yes that is the question. I'm in the midst of an major SR20DET rebuild here, and am contemplating the notion of having my own Headgasket lasercut for me out of CU110

Now there are some local Know it all's here, that seem to think Copper for any gasket is a big no no... then I google on it and can not find anyone badmouthing it... so I figure what better place to drop this question.....

SO... What is the good, the bad, and the ugly bout using copper for..
1: a headgasket.
2: exhaust manifold gaskets.
3: turbo flange gaskets.

Reason I'm going to be having it cut myself, it's like almost a 10th the price of buying it from a performance chop.... hey and then it's homemadegaskets, so that there just makes it worth the trouble...

 

I have never had a problem with copper. I use it on headgaskets all the time. I don't put it on cardboard gaskets because they absorb it too much and get weak, but with metal gaskets it gives you a little bit of extra thickness to squish down on.

 

my b16a had a copper exhaust gasket... i thought it was wierd.. cause i coulda swore copper had a low melting point.. lol i can melt pennies with a lighter but i cant melt a copper gasket on my exhaust? idk...

 

Well so far, from a lot of googling... Copper is good because it is a very good conductor of heat. Apparently this property makes for a much smaller chance of any heatspots forming somewhere on the rim of the gasket, that would otherwisely have caused it to fail at that spot... also the fact that it does not compress nearly as much as your std gaskets do, goes over well with those that think they know more than most....

the only major down side to it, is price.... and to a lesser extent, availability in some regions, like the one I'm in....

So far so good....

 

One of the major problems with copper head gaskets is seepage. The gaskets tend to not seal up completely. The water jackets can and will seep water.

 

that does seem to make sense yes.... whould the copper spray not be the thing to use for that though, or is it not that easy

 

Multi layer steel (MLS) gaskets might be an easier route for you.

Normally they are easier to install properly. They also take up slight imperfections if the surface it completely free of ----..

Copper gaskets work well, and can be very durable, adding a small groove at the shop on the top of the milled surface is one way to make them hold better, but that is something that is very specific to the engine that you are running and you have to find a smart shop that you trust..

My engine is a Closed Deck so it is easier to accomplish this.

 

Racers refer to this as "O-Ringing" the block. You make a groove on the top of the sleeve, that holds a stainless steel wire. The copper deforms where the wire pushes into in, creating a better seal.

My advice is to go MLS, and ARP Headstuds. There are a lot of guys making gobs of power with this combination. Unless you are shooting for higher than 400HP, O-Ringing may not be worth all the extra hassle. (BTW, I believe you have to replace the copper gasket each time you pull the head, in order to get the O-Ring method to seal correctly.)

Craig

 

shouldnt you be replacing the headgasket everytime the head is removed? thats what ive always heard and done i gues