Just after some engine guru advice

I've seen these popping up lately
Multi Layer Steel head gaskets for A series
Now I guess they might be cheap insurance for boosted motors (part of my plan)
But I figure they seem expensive

Thoughts

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1709507890 ... 1423.l2649#ht_2654wt_5165

im no engine guru, but i can assure you, tomei products are worth the coin.I can say this from personal experience.Tomei refers to themselves as the engine specialists and are very respected in the race tracks in japan...
That being said, im sure you could get other similar products to tomei ones for cheaper but id have no idea how they perform other than the nismo ones.
Nismo also has a similar metal gasket to the tomei one and bige had them last time i asked him on a thread on this forum.

I haven't used anything Tomei, but I plan to use a lot of their products in the future.

They are definitely good quality, probably the best quality parts you can buy for an A-Series engine.

MLS gaskets work as well as the composite ones, only difference is that MLS gaskets require a much smoother finish of the block and head. The finish of factory gasket surfaces back then as a lot rougher, in that regard composite gaskets are more forgiving.

MLS gaskets are used because they are thinner, and not for strength. A composite gasket is cheap insurance for a boosted motor.

I looked recently at graphlex brand australia and america I think
they use stainless fire rings and graphite layers very affordable
at less than 35 aud or so for a series.

I bought some last year for $4 each from RockAuto (with stainless fire rings and graphite layers). They came from Japan. Spares companies are eliminating them from inventory here.

Gasket thickness has nothing to do with why MLS gaskets are used.

Multiple Layer Metal gaskets have a very thin sprayed on silicon coating for Oil sealing and the very nature of a Steel gasket makes it superior to a composite gasket for boosted applications.

Nismo or Nissan Motorsport Composite gaskets differed in generally two ways from stock gaskets they were often Bigger bore for overbored engines and they all had a Stainless steel ring behind the fire ring area embedded into the Gasket.

That embedded ring directly at the back of the visible fire ring is why with Nismo or FIA gaskets a requirement was always a light reface when using them because they left an indent in the alloy of the cylinder head unlike stock composite gaskets or for that matter MLS style gaskets.

Modern useage of MLS gaskets by manufacturers is simply to remove any necessity to retorque an Engine after initial useage thereby saving time and money plus adding reliability for the manufacturer.

Quote:
I beg to differ. There is more than one reason to use MLS.

Datsun used a MLS gasket for the factory stock GX engine, and it is 1/2 the thickness of the regular A12 gasket.

Even non-MLS gaskets are "no-retorque" nowadays.