My suggestion....by a ishino headgasket set. Its a cosmetic hg and its basically wat was originally used. I fixed my bhg with that, and don't buy arp head bolts...buy the studs! The studs is a massive overkill, but there going to be like....maybe $15 more then bolts. Machine the head....and have it chemically bathed. That is a must no matter wat hg u buy. If u go cosmetic....go to autozone or andvanced, buy this purpleish colored wire/sand paper junk. Buy it so it can go on the end of a drill. Use that on the block and clean the crap out of it. Don't be scared to get a little fierce with it..just my advice if ur gonna do it.

Um.... No. The stock HG was a graphite composite HG; Cometic is a multi-layer steel HG and requires significantly more prep of both block and head.

cosmetic....as in not metal....lots of people refer to the stock hg as a cosmetic hg...simply because its not metal. rarely ever hear anyone call it a graphite hg. Either metal multi-layered steel hg, or a cosmetic/composite hg.

I've never heard anyone refer to a hg as "Cosmetic", unless they're referring to the Cometic gasket and they spelled it incorrectly.

cos·met·ic /k?zˈmetik/
Adjective: Involving or relating to treatment intended to restore or improve a person's appearance.
Noun: A product applied to the body, esp. the face, to improve its appearance.


So, in a nutshell, "Cosmetic" does not refer to a non-metal hg

thats wat ive heard...no need to start trolling around on the forums....

You're mistaken and stubborn, deaf or listening to retards... I couldn't care less which. MLS (Multi-Layer Steel of which there are a few different types), graphite composite aka just composite (which have a steel shim as a base), asbestos, and single layer copper are all TYPES of HG. COMETIC is a manufacturer of HGs; The only HG they make for the 7M is MLS and it also happens to be the most forgiving of higher surface roughness.

There's no such thing as a cosmetic HG; Unless you think a single layer copper, shim type is nice and purdy (which they are when new). If you'd search Google a bit you'll find that the results which aren't automatically corrected to "Cometic" are generally forum discussions in which the person is corrected in short order.

And we're not trolling... we're trying to ensure that information posted is as accurate as possible.

Just saying wat I've heard...lawl...