Part# for .036" thick Cometics
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 362
Likes: 0
From: Simpsonville SC
It was recommended for my set-up.
06 C6
Hand ported/polished stock LS2 heads, ported TB, ported LS2 intake, Comp XER 228/232 .588/.595 112 cam, K&N's, Borla, ported stock manifolds for now, LG's :smiles: this winter.
I am currently running Fel-pro 1041 .041" thick gaskets and have a very minor exterior leak on the bottom front of one of the heads and am going to replace gaskets.
Would appreciate your thoughts and/or conserns as I am no expert, just trying to maximize what I have since changing anyway.
06 C6
Hand ported/polished stock LS2 heads, ported TB, ported LS2 intake, Comp XER 228/232 .588/.595 112 cam, K&N's, Borla, ported stock manifolds for now, LG's :smiles: this winter.
I am currently running Fel-pro 1041 .041" thick gaskets and have a very minor exterior leak on the bottom front of one of the heads and am going to replace gaskets.
Would appreciate your thoughts and/or conserns as I am no expert, just trying to maximize what I have since changing anyway.
Heel & Toe
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 21
Likes: 1
From: Portland OR
Call Cometic directly and order from them. They'll have the number.
The controversy over how thin a head gasket you can run on an LSx motor has been going on for quite a few years now, mostly because all of us who grew up on the old-style iron block/forged piston combos are used to thinking of .040 or so as the minimum. And the LSx has the piston about .007 above the deck, which should reduce quench even more. Nonetheless, as SpinMonster on this board says, lots of people have run .036 gaskets for 10s of thousands of miles without issue, and there are those who run as little as .030, apparently still OK.
There are two reasons why people get away with this on an LSx motor. First, the stock pistons are hypereutectic rather than forged, so they grow less under heat, and have tighter clearances and don't rock in the bore as much. Second, the aluminum block grows more as it warms up than do the steel crank and connecting rods, and thus the actual piston/deck clearance in a hot engine is close to zero, rather than .007 out of deck.
So, if you have an aluminum block motor with stock pistons, have normal factory tolerances, and don't rev the motor to 6 grand when it's cold, .036 should be fine. I ran .036 Cometic in my LS1, and and am running them in my new LS3 as well.
The controversy over how thin a head gasket you can run on an LSx motor has been going on for quite a few years now, mostly because all of us who grew up on the old-style iron block/forged piston combos are used to thinking of .040 or so as the minimum. And the LSx has the piston about .007 above the deck, which should reduce quench even more. Nonetheless, as SpinMonster on this board says, lots of people have run .036 gaskets for 10s of thousands of miles without issue, and there are those who run as little as .030, apparently still OK.
There are two reasons why people get away with this on an LSx motor. First, the stock pistons are hypereutectic rather than forged, so they grow less under heat, and have tighter clearances and don't rock in the bore as much. Second, the aluminum block grows more as it warms up than do the steel crank and connecting rods, and thus the actual piston/deck clearance in a hot engine is close to zero, rather than .007 out of deck.
So, if you have an aluminum block motor with stock pistons, have normal factory tolerances, and don't rev the motor to 6 grand when it's cold, .036 should be fine. I ran .036 Cometic in my LS1, and and am running them in my new LS3 as well.
Last edited by 71CamaroLS1; Sep 19, 2008 at 07:09 PM. Reason: typo
