Reinforced cylinder head gasket Volkswagen Audi Seat Skoda 2.0 TFSI

The Volkswagen and Audi engines covered

The inline four of 2.0 litres, petrol and turbocharged, sold as 2.0 TFSI, TSI, GTI, R, TTS or Cupra, powers the Audi A1, A3, A4 B7, A6 C6, TT and Q3, the Volkswagen Golf, Passat, Tiguan, Scirocco, Jetta, Eos, Beetle, CC, Sharan and Polo, the Seat Leon, Altea, Toledo, Exeo and Alhambra and the Skoda Octavia II and Superb II in the table below. One cylinder head covers all four cylinders: the gasket is sold individually, one per engine.

The original gasket carries part number 06F 103 383 H. The manufacturer publishes neither its bore, nor its thickness, nor its construction. It is calculated for standard combustion pressure: as the pressure climbs, the clamping load weakens, the head lifts and coolant reaches a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket does not guarantee the seal by itself: the fasteners that press the head onto the block weigh as much. A composite gasket settles lastingly beyond 100 N/mm², whereas the 301 stainless steel of the MLS holds 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and regains its shape with every combustion. With the O-Ring, the stainless ring isolates the combustion chamber alone and the gasket body closes the water and oil circuits, with no machining of the block.

This page collects the part numbers of two racing manufacturers, Athena and Cometic, in three constructions: the stainless-ring O-Ring and the multi-layer MLS from Athena, the multi-layer MLS from Cometic. The gasket bores are 83.5 and 84 mm and the thicknesses run from 0.686 to 3.556 mm, enough to set the compression ratio without touching pistons or head. As a rule, the gasket bore chosen is at least 0.5 mm larger than the actual cylinder bore. Each part number is sold individually, one gasket per engine.

Technical specifications

A gasket's volume is the space it leaves free above each cylinder. It is added to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio accordingly. Use this value only to compare gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before installation, check the flatness of the head and the block with a straight edge, and have either one resurfaced if necessary. Apply no gasket sealant: Athena and Cometic deliver their gaskets already coated.

Technical guide

The three constructions offered

	O-Ring / Cut Ring Athena A steel body lined with asbestos-free aramid, with a stainless compression ring crimped around each cylinder. The ring transfers the clamping force to a narrow band, where the seal is made, and a silicone bead closes the water and oil passages. It is the construction most resistant to the high combustion pressures of the range.
	Athena MLS A stack of two to five AISI 301 stainless steel sheets, laser cut, stamped and riveted. Around each cylinder, a folded sheet, the Gas Stopper, sends the clamping force back towards the combustion chamber, while raised features keep the water and oil circuits apart. The outer faces are coated: one layer resists heat and fills the small flaws of the block and head, a silicone layer stops the gasket from sticking at removal. It is Athena's all-steel solution, from the prepared naturally aspirated engine to moderate boost; beyond that, the O-Ring stays the construction that takes the highest pressures.
	Cometic MLS Stamped stainless steel sheets, stacked and riveted to one another. The outer sheets carry active features around each cylinder and each fluid passage. The seal holds with a measured clamping load and little bore distortion. It is the universal choice, from the prepared naturally aspirated engine to reasonable boost.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Athena O-Ring comes in 83.5 mm, the Cometic MLS in 83.5 and 84 mm, the Athena MLS in 84 mm.

Thickness. The manufacturer communicates no thickness for the original gasket. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

With no original thickness published, measure with a dial gauge how far the pistons stand out of the block's gasket face: that figure gives the clearance left between piston and head, especially with the thinnest thickness.

The two brands

	Athena S.p.A., an Italian gasket and engine parts company, has its head office and main plant in Alonte, in the Veneto, and further sites in Spain, the United States, Brazil and India. Car makers fit its multi-layer gaskets as original equipment, and the competition range is entirely drawn and built in Italy.
	Cometic Gasket, Inc., an American maker of engine gaskets and sealing solutions, came into being in 1989 in Concord, Ohio. Its trade: the gasket made to order, at the bore and thickness wanted, wholly built in the United States from American materials.

Advantages over the original gasket

When a reinforced gasket becomes necessary

• Adding forced induction, or raising boost on an already turbocharged engine
• Cylinder rebored beyond what the bore of the gaskets offered (83.5 and 84 mm) covers
• Looking for a compression ratio different from standard, higher or lower
• Engine that has already lost its gasket, or is consuming coolant
• Competition use, where the gasket goes through repeated temperature rises

Vehicle compatibility

OEM part number: 06F 103 383 H.

Important: the gaskets on this page are listed for the 2.0 litre engines of the survey below, at Audi, Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda. For any other vehicle, check the engine code first before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the original gasket is at the end of its possibilities, the reinforced gasket replaces it: under stronger combustion pressure it keeps its shape instead of sagging.

Once an engine is fully tuned, boosted harder or compressed more, the head gasket is the first link of the top end to fail. Choosing a reinforced gasket means avoiding the leak and the head removal that follows, a job considerably dearer than the part.