VGPowered's Guide To Gaskets
There are several brands of gaskets you can buy for the VG. The question is, which gaskets should you buy? Of particular concern is head gasket quality. The head gasket is probably the single most critical part of an engine's gasket set. If the head gasket fails, it can lead to oil and coolant mixing, which can lead to subsequent component failures. An entire gasket brand can be judged based on how it's head gaskets perform.
There are many different VG engines and not all gaskets are interchangeable between them. First and foremost, SOHC gaskets will not work on DOHC gaskets, except for the rear main seal. The head gaskets from an SOHC will not work on the DOHC and vice versa, no exceptions. Nothing will line up except for the cylinders.
The SOHC had several different blocks. All the valve train related seals and head gaskets are interchangeable between SOHC short blocks, except for the 3.3L's and 2.0L's head gasket due to differing cylinder diameters.
All DOHC head gaskets should interchange.
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM):
Unlike other manufacturers, Nissan assembled their engines with very good quality gaskets. Nissan does not create their own gaskets, but contracts out gasket makers to provide them with quality gaskets. These companies can be referred to as Nissan Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) since they provide the parts that are shipped out originally with a Nissan product, in this case, the gaskets. There may have been a few different OEM providers for Nissan gaskets, but a major one is Ishino Ltd. They make OEM gaskets for many companies including Nissan, and Toyota. OEM Ishino gaskets have been proven to withstand 500HP reliably and daily on a VG. Note that there is no such thing as a "turbo" head gasket. Nissan put the same quality head gasket on all their SOHC VG's and DOHC VG's respectively. When you buy gaskets from your dealer, you are purchasing Ishino made gaskets. Ishino sells their gaskes directly to the public under the "Stone" label, usually for much cheaper compared to dealer prices.
The Head Gaskets:
Nissan's head gaskets are made of a steel core with a graphite composite outer layer. The graphite is very important when the gasket seals two different types of metals. To understand how the graphite component works, imagine putting a dab of graphite between your fingers; your fingers can slide between each other, yet the graphite sticks to your fingers, it seals and glides. Please, do not put apply graphite on your head gaskets. The VG has aluminum heads and intake components, and an iron block and exhaust manifolds. As you may know, aluminum expands at a faster rate than iron. The graphite in the head gaskets allow for the aluminum heads to slide accross the gasket surface when the engine heats up while creating a tight seal. This is an important function in a head gasket for aluminum head/iron block engines. At the same time, the graphite in the gasket expandswhen heated, creating an even better seal between the head and the block during the engines most critical point (when its hot). For this same reason, the OEM exhaust gasket is graphite.
The metal core of the OEM gasket is also very important, and is what gives it its strength.
Felpro:
Felpro gaskets are generally ok in quality, but the head gaskets have been proven unsuitable for the VG. The rest of Felpro gaskets and seals seem to work just fine with the VG. Felpro brand seems to be more popular amongst the domestic V8 crowd, where the engines are all iron and do not have the aluminum/iron expansion issue.
The Head Gaskets:
Especially if you intend on performance, we recommend NOT using Felpro head gaskets on your VG. The Felpro head gasket have steel core with a paper-like outerlayer. The paper outerlayer of Felpro gaskets doesn't seem to allow the aluminum heads to glide over its surface when the engine heats up. When the engine heats up, or cools down, the paper can catch and rip against the head and block surface, compromising the seal between them. Eventually, the paper-like outer layer will fail and typical symptoms of head gasket failure follows. Note that in general, Felpro are of pretty good quality. The rest of Felpro gaskets and seals are comparable to OEM.
Victor Reinz:
Victor Reinz is owned by the same makers of Clevite and Perfect Circle, and has been proven to be a good brand, with performance comprable to OEM. For this reason, Victor Reinz makes for a good alternative to OEM when cheaper. It is important to note that Victor Reinz has not been proven to be better than OEM. To my knowledge, Victor Reinz is the OEM gasket supply to John Deer.
With the exception of the lower intake gasket and head gasket, the rest Victor Reinz gaskets for the VG are paper, coated with a fine layer of Teflon. The upper intake paper gasket has been known to slide out of place when the plenum is being torqued down, the bolts rip the paper, and the gasket will be slightly in the way of the intake runners which can hurt air flow. I'd suggest using the stock metal plenum gasket for this reason. Note that the lower intake gasket is exactly like OEM, cadmium coated metal with rubber seal rings, a plus for Victor Reinz.
The Head Gaskets:
Victor Reinz Head gaskets are made of a steel core with a teflon coating. The teflon is a comprable alternative to graphite, allowing for the aluminum to freely expand accross the iron block when heated. However, it is unclear if this teflon coating will expand to seal the head/block when heated like graphite does.
MLS and Copper:
Multilayer Steel (MLS), and Copper head gaskets can handle over 500HP on a VG. VG's have been documented making over 1000HP on these head gaskets, depending on the brand, and can be reused.
Why doesnt everyone get MLS or copper head gaskets?
Generally, MLS head gaskets are expensive, any where from $300 to $500 a set. Copper headgaskets can be had for cheap, around the same price of OEM, but generally require the block to be "sleeved" which is not cheap or convenient. Also, copper head gaskets are known to leak, even with the engine just sitting there not in operation.
MLS and Copper headgaskets should really be reserved for 500+ HP applications, or for situations that require frequent engine tear down and rebuild scenarios because they can be reused. Do not be fooled by popular talk from non-VG engine builders. A Honda enthusiast will tell you that you need MLS head gaskets before you put a turbo on your VG. This is just simply not applicable to the VG engine. The SOHC VG for example, with its 26 head bolts, was designed specifically for boost applications, and stock headgaskets will do just fine.
Ebay offbrand specials:
In general, do not trust ebay brand gaskets. An example of ebay brand is JIS. I have heard that these offbrand gaskets are alright with the exception of the head gasket. In general, these ebay type head gaskets have been known to blow the moment the car with the freshly built engine hits the street. Some of these ebay head gaskets are made of pure graphite with no steel core. Please stay away from offbrand gaskets, or you will be well on your way to a blown head gasket or smoking valves in no time with those. If you can get OEM, then why risk it?
