Dec. 02, 2024
[the power-adder] will make an engine detonate,&#; Speed-Pro&#;s Scott Gabrielson says. &#;It&#;s just how much.&#; For these applications, consider upgraded gas-nitrided ductile iron or steel rings, such as Speed-Pro&#;s Hellfire or Perfect Circle&#;s Firepower series.
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The modern, thin, metric rings also need to be made from better materials to maintain adequate strength, prevent flutter, and withstand greater heat. For them, high-carbon steel is usually the baseline material of choice. Steel used to be considerably more expensive than iron, but thanks to huge volume purchases by OEM manufacturers, the price is coming down in much the same way that hydraulic roller cams have become affordable. Many of the pistons in JE&#;s new SRP Pro line use thin rings, but JE says pricing is now about the same as its old 1/16 rings.
According to Speed-Pro, plasma-moly remains the preferred coating for steel rings, although gas-nitriding is starting to supplant it. Somewhat akin to the hardening process typically applied to forged crankshafts, gas-nitriding is a surface treatment that hardens the ring face to make it wear resistant while still remaining compatible with the cylinder-wall and piston surfaces. OEM rings with gas-nitriding are intended to last for up to 200,000 miles.
Compression rings have become as thin as 0.7 mm in some NASCAR Cup engines. This titanium-
Dirt track cars have the potential for intake system contamination, and some of these guys still prefer a chrome-faced top ring, although improvements in plasma-moly rings have caused many to switch because the moly ring has about 1,000 degrees more heat resistance compared with old-school chrome rings. Many OEMs are again using chrome-faced rings now made from entirely new technology. In fact, the team at Total Seal says that modern, thin rings with vacuum chamber-deposited chromium-nitride have eliminated all the drawbacks of traditional chrome rings and are price-competitive with high-end moly rings.
Some guys in the blown fuel classes use stainless steel Dykes rings. The L-shaped Dykes or headland ring typically has a 1/16-inch face with an 0.017- or 0.031-inch step in the back of it, offering gas pressurization without the need for gas ports. Dykes rings need a special piston, are hard to seat, and accelerate cylinder-bore wear, so they&#;re preferred for only very specialized applications.
The ultrathin rings for high-end pro racing use, such as NASCAR Cup engines or NHRA Pro Stock drag racers, may have exotic, very expensive tungsten or titanium nitride coatings applied using positive vapor deposition over a steel or even stainless steel ring body. This improves wear characteristics while reducing friction even further. But a Cup engine&#;s three-piece ring set for just one piston costs about $160, so this high-end technology isn&#;t yet practical for real-world applications.
Ring makers continue to experiment with different grades of steel, different heat-treating processes, and new coatings. The goal is to further reduce friction and improve durability without beating up the cylinder wall. At the high end, things are changing almost on a monthly basis, but as Total Seal&#;s Keith Jones puts it, &#;If I told you what we&#;re working on, I&#;d have to kill you.&#;
Total Seal continues to offer its unique Gapless top compression ring. The multipiece ring
The Second Ring
For more than 40 years, the reverse-bevel, taper-face, plain-cast-iron second ring has been the standard. Heat is not really a problem in the second groove, so there has been no need for superexotic materials or coatings (moly rings are a waste here). Today, most second rings continue to be made from cast iron or (for some high-end applications) ductile iron. However, second ring configuration is evolving: Modern theory holds that the second ring is about 85 to 90 percent oil control and only 5 to 10 percent compression control, so to better manage the oil, there&#;s a definite trend toward the Napier (hooked or claw-shaped) second ring. In fact, most GM LS engines come stock with Napier rings. The Napier ring creates a reservoir for the scraped oil to flow through. &#;If you undercut the bottom of the ring, it exposes more of the endgap back into the ring groove, which opens up the flow area, providing a reservoir for the scraped oil,&#; says Speed-Pro&#;s Scott Gabrielson. A side benefit is that the Napier allows opening up the second ring gap volume even more, improving inter-ring pressure relief. If available for your application, the Napier can only help, never hurt, overall performance.
The Oil Ring
Although some imports and high-end racers have been experimenting with an integrated single-piece oil ring design, the three-piece configuration consisting of an expander sandwiched between top and bottom rails remains the standard. However, tension and mass have been reduced for improved oil control, fuel economy, and horsepower. Perfect Circle&#;s Bill McKnight says that &#;ring tension accounts for about 40 percent of total engine friction, with the oil rings alone accounting for 50 percent of the ring pack friction.&#; The key to reducing tension is the ring&#;s radial depth (for-and-aft width as it sits in the ring groove): If you maintain the traditional SAE-standard 0.190- inch depth, you still need higher-tension oil rings, but by decreasing radial depth to around 0.140 to 0.150 with a correspondingly machined piston, tension can be reduced because the overall oil ring assembly is more flexible and better conforms to the bore. With a thinner ring, even though overall tension is reduced, the effective unit pressure (cylinder wall loading) is higher. &#;Narrower rails make more pressure,&#; Jones says.
