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The most critical gasket seal in any engine is the head gasket. The head gasket provides the seal between the bottom half and top half of the engine. The head gasket must contain the extreme pressures in the cylinder while also sealing the oil drain and coolant passages between the head and block. While some factory and aftermarket gaskets perform well at lower power levels, engines that generate over 200 horsepower-per-liter require extremely-well-designed head gaskets. We’ve had great results with A’PEXi, HKS, GReddy, Power Enterprise, TOMEI POWERED and Cosworth gaskets on these applications. Today’s multi-layer-steel (MLS) head gaskets usually employ a bead, grommet or stopper technology for improved combustion chamber sealing.
HEAD GASKET DEVELOPMENT
The OE gasket has very faint red areas illustrating the likelihood of premature gasket failure. On the Cosworth gasket, pronounced red rings are visible around the combustion chamber, signifying a good sealing surface. More interesting is the samples of some aftermarket gaskets which have poor sealing areas, even worse in some cases than the stock ones. All tests were performed on a brand new factory casting with standard 8740 ARP studs at the recommended torque.
