Reinforced head gasket VW Audi Seat Skoda 2.0 TFSI EA888 Gen1 Gen2

The Volkswagen and Audi engines covered

The 2.0 litre inline four with direct petrol injection and turbo, from the chain-driven EA888 family, is sold as 2.0 TFSI, TSI, GTI or TTS. It powers the Audi A3, A4 B8, A5, A6 C7, Q3, Q5 and TT, the Volkswagen Golf V and VI, Passat B6, B7 and CC, Tiguan, Scirocco, Jetta, Eos, Beetle and Sharan, the Seat Leon, Altea XL, Exeo and Alhambra and the Skoda Octavia II and Superb II in the table below. A single head covers the four cylinders: the gasket is sold individually, one per engine.

The manufacturer part number of the standard gasket is 06H 103 383 AA; neither its bore, nor its thickness, nor its construction appears in any published documentation. It is sized for the original combustion pressure: beyond it, the clamping load loses its grip, the head lifts and coolant passes into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket alone does not guarantee the seal: the fasteners that clamp the head to the block matter just as much. A composite gasket settles for good above 100 N/mm², whereas the 301 stainless steel of the MLS withstands 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and recovers its shape with every combustion. The raised features of the outer sheets concentrate the clamping load around each cylinder and each fluid passage, with no need to machine the block.

This page gathers the part numbers of a single racing manufacturer, Cometic, in multi-layer MLS construction, with two gasket bores, 82.5 and 84 mm. Thicknesses run from 0.686 to 3.556 mm, enough to adjust the compression ratio without altering either the pistons or the 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

The volume of a gasket is the space it leaves open above each cylinder. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio by the same amount. Use it only to compare gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check the flatness of the head and the block with a straight edge and have either one resurfaced if needed. Add no sealing compound: Cometic supplies its gaskets already coated.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Cometic MLS Stamped stainless steel sheets, stacked and riveted together. The outer sheets carry active raised features around each cylinder and each liquid passage. The seal holds with a measured clamping load and little bore distortion. It is the all-round solution, from the tuned naturally aspirated engine to reasonable boost.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Cometic MLS comes in 82.5 mm (C4976) and 84 mm (C4977).

Thickness. For the standard gasket the manufacturer gives no thickness: only the measurement of the gasket you remove serves as a reference. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

Because the original thickness is not published, read with a dial gauge how far the pistons protrude above the block deck: it shows the clearance left between piston and head, notably with the thinnest gasket.

The brand

Cometic Gasket, Inc. is an American maker of engine gaskets and sealing solutions, founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio. Its speciality: the custom gasket, cut to the bore and thickness you need, produced entirely 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 (82.5 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: 06H 103 383 AA.

Important: the gaskets on this page are listed for the 2.0 litre EA888 engines in the survey below, at Audi, Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda. For any other vehicle, find the engine code first before placing an order.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the standard gasket reaches its limits, the reinforced gasket takes over: under higher combustion pressure it keeps its shape instead of collapsing.

As soon as an engine gets more boost, more compression or a hard-edged build, the head gasket is the first part of the top end to give way. Choosing a reinforced gasket spares you the leak and the head removal that follows, a job far more costly than the part itself.