Are the cometic gaskets reusable?

The cometic gasket is reusable as long as you don't peel the viton off it when your head comes off, thats the only precuation. The thing with the Cometic ones, is that you don't need O rings. They have 3 layers of steel sandwiched together, which everyone knows, but if you grab one, I don't remeber how they do it, but there is a ring around each bore that is thicker than the rest of teh gasket, so when its compressed, its raised all the way around, and bites extra hard into the head and block like an O ring. Its basically a fantastic idea, and negates the need for an O ring, they recommend that you don't use them. I have one in a GTR I built, makes 500rwhp on 26psi, pump fuel, we pinged it once running out of fuel when the nob that owns the car forgot to fill it up, was basically empty, and the gasket still didn't go. man that scared me! If I was building a nissan motor, of any desciption, I will be using one, I am currently building a 900HP 30/26 and am using one in it, so I firmly believe they are the sh1t, and at less than $300, why wouldn't you?? Cheers..........................6BOOST PS Standard gasket is 37-40 thou compressed. I think you can get up to 72 or 90 thou thick in cometic, and the thickness they quote is compressed f your wondering.

thanks Kyle. i will definately be getting one for when the time comes and hopefully that is soon.

sorry to bump this thread but in mm what thickness would that make the standard head gasket (before compression)?

they only compress a few thou

Im using a std nissan head gasket again,my other one served me well even had std nissan head bolts this time im using arp head studs,and i think that to keep a weak point would be best a head gasket instead of bottom end

ive got one of the ACL multi layer steel gaskets, yet to run it but my engine builder couldnt speak higher of it!

hey after a THICK cometic gasket for a XF 250 crossflow motor, can anyone help me, its for a mate.

They don't make one. Only option for thick gaskets for the ford are copper or spacer plate. 6BOOST

how much do the cometic gaskets compress. you can get them up to 3mm thick

They don't compress, the thickness they qoute, IE .053" or .120' is compressed thickness. If your asking in relation to a falcon, they don't make one to suit a 250 or 4 litre. 6BOOST

nar i was just asaking for rb30

YEs, they make .051, .073 and .120 thicknesses. 6BOOST

sorry to bring an old thread alive... but on doing the NA conversion what does everyone suggest ? cometic gasket and if so which one ? .051, .073 and .120 thicknesses. if u were using a cometic gasket do u still need to use a decompression plate ? thanks guys !

Bump, Would also like to know which gasket to use (.051, .073 or .120). Anyone know approx compression ratio each will make on a NA engine?

Compression ratio's with each are ROUGHLY around 8.9, 8.5 and 7.8 respectively for the .051, .073 and .120" head gaskets. My personal favourite is the .073-8.5:1 compression, however if you are running stock camshaft and small/stock T3 turbo, I would use the .120" gasket, as you'll get a lot of detonation or minimal timing into the engine on 8.5:1 compression with stock camshaft. Of interest, 1 of my customers went from the .120" gasket with stock camshaft making 212rwkw, to a .073" head gasket with a cam with 222@.050", and picked up 30rwkw and 200rpm of spool on the same boost. 6BOOST

Cheers, Running a wade 818B cam & GT35/40, so I will look into the .73

Quote: Originally Posted by platinum yeah just get a geniune gasket gen nissan is best Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

The abundance of performance gaskets on the market in multi layer steel would to me indictate that standard style gaskets like the stock nissan item are not the best. I'm sure they have done their job on many many fast cars, especially VL's, but to make very good power, they need to be O ringed, and even then, there is 1500-1700hp 2J's and the like that have nothing more than a cometic gasket with no O rings and no problems. 1 less machining process, and the cometic comes in a range of thicknesses, so for those that are running an NA conversion, they can keep the stock engine and lower the comp to appropriate levels, something you can't do with the stock gasket. 6BOOST Some original photos have not been recovered yet.

So if the .73 drops the comp for 8.5ish in a na motor does that mean the .51 takes the comp up in a turbo motor to around 8.5?