I'm having head lift issues with my 550whp time attack type r. It's a b18c5 block sleeved by Benson, the block and head were resurfaced, used a JE gasket, I reused golden eagle headstuds, so they were torqued twice in their life. The head lifted, so I pulled the head, block was good, head was good but I just had it cleaned up. I used off the shelf ARP studs and a golden eagle gasket. This time the headlift wasn't as severe but the overflow was filling up during racing conditions. The plugs look great, tune is on S300 with 110oct oxygenated gasoline and 25psi on a silversurfer. I emailed arp but they've never tried the Evo 625 stud in a Honda, the specs are slightly different and arp is concerned that the shank may sit too high to seat the nut. Has anyone run these headstuds in a b series block?

 

You'd be the first. There may be other reasons for the headlift, meaning that the threads of the block itself may be compromised where TimeSERTs may be required in your sleeved block. It's not unheard of . But to use Evolution length headstuds, in a B-series Block? No... You don't just "switch over" like that.

 

can u show us ur hondata tune?? maybe ur timing is aggressive

 

The threads in the block were cleaned repeatedly, It could be that but the stud torque was still were i left it when i just disassembled it again. I ended up ordering L19 studs and another JE gasket, I will double check the base timing when I install the head again and see where it's at. It was set by the tuner so I assumed it was correct, but you never know. The reason I thought about using the 625 evo stud was because Dsport ran them in their B series drag car so I thought I would ask if anyone here had installed them.

 

I never go by what drag purpose (or specific purpose only vehicles) do for their setups unless I know exactly what their thought process is behind something.

Just because something was possibly performed in a pinch doesn't mean it's to be done on a regular basis

 

They posted an article of their build that's where I heard about the 625 stud initially, they were having head sealing issues making 1000whp, huge surprise lol. They put some thought into it because they honed the block with a torque plate to account for the increased stud torque(100ftlbs) warping the cylinders. Anyways I called a reputable shop and they recommended the L19 so I will try that out and lower the power level.

 

I still believe there are other possibilities involved. Many of us, including myself, have over 530whp on standard ARPs. (Although I have TimeSerts now because the block has been in 52 events over 15 years). But even then, standard replacement ARPs..

 

Did you look at the tune? I would agree with you, I've never roasted a gasket like this last one, the coating material was in the radiator neck and the head has some serious heat markings on cyl 3 and 4 intake side. If I run a thread chaser through the block threads and in runs in like butter with no material left on the relief cutouts that must mean the thread is sound no? I'm leaning towards timing, I switched to coil on plug this year and immediately had this new issue.

 

No. I never bothered. I kept the file, but I've always known not to question my tuner, as I don't believe I'm a proper authority to question his work Besides, converting to COP doesn't sound like a correlation to your issue. (plugs are plugs, after all).

But you're killing head gaskets in a way that definitely display that something else is wrong and causing this.

 

To cover all my bases I have found a mobile machinist to come to my place to install timeserts, even if that's not the issue this block is 21 years old and has been stripped down more times than I can remember. So thanks for the suggestion.

 

putting a lot of stress on a small insert.. the stock holes have more threads than an insert so i doubt this is going to fix it. Id use standard arps 25-30 psi on a honda and running 40 on a dsm i once had.

If the threads unscrew easily i doubt there is any thread damage.

25 psi using gasoline on a road course is generating a lot of heat. We had to use e98/toulene mix to use anything above 10 psi safely (in our eyes) and actually fixed a lof of heat issues just with a fuel change.

Timing is also very important on a road race motor, the "safe" take 2 degrees out after finding peak power simply does not work. You will need to dumb it down on the timing and turn the boost up to make the power you want. A drag pass doesent generate near the cylinder heat of 30 minutes, so tune accordingly.

 

I was interested in using the 625's as well bc of that article. And a reputable tuner I know said he kept snapping L19's. Mind you, this was in Evo stuff. So I contacted ARP directly about 625's for the b series and their response was that they simply don't make them for us. They said the L19's were better suited and the guy I know was mishandling them. On another note, time-serts are amazing.

 

I know of one gentleman that is running the 625 in his k20, the L19 is the same kit for b and k series so who knows. How do you snap a L19 before the aluminum threads give out? Sounds fishy.

 

By mishandling them. L19 is strong, but brittle, so proper handling is crucial.

 

And for some insight to your original question, the oem length of the head bolts for the 4g are 115mm, the 4b11 is 96mm, but the b&k series are both 155mm.

 

these are really high ignition timing on vtec. i would reduce them.