Alright, to all you DSM'ers that actually want to go fast and have had cylinder head sealing problems in the past, I think we have found a gasket that holds power. So far, we have gotten a friend's car to go 12.1 at 129mph (yes...129..broken 2nd gear) with this gasket with NO signs of pressurizing the coolant, etc. PM me or post here if you want more info, and I'll see if I can make them available to you.

Regards,

I have seen the Mitsu metal headgasket work very well on a few cars. I think that for most people that will be adequate enough. But if you have a gasket that works even better than that I’m all ears.

What exactly is 'better' about the design/manufacture of the headgasket? Was that same car running those same times pushing coolant with another 'standard' metal headgasket and now it's not?

Show me some data or specs on why its better.

Yeah, I got a PM from Eric Gash (90GSX I think) and I will be getting some more details such as thickness, construction material, design, etc. I personally had bad luck with the metal head gaskets that I've used (the 4 layer mitsu metal) which is why I have been on such a search and destroy mission to find a different gasket; and thus far this one is where it's at. As mentioned, I will get some more details and post it up ASAP.

Regards,

Don't forget to give the specs on the rest of the engine and the toque spec on the headstuds, compression thickness, blah blah blah.

...Was that same car running those same times pushing coolant with another 'standard' metal headgasket and now it's not?...

Basically, yes. He tried the mitsu metal and still did just what my car did (pressurized the coolant) so he switched to a copper, and it held the power a bit better, but of course leaked. Then he tried this one, and so far it is holding the power great, and he has even been able to use the nitrous on it (no track times with the nitrous yet) with no problems. Like I mentioned in the above post, I will get some more details on spec's and what not. Before this gets out of hand, I can only offer this one example of a good experience so before anyone asks, 'no' I cannot provide a lot of documented cases of success. He is the first and only one I know of to use it, and so far it has been great. I will get back to everyone with the details ASAP.

Regards,

have you considered the various options from hks?? i believe they make 3 separate ones of varying thickness. of course there is a hefty sum in acquiring any hks parts and it applies to these as well.

Originally posted by NosLaser
He tried the mitsu metal and still did just what my car did (pressurized the coolant) so he switched to a copper, and it held the power a bit better, but of course leaked.

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More of a general comment, but what else did he do besides change the head gasket? A Mitsu 4-layer and a true copper gasket need fairly different prep procedures to seal properly. Was it O-ringed? Was the surface prepped/sealed with the appropriate sealer (Mopar #04318035 for example)? Even the directions SCE provides requires both of these for proper results. It's not just a slap on thing. Since you slapped on this new gasket after using the copper, was the new gasket installed with the o-ring head/block?

I am sure you know this but just for the sake of completeness.....

Alright, kind of a late response here. I wanted to get some exact details on the gaskets before I came back on and posted info. I'll give you a little background on the car in question. Originally, the car had a mitsu metal head gasket with an O-ringed block, and a receiver groove. The car would push coolant in that form, so he decided to go with a copper gasket. Obviously all neccessary changes were made to work with the copper gasket. With the copper gasket, it sealed well, however oil was getting into the coolant (obviously oil pressure is higher than the coolant pressure) Next a mitsu metal head gasket was used with a new cylinder head, freshly decked, ths time withOUT a receiver groove. After about 25-26 pounds of boost and aggressive timing, it would blow the gasket out. Then this new gasket was tried, and so far has been working great. I was just made aware that you can order the gasket in varying thicknesses to attain different compression ratios. You can actually order them to 'spec' so to speak. Another thing that is interesting to note, is for you guys with over-bore pistons. Slap a factory or felpro gasket on to your block. You'll notice that the fire-ring on the gasket will sit somewhat inside the cylinder. This gasket can be made to work with over-bored blocks and sit right on the edge of the cylinder wall; thus not obstructing combustion or blocking anything. He has ARP head studs on the car torqued to 110 lb.ft. I'm sorry to answer some of the questions vaguely but that's because you can vary some of the answers depending on your own personal taste. Other than the above, nothing has changed. I want to gauge interest before getting into price to see what we can work on, but from what I am told, they will be MUCH less than the HKS gaskets, and probably slightly more than the mitsu metals. However, if the gasket holds the power, then the benefits will be WELL worth it (as anyone who has had problems in the past will tell you.)

Regards,

No big mystery just not very well known. COMETIC is the brand. They manufactur MLS as well as copper head gaskets for our engines. You can specify both bore size and thickness. They cost $100 for the MLS style. I am switching to one for next year just for the ability to specify size. I have used their MLS gaskets on a twin turbo mustang with good results so far.

