GASKETS AND FIXINGS

The simple fact is that without gaskets and fixings an engine wouldn’t run, in fact it would be a mere pile of very expensive bits.

As with different engine parts there are many different types of gaskets and fixings available for your engine. Uprating these will add reliability, allow your engine to work harder, and in some cases are just needed to support some of the performance components that we have already covered.

So, to find out exactly what’s what in the world of performance gaskets and uprated fixings we headed over to see the guys at Burton Power to raid through their extensive range of Cometic gaskets and ARP fixings, and pick their brains on how they all go together…

Types of gasket

Before we start looking at the many different types of gasket available we need to understand what a gasket is and why it is needed. In short a gasket simply creates a seal between two mating surfaces. It does this by taking up the space caused by the imperfections of the two mating surfaces. Therefore most gaskets are effectively ‘crushed’ to create the seal when the two objects are bolted together. Because of this most can only be used once, and need to be replaced for new when removed.

In an engine gaskets are needed to create seals for components dealing with oil, fuel, water and sometimes air.