Best Gasket Rope RMS
 

I know there is much on the board on this subject. This is just a simple question. I would like to hear from anyone who has success with the Best Gasket rope RMS in a drag car application. By success I mean it didn't leak. Thanks

I have a 455 that's been together since 2003 never kept track of miles was a daily driver, tightest engine, trans, rear end, power steering muscle car i have ever owned.. If there is any spots under it today it would be a new issue

Oh yeah a 350 that i crammed together fast in 2016 to move a shell not many miles but its tight

My 433 on the run stand may be another story during initial running had a high speed miss that pressurized the crankcase a bit displacing the RMS at parting line, A strand pokes out the back, ... NOT the seals fault, ..... Its not what i would call leaking just an occasional drip

I don't have a problem with them, Pack them proper, new razor blade to cut with using their notched tongue depressor

Why would you want to add so much friction to a race engine by using a rope seal?
The one piece seals work perfectly when installed right and when that seal area is polished some if it’s a factor crank.

Also I may be wrong, but I don’t think that new non factory rope seals made these days compact up as well as the factory ones did due to the change in there make up.

The new seals are made with a fiberglass material as opposed to the original asbestos, and in fact the new seals can’t really be packed like the originals.
Fiberglass to me is also more abrasive.

In this photo the bottom seal is the original type.

I have had good luck, not perfect, with the" Best" Brand rope seal. I use them when a BOP seal won't work properly, which may be 1 out of 10. If I have a BOP that leaks, then I try one. Generally this occurs when a block has been line honed so many times a larger than normal portion of the housing bore around the parting line is no longer round. The bearings don't care but a rigid seal does. Also, since the blocks were originally designed for a rope, that groove if often not machined very round and true to begin with. A rope doesn't care if packed properly. The "Best" brand rope is graphite impregnated. They seem to work fine. I don't have any drag race engine only examples to report but I don't see why they would be an issue. Most of the street engines I work on do not see high miles. A random drip occasionally is all I have seen. Which is great for a Pontiac.
Surprisingly, almost all the rope seal drag is gone after break-in. It's like it isn't even in there. Seems the crank packs it into the groove better than any of us can.

The Best seal doesn't leak usually. It's uncommon for it to shred and plug the oil pump pick up.

Installed Best Gasket seal in 65 drag car in March of 2023.
Have made about 40 passes since then with no leaks and no issues.
Eagle crank

I appreciate the responses. I have tried the BOP one piece and two piece multiple times without success. I tried the Best Gasket rope seal recently on my street car engine and no leaks so far. Steve25, the Best Gasket rope seal is NOT fiberglass. The ones that come from Felpro are fiberglass but not the Best Gasket ones.

Where do you get the Best Gasket ones? Freshening a 400 shortblock that had a 90s rope in it .

Wade has them.
https://www.bopengineering.com/A_Pon..._Seals_1.shtml

Butler sells them also..... You just have to ask for them because they no longer recommend that product

Thanks guys.

eBay seller bop_engineering...
350/400 6380S https://www.ebay.com/itm/225936470286
428/455 6382S https://www.ebay.com/itm/225936479996

I bought mine through DCI

GT

Tim, do you want a original asbestos gasket ? A member sent me one for free awhile back. My project it seems will not happen, I gave my Eagle cast crank to my brother.
Mine is for a 3" main.
I will pass it on if you want it. I want to see it put to use, doing nobody any good in my toolbox.
Besides, I am a BOP one piece guy now. It took me two tried to get it right. Time consuming but I got it down. All it takes is one picture of a shredded Best gasket clogging a oil pump pickup for me to say, nope.

Just sent you a PM

they do have them on their site, i ordered one the other night.

I only tried a 2 piece bop rear main once… it leaked like a sieve on the dyno. Put a best gasket in it and have never tried the bop seal since.