im a noob when it comes to engine performance, and i saw under the nifty tips thread something about home cut teflon gaskets. assumed they are cut right what can they do performance wise.

 

Nothing. They won't make more power -- they're cheaper and easier IMO. There were some sellers on eBay who claimed they were a performance upgrade because they isolated the intake tract from the heat of the engine. I don't believe this would provide any noticeable benefit.

 

is there a place where i can get a template of the gaskets

 

Right on your car thats how they're ment to be used. Otherwise an old gaskett may be used to trace out. Any ones you found on the internet will be out of scale as soon as you print them out.

 

You take the part the gasket is supposed to seal to, drill the bolt holes through the gasket, insert bolts through part and gasket to keep the gasket in place, then take an exacto knife and cut against the part. It's a little time consuming, but it's a lot cheaper than buying new, and you won't ever have to replace them.