Sean's (& Ed's & Scott's) Astor GTi6

[Ed Doe]

have you refitted the ptfe gasket more than once?

if you have the ptfe gasket can only be used once as it is a crush type gasket it crushes and molds to the manifold/head shapes
and once crushed wont re crush to take up any imperfections again

we use ptfe sheets to cut gaskets for steam flanges once a 3mm sheet is crushed in the flanges on removal it can be as thin as paper so it a throw away item not reusable

Yes & No.
Yes I have re-used the ptfe gasket. I bought it used off Cwspellowe. I used it with no issues at all on the diablo. I then transferred it onto the Astor in early June IIRC again with no issues at all. I did remove the inlet manifold, but not the gasket from the studs when I did my oil change, as I intended to fit my oil cooler at the same time. It was put back properly though, and I don't see how a leak would result in a less responsive engine either?

I agree in some applications the gasket could be a one-use item. But the manifold should never be torqued down anything like enough to crush 4mm ptfe!!!