The second ring actually serves more as an additional oil control ring than as a compressi
Regularly driven cars should still use a standard-tension oil ring. A traditional standard-tension ring for a 3/16-inch-od x 0.200-inch-deep oil ring groove in a classic small-block iron-block engine once had about 20 to 22 pounds of tension; today it&#;s about 18 to 19 pounds. Big-blocks were around 23 to 24 pounds; now they&#;re down to 21 to 22 pounds. Old-school low-tension rings have dropped to 12 to 14 pounds from the previous 15 to 18 pounds. So-called standard-tension 3mm x 0.135 to 0.150-inch-deep metric rings designed to replace the old-school 3/16 rings in classic small-blocks have only about 15 to 17 pounds of tension.
Today&#;s late-model engines are designed from the ground up for inherently better oil control, operating with tighter bearing clearances, and lower total oil volume in the engine-so they&#;re naturals for lower-tension rings. Ford Modular V-8 and GM LS engines come stock with only 9- to 10-pound rings. Meanwhile, in the extremes of pro racing, tension ranges from a NASCAR Cup car 1.5- to 2mm-thick oil ring with 2.5 to 4 pounds of tension to a 25-pound Top Fuel oil control ring.
The shape and profile of the expander&#;s drain-back holes are also changing. The trend is toward larger, rounder holes in the expander; old-school expanders had little slits. &#;If you can see the piston&#;s oil drain-back holes through the expander, the oil has a less restrictive return path,&#; maintains JE Pistons&#; Randy Gillis.
Rapidly gaining popularity with OEM manufacturers and hot rodders, the hooked or Napier-st
Finally, there are special oil rings designed for stroker applications where the piston is so short that the oil ring impinges on the piston pinhole. Nowadays the preferred solution is adding an additional special dimpled rail support below the three-piece oil ring.
How Thin is Too Thin?
There&#;s no doubt that thin rings improve power and mileage in a properly built engine, but just how thin a ring you can run in a nonprofessional application is still evolving. Everybody agrees that 1/16 rings are the maximum anyone needs today, but what about those who really want to push the envelope? One consideration is bore size. On large-bore engines, there may be insufficient radial depth to maintain adequate tension under high combustion pressures. For this reason, at present, JE Pistons recommends not going thinner than 1/16-1/16-3/16 on a regularly driven big-block with more than 4.25-inch bore sizes when using conventionally machined pistons. On the other hand, Mahle is converting all its shelf pistons (even those for big-blocks) to the 1.5-1.5-3mm standard; below 3.5-inch bore sizes, Mahle is going to 1.0-1.2-2.5mm packages.
One workaround for running thin rings on a big-bore motor is gas porting. Pistons can be gas-ported via vertical holes in the piston deck or lateral slots in the top of the first ring groove. Gas porting allows combustion pressure to directly enter behind the top ring on the power stroke, pressuring the area behind the top ring for enhanced sealing. The ring retains normal tension for reduced friction through the rest of the four-stroke cycle. Vertical holes are more common for drag cars; oval trackers seem to prefer lateral gas ports, which are more resistant to carbon fouling under long-term use. &#;Gas porting will increase horsepower on every application, but it does wear rings out faster,&#; Gillis cautions.
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The three-piece oil ring remains standard in most applications, but the configuration cont
Most small-blocks have 4- or 4.125-inch-based bores. In this range, everyone says 1.2mm (0.043-inch) or 1.5mm compression rings with 2.5mm or 3mm oil rings are acceptable in nearly every case. Old-school Chevy small-blocks should probably stay to the high side, and the latest new-gen engines to the lower side. And even serious power-adder apps can go thin if the rings are made from steel and nitride-coated.
Want to go thinner yet, like the Cup guys? You&#;ll need positive crankcase evacuation induced by a vacuum pump plus a dry-sump lubrication system. Of course, successfully running these thin rings requires a complementary piston and enhanced machining.
The Piston
To work properly, thin rings must be absolutely flat with no runout. According to Gillis, &#;Rings seal at the bottom of the piston ring groove as well as the outside perimeter of the ring. As the rings got flatter, we had to make the ring grooves flatter.&#; Only modern, precision CNC-machining can achieve such absolutely flat piston ring grooves. &#;You don&#;t make pistons on a lathe anymore,&#; Gabrielson says with a chuckle. The plus or minus tolerances have been tightened up to such an extent that some manufacturers now claim to hold tolerances to the millionths of an inch (one microinch or 0.).
Piston skirt profile and machining have also changed. Manufacturers have found that the piston skirt cam and barrel shape affect ring seal and stability. Even whether the skirt profile is turned (machined) from the oil ring down or from the bottom up has an effect. We all have our own pet theories.
