Competition Headgasket

[jimmi 0 1 Cars]

Any tips on which brand of Head gasket to use / who sells competition head gaskets for 1.9 gti running emerald ecu /rallycar ? Also should I replace head bolts ?

[dcc 855]

I am a bit unsure what 'competition' means.

 

I have a 1.9 8v with 12:1 compression ration, roughly 150hp with a close ratio gearbox (4.93 fd), which frequently gets driven hard, never had an issue. Its built with a Payen gasket and new bolts. botls were about £20 and gasket £15.

[jimmi 0 1 Cars]

dcc -- think I'll just opt for dealer supplied OE gasket and bolts unless anyone can advise different ?

[welshpug 1,627]

fine if you have deep pockets, otherwise get the parts as advised by Dan.

 

p.s, dan is quite modest about his engine, its 150+ at the wheels

Edited August 4, 2014 by welshpug

[DamirGTI 327]

I also had an high compression 8v , around 12.3 CR or could be even more i'm not sure .. had OE gaskets and new bolts always and this particular engine blew the gasket every 4 years .. the temperature and pressure inside the cylinders was way too much for OE gasket ..

 

So if you really have high spec built engine then yes , something like Spesso kevlar head gasket would be my choice (since you can't safely use MLS nor copper gaskets on a wet liner block/engine) ..

If the engine is otherwise standard or isn't as highly tuned , then good quality aftermarket gasket will last for good years - Victor Reinz and Payen are the best of the aftermarkets .

 

Always replace head bolts with new ones ! they're stretch type bolts hence can be used once (if doing a proper job .. can use them twice but for the sake of the price of the bolt set i wouldn't bother nor recommend doing that)

 

D

[welshpug 1,627]

one feels you have a separate issue Damir, Dan's engine never has any temperature issues.

[jimmi 0 1 Cars]

Thanks for all the replies. Where would I source head bolts ..Dealer ? and who sells the Victor Reinz or Payen or Spezzo Kevlar gaskets ?

[welshpug 1,627]

do have motorfactors over there?

[Miles 331 1 Cars]

Payen bolts again, as said the Payen HG is about the best you will get, even better than what Pug will supply now, If your fussy then you need to ring it

[petert 554]

Competition head gasket = copper gasket + o-ringed head.

[DamirGTI 327]

one feels you have a separate issue Damir, Dan's engine never has any temperature issues.

 

Dunno , i guess it's spec difference ..

 

Coolant was fine , never overheated and was at around 85C while driving all the time though it used to pick up the temp. pretty fast if left standing still/idling kicking the cooling fan on .. it was the oil temp which was more problematic ... also the pressure inside the cylinders was so high that i was unable to measure it with petrol compression tester , the needle went all the way up over reading the gauge scale up to the maxi ! (+22 Bar)

 

Thus i really regret why i haven't tried something different head gasket wise on this one .. eventually i gave up and made an more sensible daily drive engine with a little bit lower CR ..

 

D

[dcc 855]

Well we dont know the exact skim amount on my current head. We assume it hasnt had much hence the hessitant to be more specific than 12:1... But what i will say is my engine was 2 years old when I had it. We rebuilt it and found the water way around cylinder 1 flywheel end was silted up. Pretty bad really but it highlighted the difference between my healthy rad and matrix to the original car it came from. The original owner found drivability on carbs was poor below 3k, fitting bodies and getting it mapped well has transformed the engine.

 

I think i know what you mean about oil temps. A well placed oil cooler will be on my to buy list.

[DamirGTI 327]

Mine was both with the head skim and higher 1.9 DFZ pistons (same as 1.6 but with 1.9 conrods as std.) , the pistons alone are raising the CR up to the 11.1 mark with std. head height without skim .. on a last rebuild the head chambers measured just 28cc after resurfacing ! opposite to the 35cc which is std. for 1.9 head/chambers ...

 

I’m not sure either but i assume it was more than 12.3 ... it certainly was well over 11.1 ..

That along with the ported head , ported inlet , 1.6 flywheel and recurved dizzy made an really nippy engine .. it had s**** load of torque from the start till the rev limiter and in gear acceleration was superb , made mi16 boys really mad with this one !

I think it was mainly the excess pressure which was the cause for short HG life , apart from the dizzy ignition which was pain in the a*** mappable ignition would be much better - i had std. 1.9 cam , shame i didn't have more aggressive aftermarket one that would help “depressurizing” the cylinders ..

D

Edited August 5, 2014 by DamirGTI