[Ecotec] Changing head bolts

[Fu Manchu]

 

[Immortality]

Yeah but look at the size and number of bolts on that sucker. He says you don't need to upgrade until they fail, that is a good point but when you apply a lot of boost to something with only 4 small bolts per cylinder it's going to fail a lot faster than what he's got there in front of him. GM actually put a lot of thought into that motor with input from himself.

 

[Draimond]

Ecotec head bolts are a known upgrade point when increasing cylinder pressure.
CornFedBoost tapped Ethel a size up in head bolts and had a gasket failure not that long after nearly hitting the 1000hp mark on that V6

 

[07GTS]

if ur pushing 1000 hp on a ecotec then u better have copper head gaskets or orings to keep that boost level contained within, head studs wont help much with a normal head gasket for those pressures

 

[Draimond]

guess what's missing from what I wrote above was that he got a lot of engine time (at lower power / boost levels) running ARP studs & a MLS gasket.

I'm fuzzy on his long ecotec journey but I think he blew a few head gaskets over the years and iterations of Ethel and her multiple engines. Each time he improved the head sealing he also bumped the power target so it became a bit of a cyclical thing.

I’m taking an educated guess in thinking that the basic ARP 8740 with a Mace MLS gasket will hold 14 PSI and 400HP

 

[Immortality]

I think he blew a gasket fairly much each time he was after more powa or gave it a good thrashing out on the track.

Unfortunately there is only so much you can do with 4 bolts per cylinder. The LS guys have the same issue with big power/high boost.

 

[Deuce]

I think he blew a gasket fairly much each time he was after more powa or gave it a good thrashing out on the track.

Unfortunately there is only so much you can do with 4 bolts per cylinder. The LS guys have the same issue with big power/high boost.

But LS guys (with pockets) can switch up to SML block heads...

 

[Fu Manchu]

Ecotec head bolts are a known upgrade point when increasing cylinder pressure.
CornFedBoost tapped Ethel a size up in head bolts and had a gasket failure not that long after nearly hitting the 1000hp mark on that V6

The creations that come from his garage are amazing.