well i have been asked this question a couple of times at wich best i honestly dont know the answer to. i am at the point of finishing my motor, the only piece of the puzzle missing are the headgaskets. i read that cometics are good, hks are good, and even stock headgaskets are good. the intense g35 did 900+whp on stock headgaskets. so its coughin up the extra money for lets say the hks for arguements sake necessary? i have great pricing from kyle @ipp on some l19s and cometic headgaskets. what about the arp main studs would they be necessary for a build that wont see more than 18 psi. thanks in advance for the replies.

 

HKS or the stock HR gaskets are the ticket IMO. To use the HR gasket you have to machine a water passage on the block for the coolant to flow correctly, so you may be out of luck on this option.

I have read that there have been issues in the past with the Cometic gaskets, but that may have been sorted out. I think the guys at SP may use Cometic and they make rediculous power over there.

If you want no worries then pay the extra and get the HKS.

 

Personally, i dont thnk theres any difference between the gaskets. They are all 3-4 layer steel gaskets. One says HKS, the other doesnt.

 

There definitely ARE differences. I have spoken in depth about headgaskets with Roger at Japtrix, Sam at GTM and Jim Wolf at JWT.

Both Sam and Jim reccomend the HR headgaskets. Roger, after experiencing problems with Cometic headgaskets a couple of years ago, switched to HKS and has never yet seen one fail.

On my new build, I will be going with the HR headgaskets, though this will be Roger's first time using these. (Sam is supplying the headgaskets with the short block so, of course, they will be HR).

 

cometic here, no problems

 

I am assembling my motor next week with a set of HKS gaskets. I figured they have been proven to work and I didn't mind paying the extra amount for them. Cometic has worked great for a number of other applications but has seemed to be hit and miss for the VQ crowd for some reason.

I would recommend the HR or HKS gasket. I don't know much about the Cosworth gasket but I would think that it is a good choice also and appears to be similar to the HKS gasket.

 

the HR and HKS seem to be the popular choices. When I tear into mine I think I will go with the HKS

 

All are certainly up to the task assuming the engine is built and tuned properly

Cosworth are Cometic IIRC

 

HKS have the stopper ring, very nice.

its a very old comparison but here is something i made years ago when the HKS headgaskets first came out and i used them... comparing them to original DE gaskets: http://cj-motorsports.com/headgaskets1.htm

HKS headgaskets are great, if my cylinder bore supported them, i see no reason not to use them. sealed up my heads going on over 3 years now.

 

I like it better Raw Dog (no gaskets)

 

Very informative. Thank you, Phunk!