Reinforced cylinder head gasket Toyota 1.6 G16E-GTS

The Toyota engines covered

The Toyota G16E-GTS petrol engine, a turbocharged 1.6 litre, is fitted to the Yaris GR, Corolla GR and Lexus LBX Morizo RR listed below.

This original gasket carries the part number 11115-18020. Its bore is 88.5 mm; Toyota publishes neither its construction nor its thickness. It is designed for standard combustion pressure: when that pressure rises, the clamping load weakens, the cylinder head lifts and coolant seeps into a cylinder.

Reinforced cylinder head gaskets

The gasket alone does not make the seal: it holds because the fasteners press the cylinder head onto the block. The O-Ring shares out the roles: the stainless ring closes the combustion chamber on its own, the body deals with the water and oil circuits, and the block needs no machining.

This page presents the part number from Athena, an Italian maker of racing gaskets, for a single construction: the O-Ring, a steel sheet faced with aramid fibre and fitted with a stainless ring. The gasket has a 92.2 mm bore, against 88.5 mm for the original gasket, and a thickness of 1.00 mm. 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 empty above each cylinder. It adds to the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio. This value can only be compared between gaskets of the same bore.

Preparation and fitting

Before fitting, check with a straight edge that the cylinder head and block are flat, and have them resurfaced if necessary. Athena supplies this gasket ready to fit: do not add sealing paste.

Technical guide

The construction offered

Athena O-Ring A steel sheet clad in asbestos-free aramid fibre, ringed around each cylinder by a stainless steel compression ring. This ring concentrates the clamping force on a narrow band, where the seal is made, while a silicone bead isolates the water and oil circuits. It is the construction that resists the highest pressures in the range.

Choosing bore and thickness

Gasket bore. The Athena O-Ring is offered in 92.2 mm (330189R), in that bore only.

Thickness. Toyota does not publish the thickness of the original gasket. A thicker gasket enlarges the combustion chamber and lowers the compression ratio; a thinner one reduces it and raises the ratio.

Since the original thickness is not published, measure with a dial gauge how far the pistons stand above the block, especially if the removed gasket is thicker than 1.00 mm: that value gives the clearance left between piston and head.

The brand

Athena S.p.A., an Italian maker of gaskets and engine parts, has its head office and main plant in Alonte, in the Veneto. It also has sites in Spain, the United States, Brazil and India. Its multi-layer gaskets are fitted as original equipment by car makers, and its competition range is entirely 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 88.5 mm bore of the original gasket 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: 11115-18020.

Important: the part number on this page fits only the G16E-GTS engine: check your vehicle's engine code before placing an order.

Why switch to a reinforced gasket?

When the original gasket is outmatched, the reinforced gasket takes over: under higher combustion pressure it keeps its shape without settling.

A bigger turbo, a supercharger or a raised compression ratio make the head gasket the most tested part of the top end. A reinforced gasket helps rule out the leak, and the cylinder head removal that follows, with the labour and parts cost of doing the job twice.