Reinforced cylinder head gasket VAG 1.8 2.0 TFSI EA888 Gen 3

The Volkswagen and Audi engines covered

The third-generation EA888 is a turbocharged inline four of 1.8 and 2.0 litres, used by Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda under the TSI and TFSI names. It powers, among others, the Golf VII, Octavia III, Leon, Audi A3, A4, A5, Q3, Q5, TT and Passat B8 listed in the survey below. The gasket is sold individually, one per engine.

The original gaskets carry part numbers 06K 103 383 E, 06K 103 383 K and 06L 103 383 B. The manufacturer publishes neither their bore, nor their thickness, nor their construction. They are sized for standard combustion pressure; as soon as it rises, the head clamping weakens, the head lifts and coolant gets into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket does not seal the engine alone: the fasteners that clamp the head onto the block matter just as much. A composite gasket settles for good beyond 100 N/mm², whereas the 301 stainless steel of the MLS and MLX withstands 517 N/mm², 5 times more, and springs back 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 brings together the part numbers of two competition makers, Athena and Cometic, in three constructions: the stainless-ring O-Ring from Athena, and the multi-layer MLS and chamber-stop MLX from Cometic. Bores run from 83 to 84 mm and thicknesses 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

The volume of a gasket is the free space it leaves above each cylinder. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio by the same amount. Compare these volumes only between gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check the flatness of the head and of the block with a straight edge, and have whichever needs it resurfaced. Add 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 fibre, in which a stainless compression ring is crimped around each cylinder. The ring transfers the clamping load to a narrow band, where the sealing is played out, and a silicone bead protects the water and oil passages. It is the construction that holds the highest combustion pressures of the range.
	Cometic MLS Pressed stainless steel sheets, stacked and riveted. The outer sheets carry active beads around each cylinder and each fluid passage. Sealing comes from a moderate clamping load with little bore distortion. It is the all-round choice, from a simple uprated rebuild to moderate boost.
	MLX Cometic Embossed, riveted stainless steel sheets, with a central sheet folded into a stopper around the combustion chamber, under a high-temperature coating. The clamping load concentrates where it is needed, without distorting the bore any further. It is the sturdiest all-steel gasket, designed for heavy boost; it is offered here in 83 mm, in a single thickness, 0.914 mm.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Athena O-Ring comes in 83.5 mm, the Cometic MLS in 83 and 84 mm, the Cometic MLX in 83 mm only.

Thickness. For the original gaskets, Volkswagen and Audi communicate no thickness. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

As the original thickness is not published, read with a dial gauge how far the pistons stand above the block's gasket face: this figure gives the clearance left between piston and head, above all with the thinnest values.

The two brands

	Athena S.p.A. is an Italian group making gaskets and engine parts, based in Alonte, in the Veneto, with sites in Spain, the United States, Brazil and India. Its multi-layer gaskets are fitted as original equipment by several car makers, and its competition range is designed and produced entirely in Italy.
	Cometic Gasket, Inc. is an American maker of engine sealing gaskets, founded in 1989 in Concord, Ohio. Its speciality is the made-to-measure gasket, in the bore and thickness wanted, 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 (83 to 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: 06K 103 383 E, 06K 103 383 K, 06L 103 383 B.

Important: the gaskets on this page are listed for the third-generation EA888 engines of the vehicles in the survey below. For any other vehicle, read the engine code first before ordering, as the bore has to match.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

Once the original gasket reaches its limit, the reinforced gasket takes over: under higher combustion pressure it keeps its shape instead of settling.

On an engine that is already turbocharged, raising the boost or the tune puts the head gasket under strain first. A reinforced gasket rules out the leak, and the head removal that follows it, a job far dearer than the part itself.