power game. this is the best forum ive been on for talking bigger builds, hope you guys can give me some insight.

 

[Radioflyer]

I'd say 90% of the trucks our install shop has Fire Ringed are DD's and no issues. Cummins, duramax's, and PSD's alike.

 

[JDub]

Fire Rings are the absolute best option and if machined and torqued correctly will last for a long time regardless of how the truck is driven

 

[golfer]

yep, there's really no other option if you are wanting that power after removing the heads.

 

[diehardstroker]

alright thanks guys. another question, since ill be in there doing new rods, would it be a good idea to do the main bearings? and is the stock crankshaft okay to handle 650+?
and should i do anything with aftermarket pistons, and will the stock heads be fine?

 

[bruce]

If you're spendin that kind of money you should just do a complete rebuild, get the piston bowls delipped, gets the skirts coated ans then have the rotating assembly balanced, then top it off with an ati or fluid damper. Also I think your atmosphere us too small.

 

[OBS-Addiction97]

If it were me and I was doing all you have listed, then I would do I complete rebuild. Get it balanced ect.

 

[Magnum PD]

Block fill, girdle, or bed plate

 

[m j]

is there a preference as to what gets grooved? head, block, both?

 

[Powerstroke Racer]

Stock head gaskets are just fine at 800-850 RWHP fuel only or with a healthy dose of nitrous. Just pay close attention to the machine work on head and deck surfaces,
and of course tuning.

 

[smokinstroker92]

is there a preference as to what gets grooved? head, block, both?

Most just machine the head. Machining the head only for the fire ring is adequate

 

[97stoker350]

if i were doing it id have the block grooved. just because theres a little bit more of a chance of cracking the heads than the block. won't have to regroove the heads if that happens then

 

[diehardstroker]

thats probably a good idea now that you mention just doing a rebuild. now with the engine out would it be a good idea to have the block and head grooved or does it have to be one or the other for the fire rings?
what size atmosphere turbo would work better? go up to an s480 you think?

 

[hucorey]

Dentexpowerstroke's truck hit over 90psi boost on standard ARP studs, oem headgaskets. For a 7.3 it takes a very serious amount of HP to need fire rings.

 

[V-Ref]