Piston to Deck Height and Gasket Selection Info

"piston top" to "cylinder head" minimum industry standard clearance is .040” we would never recommend below .035"

The stock head gaskets are .027” therefore any time the piston to deck height (piston in the hole) clearance is less than .010' you need to calculate desired gasket thickness.

i.e.: head gasket + piston in the hole =.037" in the example above

you must move up to a thicker head gasket (thicker than OEM)

JE's pro seal's thinnest head gasket is .039” this means the piston deck height could be "zero" and you would still be good to go. There are other thicknesses and brands also available.

If piston were to be "positive" (out of the hole) then clearly the head gasket should be thicker than .040” there are many manufactures of performance head gaskets in the ranges of .039", .040", 047", .051" , .060 and larger.

When choosing a head gasket thickness, you should be calculating compression ratio at this time. Feel free to contact us for help with gasket selection and compression ratio calculations.

Outfront Motorsports stocks a large selection of head gasket brands and thicknesses.