low tension ring package

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o1heavy

o1heavy

1974 dart sport
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tarkington
has anyone used a low tension ring package on a strip/street car

reassembling a proven package and looking to pick a few ponies

my machinist has a excellent finish hone
just looking for someone with some experince with them
 
On a street or street/strip car there is no reason to use a low tension ring stack. The are run at low rpm and high vacuum way too much for low tension rings.
 
All the newer high performance engines, Gen 3 Hemi, LS GM and so forth all have skinny rings and low tension oil rings. With the machining available to day it's not an issue. Now if it was just a bone stock rebuild for a daily driver, yeah sure, what's the difference. But with todays superior machining and tolerances I say go for it.

Now just to clarify I wouldn't stick a low tension ring pack in a higher mileage motor that was just dingleball honed or something like that but a fresh performance rebuild, yeah, I have no problems with that.
 
Guitar Jones said:
All the newer high performance engines, Gen 3 Hemi, LS GM and so forth all have skinny rings and low tension oil rings. With the machining available to day it's not an issue. Now if it was just a bone stock rebuild for a daily driver, yeah sure, what's the difference. But with todays superior machining and tolerances I say go for it.

Now just to clarify I wouldn't stick a low tension ring pack in a higher mileage motor that was just dingleball honed or something like that but a fresh performance rebuild, yeah, I have no problems with that.
Click to expand...

What you have to remember is the newer engines use EFI, much tighter tolerances, less bore size/less stroke. This is important because a v8 using looser rod side clearance, and looser piston to wall tolerances will have more windage and put alot more oil on the cylinders.
I've sub'd out lighter rings for more tension (oil rings specifically) and found MORE power by keeping the oil out of the chamber.

However...if you keep tolerances tight, and build it effectively for that purpose, there is power to be had.
I like to use the GFX rings from Wiseco, .047/.047/3mm is the most common I use in 4" bore's.

Trial and error!!
Brian
 
Like Brian said.. I'm all for thin rings because the clearances are tighter and good pistons can keep them stable. But low tension IMO is a mistake on a street car, especially running the 10% ethanol crap fuel we have. I'm not saying there's not power to be had. I'm saying to get that power is too much of a risk for me on a street car.
 
Well.....regardless of the arguement, the rings are the number one point of friction in an internal combustion engine. That said, use the ones you think best suits your needs.
 
decided to use totalseal ring p# ml9090 which is 16lbs ring
i'll let you guys know if it dont work out
also using the kb190s

like brian says Trial and error!!
 
It'll be fine. Like all the old timers I ever met used to say. A motor that puts out a touch of oil smoke is usually one to look out for.
 
StrokerScamp said:
It'll be fine. Like all the old timers I ever met used to say. A motor that puts out a touch of oil smoke is usually one to look out for.
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Darn right, because burning that oil and dragging it around in the compression rings robs perfectly good power...

An old timer once told me leaving the oil rings out makes more power because of less drag too... Not all old timers are right. maybe it worked when racing the old dipper 216 chev or flathead fords, the oil in the cylinder displaced the air and raised compression...... :toothy10:
 
You'll be fine. Remember it's the oil that lives in the micro scratches of the cylinder wall from the hone job that seals the rings. How much tension do you think it takes to scrape the cylinder wall of excess oil?

If you want a surprise take a standard 5/64 5/64 3/16 standard tension oil ring pack install it with a piston in the cylinder. Then get a fish scale and pull that piston and ring pack through the bore. Upwards of 45 lbs to pull that through, multiply that by 8 and you get the idea of how much horsepower is used just to push the pistons up and down.

The newer engines use smaller bores for emissions reason, not because of the rings. The smaller bore and moving the top ring up as close to the top of the piston as possible reduces the dirty area where unburned hydrocarbons build up.
 
i think it will be fine also but we'll see
the machine shop in my area is very well respected
he cost more and takes longer than anyone in the area and has been in the business for 25 years
and he believes it is all the the bore finish


in his dirt track engines he uses the 8lb ring in a wet sump crankcase
without any problems /has even tore them down after roughly 40 miles of racing time without any signs of oil in the chamber

i'am going to try it
 
Tom Ward who won the Gatornationals in 82 in his division, in a Plymouth station wagon ran no oil control rings at all. Sure it smoked some but the increase in power due to the reduced friction was greater than the reduction of power by extra oil in the chamber.
 
You'll have to let us know. I don't see the few successful examples given doing much idling or low speed/cold operation. There's definately power to be had. I just don't agree it's worth going after.
 
finally got my 360 back in and running ( machine shop very slow or busy not sure which )
got a header that is being a pain as sun as the leak is fixed i'll start driving it
and let you guys know how the low tension rings are working
 
got roughly 400 miles on the engine and have not had any trouble yet
engine seams to be running hard ,should be at the track with a few weeks

i think it will be a little faster
 
pulled the heads to look at the pistons found them coated with heavy cooked oil ( pretty bad)
pulled the engine to replace the low tension oil rings

so i guess it didnt work
 
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