At Flatout Gaskets customer needs come first We believe one-on-one customer service and technical support is extremely important. Our goal is to give customers the right gaskets, when they want them, all at a fair price. Flatout has experienced staff ready to answer questions, take orders and prepare quotes for special applications. Flatout Gaskets are designed to meet the needs of the application, as such we use the best, most cost effective base materials, coatings and sealing aids. With all the available cylinder head and block combinations today, occasionally the builder may run into a misalignment issue when mounting their intake manifold. Flatout Gaskets offers billet aluminum intake manifold spacer kits for all V-8 and V-6 engines. These billet spacer kits are available with either a .125" or .250" thick aluminum spacers. The kit also includes (2) Flatout .060" thick intake gasket sets for either side of the spacer. Head gasket shims are offered for EVERY head gasket available in the Flatout lineup. When head or block machining is beyond the normal "cleanup" it may be necessary to adjust the thickness at the head gasket joint using a shim. We rubber coat the shim on both sides to seal fluids. And the rubber coating is compatible with every type of combustion seal. Thicknesses available range from .020" to .125" in approximately .010" increments. Custom or modified shims and spacers are available from Flatout Gaskets, usually at the same price as our standards kits. Please email or call to inquire about any spacer or shim question. Engineered Gasket Materials Soft gasket materials are those that compress easily in a typically joint environment. Soft gasket can be made from a variety of base materials, binders and reinforcing fibers. Base materials are typically inorganic clays and fillers. Common binders are synthetic rubber such as Nitrile, Neoprene, SBR, EPDM and Vitron. Non-Asbestos fibers used today are most commonly cellulose and arimad. Soft gaskets are made using two common methods: a wet, paper making type process which produces a wide variety of materials with many colors, densities and performances characteristics. Materials come in sheet or roll form. Compressed sheet gaskets are higher density for tougher applications. Material coming in sheet form. Solid Rubber Gasket Materials Natural Rubber Natural rubber has good resistance to mild acids and alkalizes and chlorine solutions. Natural rubber is poor in oils and solvents. Temperature range: -65 to 210 F. SBR (Styrene-Butadiene) SBR has excellent abrasion resistance and has good resistance to alcohols, and ketones, It is not suitable for strong acids, ozone, oil and fuels. Temperature range: -65 to 260 F. Neoprene (Chloroprene) Neoprene has good resistance to oils and fuels and has poor resistance to chlorinated hydrocarbons and acids. Temperature range: -65 to 250 F. Nitrile, NBR Rubber (Buna-N) Nitrile has good resistance to oils and solvents. It has good resistance to caustics and salts. It has poor resistance to in strong oxidizing agents, acids and chlorinated hydrocarbons. Temperature range:-65 to 270 F. EPDM (Ethylene Propylene-Diene Monomer) EPDM has good resistance to acids, alkalizes, and chlorine solutions. It is not recommended for use in oils, solvents or fuels. Temperature range: -70 and 365 F.SiliconesSilicone rubber has good resistance to hot air and not is affected by sunlight or ozone. Silicone is not recommended for use in water, steam, and aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons. Temperature range: -65 to 500 F. Fluorocarbon (Viton) Fluorocarbon has good resistance to oils, fuels, chlorinated solvents, hydrocarbons and strong acids and has poor resistance to steam, amines and ketones. Temperature range: -20 to 430 F. Graphite on Perforated Core (GPC) This material is best suited for sealing exhaust gas from engines, furnaces and other high heat applications. The soft graphite sheet, physically bonded to the top and bottom surfaces, provides excellent sealing of fluids and gases. The steel core provides exceptional stability of the gasket during installation and excellent blowout resistance while in the sealing application. Available thicknesses are .045", .065" and .090". Temperature range: -60 to 1800 F. Rubber Coated Copper (RCC) RCC is best used in very high clamp load environments with solid flanges. The base material offer excellent dimensional control, lateral strength and load retention. The high temperature rubber coating is .0015"/.0025" thick and provide an excellent coolant, oil, and air seal. Temperature range: -60 to 600 F. Solid Core Laminate (SC) Flatout Solid Core gasket materials are made today's best engineered gasket materials, laminated to a solid steel or aluminum core. The adhesive bond is chemically resistant to solvents, oils and water based solutions. SC gasket materials are used when lateral strength is important for long-term sealing integrity or when the gasket requires some rigidity for handling and installation. For enhanced gasket sealability, SC gasket materials can be tailored with an embossed to increase the local sealing.