Cab, I used solid lifters and no head gasket with the springs I am running. I used a steel shim gasket instead of the thicker composite one for what little gain in compression it got me. Checked with 1.6 rockers and had alot, wish I'd written it down. I know better than to swap w/o checking, just wondering if anyone got by without reliefs...just looking for a tenth or so for an index class. Thanks for your input.