Since the advent of the car, enthusiasts have been hunting for ways to improve performance. Today, the ever-swelling aftermarket industry is proof enough that this trend is more prevalent than ever. While off-the-shelf methods to unlock power (i.e. intake, exhaust, or software) will likely prevail as preferred upgrades, there have long been tactics that die-hard engine builders have utilized to extract every ounce of performance from their motors. Here, the quantifiable gains that commonplace upgrades afford become blurry, but for good reason: there isn&#;t a one-size-fits-all solution for power. As it is with most things, the devil is in the details.
While more commonplace mods offer visual and performance lifts simultaneously, the more nuanced upgrades are most often hidden under the skin. Case in point, a typical enthusiast will choose a set of coilovers over a spherical control arm bushing, even if both offer tangible benefits. But the enthusiast we&#;re talking about today isn&#;t concerned with the &#;this or that&#; equation &#; it&#;s the car that opts for both.
When engine builders have exhausted (no pun intended) all the engine performance options available, the only option is to consider how the car is going to be used. An exacting vantage point at this stage will allow a builder to make meaningful adjustments to the engine to extract maximum performance. For example, fitting a set of forged pistons could offer tighter cylinder-to-wall clearances and improved temperature stability, or strength for more detonation resistance. But there&#;s one component that offers its own set of benefits that is often overlooked: piston rings.
At the core, a piston ring is like an open-ended &#;bracelet&#; for your piston. As the engine approaches its normal operating temperature, the gap in the piston ring will lessen as a consequence of the material absorbing heat. Here, its main function is to seal the combustion chamber to minimize gas loss to the crankcase. Tangentially, a piston ring will also ensure adequate oil exists in two crucial areas: 1.) between the piston and the cylinder wall and 2.) recirculated oil from the cylinder wall into the sump.
Ring gap is the available space between both ends of the piston ring at ambient temperature. This space can be adjusted so that it approaches full &#;closure&#; once the engine reaches its optimum operating temperature. In general, the smallest gap provides the best seal for combustion and prevents excessive blow-by. The result of this is more performance and reduced emissions. It is critical to observe the fitted gap at the operating temperature because, as aforementioned, the ring material will expand as heat builds. A gap that is too narrow is arguably more detrimental; at operating temperature, the ends of the ring may collide which can lead to ring deformation, bore scoring, or more severe engine damage.
Aftermarket performance manufacturers, like MAHLE Motorsport, will offer piston ring sets with predetermined gaps based on the engine&#;s application and performance use.
MAHLE Motorsport pioneered the use of piston ring simulation and computer development tools to engineer rings that unlock horsepower by successfully minimizing friction &#; the bane to any forward propulsion. These tools, along with modern advancements in construction materials and coating technology, have led to another breakthrough: the &#;thin ring&#; piston ring set.
We spoke to Joseph Maylish at MAHLE Motorsport to gather expert insight on their latest technological innovation and three ways it leads to more performance, whether from increased efficiency or reduced friction:
Joseph Maylish, Marketing Manager at MAHLE Motorsport: Amongst older schools of thought, there are still strong beliefs that a 1/16&#;, 1/16&#;, and 3/16&#; ring pack is better than MAHLE&#;s 1.0, 1.0, and 2.0mm new &#;thin&#; rings. Few argue against the ability of thinner rings to free up horsepower in the right application, but the concerns are usually based on longevity and value: will these rings last, and are they worth it?
Our modern ring pack is much more than just &#;thin&#;. The advancement of material and coating technology, particularly the widespread use of high-strength steel, creates a ring that is far more durable than any cast or ductile option. Granted, you can apply these advanced materials to any size ring, but that won&#;t overcome the cross-sectional area differences which allow the thinner rings to be lighter and more conformable.
This means you can design for less radial tension to achieve the same or better sealing of combustion gases. Furthermore, less tension throughout all four strokes of the engine results in less wear on the face of the rings and less wear on the cylinder walls. Steel is also a better conductor of heat and can withstand longer durations of high-temperature operation without concern for the rings &#;losing tension&#;.
The performance industry is driven by the continued evolution towards lighter, faster, and stronger components; piston rings are no exception. A 1.0mm compression ring can be up to 50% less mass compared to a 1/16&#; ring. That mass reduction has a 1:1 benefit: a 50% reduction in the inertia force exerted on that ring. In turn, sustained operation at higher RPM is smoother because of reduced ring flutter and with it, a more reliable seal between the ring and piston groove itself.
What is often overlooked, is that the engine bore will never be perfectly cylindrical while in operation. The magnitude of this distortion may be difficult to perceive and is often measured in microns, but it is well within the range to allow cylinder pressure to escape the combustion space. When we add in distortion from mechanical loading and deformation, the conditions are only worsened. Older ring designs simply rely on brute force (tension) to overcome these challenges.
The modern, more conformable rings are a cost-effective way to increase sealing, reduce friction, and ultimately provide a durable increase in horsepower and torque that engine builders and racers alike will agree is a win-win combination.
We want to thank Joseph Maylish of MAHLE Motorsport for his time and sharing his knowledge about their piston ring offerings. If you&#;re interested in learning more about MAHLE or its engine products, visit the company&#;s website for more information.
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