8vMatt 1 Posted February 10, 2010 Hi guys It looks like I'm going to be in the market for a new head gasket v soon. Not due to any damage but for a new head to be fitted. Had a search but no luck so far. Wondering if the VW head gasket was the best to buy or is there an alternative thats better? What some of price should I pay? Plus as I'm looking at a new head, what else would people say should be looked at when changing over? Inlet, exhaust manifold gasket's will be new. ARP head bolts will go on. Missed anything? Thanks in advance for your help, Matt. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8vMatt 1 Posted February 10, 2010 Just had a price from TPS for the head gasket, £49+vat. Any good? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fla 9 Posted February 10, 2010 i bought the gasket set from GSF which included the head gasket from Victor Reinz, iirc it was around £100 for the set. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
8vMatt 1 Posted February 10, 2010 Cheers for that Fla. Would you recommend that kit then? Anyone have an opinion on either of these gasket's please? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mariojoshi 1 Posted February 10, 2010 I wouldn't normally touch GSF for anything that's important to the mechanical running of the car... but... Victor Reinz seems to be the usual choice for head gasket kits here there and everywhere, so I don't think you can go too far wrong with that. If Schimmel Performance sell them, they must be ok ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mk2vivs 0 Posted February 11, 2010 victor reinz is a dealer supplier.I went to the stealers and paid a fair whack for one that turned out to be a victor reinz that i could have got at gsf for less then half the price!i will say deffo get the bolts from the dealers tho they are expensive,the only plus side to arp bolts is that you can re-use them they wont be cheap neither a fair bit more then the dealer ones.While your in there change the tensioner/guide to the mk4 or later style set up(i was told the dealers now only sell this set up)if you havent already. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louis 0 Posted December 29, 2016 Sorry to resurrect this thread. I'm removing the head from my VR6 at the moment, was doing the ABS teves 20 upgrade and one thing led to another as it normally does for me! To cut a long story short I had pure red coolant pouring out of one of the lower inlet manifold bolt holes, I left it a while to see if it would stop and it drained the header tank so I stuck the bolt back in to stop it! I'm no engine expert but I certainly didn't expect that so off it comes to find out the cause. Just been to VW to get a price on a head gasket from them and they tell me they're discontinued!! Add that to the list of dying parts, thankfully they are widely available elsewhere. Anyway my question is, seeing as it's going to be a Victor Reinz gasket that I buy, should I go for the metal one instead of the fibre one as it seemingly lowers compression or is it a complete waste on a car which is otherwise standard? I suspect I know the answer but always keen for smart upgrades if I get the chance. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
seanl82 23 Posted December 29, 2016 Louis, you don't want to drop compression as you'll lose power. The only time you'd do it is if you were going forced induction. You can use a mk4 HG though to raise compression, which'll give you a little more power. There has been a thread recently about it, but I think someone had one go pretty quickly after installing so advised against it. Up to you though mate, have a search and you'll find the thread mate. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Louis 0 Posted December 31, 2016 Ah yea thought it was one or the other. Thanks for putting me straight! Think I'll just go standard not keen on messing around with the mk4 one. I'll get a metal one though if possible rather than fibre though Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
