[llwta76]

Gathering stuff for my 440" re-do that's mostly street w/ a little strip time ( a few times a yr). I'm leaning towards Total Seal CR 0690-60 slightly filed-to-fit my 4.181 bore. Ross pistons are being re-used . Good choice or do you recommend something better? Thanks for your thoughts! Larry

[steve25]

Those rings will be a good pick, but after you file them be sure to break the top end and bottom end of the rings with a soap stone or such,or they will little by little cut open the ring grove as they rotate around the piston and by by goes your compression!
Also break I the end of the ring that rides on the cylinder wall as these cut ends are many times the sourse of scratches in the walls.
Like wise you should check the ring grove clearance in those pistons if they are used, more than .004" of ring to groove clearance is a issue!

[gtofreek]

Also, Pistons come in different radial depth's on the ring grooves. It is important to have rings with the proper radial depth for the piston. The radial depth is how deep the ring groove is. The groove should be about .005" deeper than the ring. I stick the ring in the groove, upside down, and make sure it goes completely into the piston and does not stick out. If it sticks out, you will ruin the cylinders and pistons as soon as the engine warms up. You don't want a lot of radial clearance either, as this reduces the pressure on the backside of the ring to keep it sealing. If your rings are 1/16"x1/16"x3/16" You probably won't have an issue with this as most, if not all 1/16" rings are made with a standard radial depth. Other ring sizes can vary a lot in depth.

This should ALWAYS be checked when assembling an engine.

[llwta76]

I thank the both of you for the great tips! Larry

[Dick Boneske]

A friend that built many Pontiac engines says "Do not use Total Seal rings!" He recommends file fit Speed Pro rings.

He said every Pontiac he built with Total Seal rings smoked due to oil bypassing the rings--but not with Speed Pro.

Any opinions?

[gtofreek]

Originally Posted by Dick Boneske

A friend that built many Pontiac engines says "Do not use Total Seal rings!" He recommends file fit Speed Pro rings.

He said every Pontiac he built with Total Seal rings smoked due to oil bypassing the rings--but not with Speed Pro.

Any opinions?

I think your engine builder is referring to Total Seal Gapless rings, which should be avoided for N/A engines. They work good in heavily boosted applications.

Total Seal also makes standard gapped rings which are every bit as good as Speed-Pro rings, and I wouldn't hesitate to run those. The OP did not say gapless rings so I am assuming he was looking at the regular rings.

[Mr. P-Body]

Total Seal "Classic" is the name. Decent ring. Speed Pro is also a good ring (Sealed Power). Hasting makes good moly rings, too. We use Hastings "Race" rings in most non-stock builds. Speed Pro and Hell Fire when called for. Butler provides the Total Seal Classics with their pistons, but I've only seen them in "file-fit".

File-fit is "better" when the bore size used isn't "exact" for the piston being used. We (engine builders) adjust clearances for various applications. If there's a "drop-in" ring that maintains the correct gap (instructions for calculating the gap are with most ring sets), it's ALWAYS better to use it. File-fit is not "better" simply by virtue of being "file-fit". A .030 over 455 ring would be fine in a 4.181" bore with no need for "fit".

If those are Butler Ross pistons, they accept the standard 1/16, 1/16, 3/16 ring pack used by most today. Paul's point about radial depth is valid.

FWIW

Jim

[HWYSTR455]

Yeah, the CR after the part number indicates 'Classic Race', and are file fit. Generally I go a little big on ring gaps, even if I don't plan on spraying, there's a safety factor there, and no real drawback. So I tend to order file fit rings. I've used the Hastings as well with great results. Last SpeedPros I used were on TRW slugs.

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