Between the cylinder heads and the engine block is a critical component: the head gasket. Its purpose is significant as it preserves combustion seal, prevents blow-by into the water jackets, and must endure extreme cylinder pressure, rapid thermal cycling, rotational forces, and clamping loads measured in thousands of foot-pounds. In high-performance applications, the gasket must maintain that seal as engine components work together.

Engineering Gaskets

Head gaskets are fundamental to maintaining compression. Their use in motorsports reflects the high-powered demands of competition and leads to development by several manufacturers that rely on their involvement with racing partnerships.

"Depending on the takeaways, implementing our key learnings can lead to fine-tuning what the partnership may look like during conversations" with race teams, said Matt Klug of Cometic Gasket, Concord, Ohio. "Specific deliverables can be modified to meet the needs of those learnings."

Cometic Gasket works directly with teams such as Richard Childress Racing, Cruz Pedregon Racing, and Tony Stewart Racing, as well as ECR Engines, among others. These partnerships provide opportunities for intensive product development.

"Cometic is fully committed to serving the needs of teams, series, and individuals who need custom parts," Klug said. "There are myriad instances where those key learnings lead to how we develop products for individuals or entities who depend on Cometic."

That development includes using various materials depending on application needs, supported by in-house dynamometers and assembly rooms.

Dynamometer testing provides a repeatably controlled stress environment to gauge the behavior of Cometic's gaskets under peak cylinder pressures, heat loads, rapid throttle inputs, and sustained wide-open throttle (WOT) durations.

Engineers examine for diagnostic indicators during the disassembly phase. Localized analysis inspects for uneven crush points, heat distress, leakage, and blow-by trails to determine the head gasket's performance.

Multi-layer steel (MLS) head gaskets are sensitive to dust and metal shavings and rely on clean assembly rooms to reduce the odds of contamination. Stable climate control allows for coatings to be applied and cured safely. Any inconsistencies may lead to critical failure points for the end-user. A clean room drastically reduces the odds of product failure.

Cometic Gaskets has developed MLS  and Aramid fiber gaskets tailored to end users. Aramid fibers, similar to Kevlar, reinforce gasket materials to withstand high temperatures, chemical exposure, and extreme loads. These gaskets are typically used for valve covers, oil pans, and timing covers.

As a result of working with teams in drag racing and endurance racing, SCE Gaskets in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, developed its Vulcan Cut-Ring head gaskets to support hyper-boosted, high-static compression, and liquid-cooled competition engines. In drag racing, the gasket must withstand nitrous or extreme boost during short, high-stress runs. Endurance applications require a different approach for engines operating under sustained loads, so these gaskets must endure rapid load changes that cause rpm spikes.

"The Vulcan Cut-Ring gasket features a composite body with a steel core and a stainless-steel ring machined with micro grooves," explained Jim Devitt. "When the head's torqued down, the rings bite into the underside of the head and help seal combustion." The design serves as a hybrid between MLS and copper gaskets, integrating an O-ring-style setup.

Vulcan Cut-Ring gaskets use a polymer coating that reduces friction between the gasket and sealing surfaces and can be applied across multiple disciplines.

"We do everything from copper to composites," added Devitt about the company's gaskets. "We want to help out the grassroots racer. We want to help the guy who's out there every week."

Feedback from racers drives much of SCE's product development. "It all goes back to the grassroots. That's a majority of where racing is in this country." The feedback from customers often determines new products for development.

To read the full article, plus hundreds of other articles like it, for free, sign up for a digital subscription to PRI Magazine on Zinio here.   

Once you download the Zinio mobile app or are logged into Zinio on a desktop browser, you will gain immediate access to more than a year's worth of content, including "Under Pressure: Exploring Head Gasket Technology" here and additional coverage in the January/February 2026 issue here.