If I remember right, I think you are correct. And I haven't heard of them till pretty recently. If anyone is interested, PM me and I'll see what I can do to take orders for them.

Regards,

Sound pretty good to me. Being able to order a gasket with right size bore and thickness is the key. Having decked head actually throw off cams timing (even with stock cams) requires aftermarket cam gears to degree them back. Needless to say, this will help aftermarket cams as well. My question if I understand the post correctly is this gasket specified with the right thickness (depending on how much you shaved the head or block even) compensate it back. Am I correct?

Yes, the gaskets can be ordered with varied thickness to help bring things such as cam timing and compression closer to stock levels if desired.

Regards,

Ok then so what is the concensus for:

Basic, all-around STRONG gasket. Which one?

Also, what kinds of special preperation? Can you all go more into detail? One of the few areas I'm not very familiar with is O-ringing techniques.

I myself already use ARP stud kit to hold thehead down. I have my block at the machine shop now, the bore is done, and the desk is planed. So now is a good time for me to get this kind of guidance on gaskets before I spend the weekend in my garage wasting my time. I expect high boost levels on this engine (50-trim wheel pushing maybe upwards of 20 PSI).

I know of a couple local guys pushing ~25psi at the track and ~20psi on the street with the stocker. Depends how far past 20psi you want to go.

I've used a mitsu metal hg with arp studs and copperseal on a couple 30psi engines...no problems. But on one Integ GSR Turbo we built we used a Cometic 2.9mm hg with arp studs and copperseal and ran 16psi on a stock B18C1 engine making 310hp to the wheels on a greddy turbo kit. So I really like the Cometic gaskets...decent price ($98, www.raceeng.com) and hold the power (16psi on 10.8cr is pretty intense).

Anyone know what thicknesses you can get these Cometic in?

Who stocks them for cheap?

Originally posted by DSMu4ia
Anyone know what thicknesses you can get these Cometic in?

Who stocks them for cheap?

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Actually you can specify thickness that is one of the nice things about them. Maguns has them in stock.

I almost got a Cometic for my Civic back in the day. www.nipponpower.com can also get 'em, good guys to deal with. Todd.

What bore size and thickness should most of us stock guys be looking at when ordering one of these head gaskets? I assume 85.5mm bore, but as for the thickness, I see that nipponpower site lists several different sizes.

I wouldn't buy from Nippon.

Give a DSM VENDOR the business, and you won't have to worry about guesswork or any of that #@%#@%#@%#@%.

True you might pay $5 more, but what the hell, they are the ones to call when you need help.

www.magnusmotorsports.com

Normally I wouldn't argue but Robert and Richard have been there for me a lot more than any other DSM vendor has, short of maybe Jon@TRE. They've made sure I bought stuff that didn't compromise reliability or that was overkill for my situation. I support the DSM community to the fullest when I can but if I need somethin that NP has, I go to NP because they've always taken awesome care of me and they know what customer service is. Not really tryin to plug 'em, I just don't want it to sound like they're a couple guys who just wanna sell strobes and APC crap, as I can assure you they aren't. That said, I still do as much as possible through places like ttrix, ffwd, tre, BR, RRE... that's why I own a DSM! Just my $.02, certainly not a flame. Todd.

ps. As an aside, NP referred me to Darren at FFWD and they were 100% accurate that Darren is a standup guy that runs a good business. So, even NP is tryin to help out the DSM'ers .

I never said I'd buy from them, but rather I was just curious upon what thickness of head gasket is right for non-built motors who want to retain a relatively stock compression ratio.

You can get the standard Cometic gaskets in varying thicknesses from .030 to .120. Stock is .054 I believe. You can vary the thickness to vary the compression ratio or to make up for lost material when you deck the head/block. They also have a high boost gasket that a few of the other dsm vendors sell (IE magnus) that is .054 thick but has a .057 shim around the fire rings. This is supposed to seal better on high boost/ high HP cars that can't seem to keep a normal gasket from blowing. So far everything that I've seen has been very impressive. We plan to run these gaskets in all of our shop cars. We will also be carrying the gaskets in stock.. we'll keep the popular gaskets on hand.. but can have a custom one in a matter of a few days. Email if you'd like any more info.

I'm running the Hks 1.2MM Metal Gasket, and I havnt had a problem. My motor has 24K on it since rebuild (When gasket was installed also) and I've hit low 12's (12.3 @126) and I havnt had a problem at all yet. Its a hefty price, but in the end it beats replacing headgaskets everytime you come home from the track.