Headgaskets, Felpro permatorque vs. OEM

[mikez71]

Any recommendations?

The Felpro advertises better sealing on rougher surfaces through some coating that covers the entire gasket,

vs OEM GM..

Apex and Elring brand look identical to OEM GM going by rockauto's pictures..

was leaning towards the felpro's, saw a couple negative reviews, something about edelbrock recommending against them.. now I'm leaning towards OEM.

 

[Marky Dissod]

Felpro advertises better sealing on rougher surfaces through some coating ...

If the surfaces are rough, use FelPro.
If the surfaces are smooth, use OE.

 

[Geotrash]

Any recommendations?

The Felpro advertises better sealing on rougher surfaces through some coating that covers the entire gasket,
View attachment 403686
vs OEM GM..
View attachment 403688
Apex and Elring brand look identical to OEM GM going by rockauto's pictures..

was leaning towards the felpro's, saw a couple negative reviews, something about edelbrock recommending against them.. now I'm leaning towards OEM.

I used fel-pro in my cam swap 20k miles ago, and no problems.

 

[j91z28d1]

every recommendation I've every seen for an ls built is use the oem ls9 gaskets.

but for a daily, I don't know that it matters. might be worth having them surfaced if your worried about it.

 

[OR VietVet]

I am a big Fel Pro fan and I would always have the head surfaced.

 

[Geotrash]

One variable here is how you clean the head and block surfaces. I used only the permatex chemical gasket remover, plastic razor blades and microfiber towels. Worked great and left no marks of any kind. But if you used scotchbrite wheels or steel razor blades, you’re going to have micro scratches or worse.

 

[mikez71]

Thanks for the inputs!
Sounds like either is fine..

Interesting that the LS9 gasket doesn't appear to have sealing beads...

 

[mikez71]

One variable here is how you clean the head and block surfaces. I used only the permatex chemical gasket remover, plastic razor blades and microfiber towels. Worked great and left no marks of any kind. But if you used scotchbrite wheels or steel razor blades, you’re going to have micro scratches or worse.

Neat plastic razor blades!? Will have to look for those. Will get some permatex remover too, thanks!

 

[iamdub]

Neat plastic razor blades!? Will have to look for those. Will get some permatex remover too, thanks!

Plastic RZR, brah.

 

[Foggy]

I used the LS9 gaskets.. They look just like the oem ones did.. They are a bit
thicker .054 vs .051. But they hold boost better. On a stock set up the stock
would be my choice IF the surfaces are nice and clean and not gouged up at all
I would recommend at the minimum cleaning up the heads and doing just a resurface'
on them. You prob want new valve seals, springs, retainers anyway. If the repl cam is stock
then just stock stuff works great and isn't that expensive