Reinforced head gasket Audi R8 5.2 V10 Lamborghini Gallardo Huracán

The Audi engines covered

The Audi petrol engines BUJ, CMPA, CSPA, CSPB, CTPA, CTYA, DKAA, DKAB, DKAC, DMWA and DMWC are V10 engines of 5.2 litres with four valves per cylinder and FSI direct injection. They power the Audi R8 and R8 Spyder, as well as the Lamborghini Gallardo and Huracán Spyder models listed below.

The original gasket of the BUJ engine carries part numbers 079 103 383 AQ and 079 103 383 AR, and that of the other engines part number 07L 103 383 BA. Audi publishes neither the bore, nor the construction, nor the thickness. These gaskets are sized for the stock combustion pressure: when that rises, the clamping load fades, the head lifts and coolant seeps into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

Sealing depends not on the gasket alone but equally on the fasteners that pull the head down onto the block. With the O-Ring the work is shared: the stainless ring seals the combustion chamber on its own, the body looks after the water and oil passages, and the block needs no machining.

This page presents two part numbers from Athena, an Italian maker of competition gaskets, in a single construction: the O-Ring, a steel sheet clad in aramid fibre and ringed with a stainless steel ring. The bore offered is 85.5 mm and the thickness 0.80 mm, identical for both part numbers. 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 cylinder head, so two per engine.

Technical specifications

A gasket's volume is the space it leaves free above each cylinder. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; gaskets can only be compared at the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before assembly, check the flatness of the head and block with a straight edge, and have them resurfaced if necessary. Athena supplies this gasket ready to fit: do not add any sealing paste.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Athena O-Ring A steel sheet coated with asbestos-free aramid fibre, fitted at each cylinder with a stainless steel compression ring. The ring concentrates the clamping load on a narrow band, where the seal is made, and a silicone bead protects the water and oil channels around the cylinders. The gasket is delivered with its coating already applied. This is the construction that withstands the highest pressures in the range.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Athena O-Ring is offered in 85.5 mm: 330234R for the right cylinder head and 330235R for the left.

Thickness. The thickness of the original gasket is not published by Audi. 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, use a dial gauge to measure how far the pistons stand proud of the block deck, especially if the removed gasket is thinner than 0.80 mm: it shows the clearance left between piston and head.

The brand

Athena S.p.A. is an Italian group specialising in gaskets and engine parts, whose main plant stands in Alonte, in the Veneto. Further sites are located in Spain, the United States, Brazil and India. Car makers fit its multi-layer gaskets as original equipment, and the whole competition range is designed and made in Italy.

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 85.5 mm bore of the gaskets offered 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: 079 103 383 AQ / AR, 07L 103 383 BA.

Important: the part numbers on this page suit only the BUJ, CMPA, CSPA, CSPB, CTPA, CTYA, DKAA, DKAB, DKAC, DMWA and DMWC engines: check your vehicle's engine code before ordering.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

Once the original gasket reaches its limit, the reinforced gasket takes over: under higher combustion pressure it holds its shape and does not settle.

With a heavily tuned engine, added forced induction or a modified compression ratio, the head gasket is the first part to give way on this V10. A reinforced gasket prevents the leak and the head removal that goes with it.