Another Question About Ring Gap
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On The Tree
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Another Question About Ring Gap I will be taking my motor in to the engine builder in a couple months (junkyard lq4) for a bit of a refresh. Going to have him hone the cylinders and put in new rod/crank/cam bearings for sure.
My questions are:
1. Do I have new rings put in it or leave the stock 110k ones in?
2. Should I have him gap the rings (whether they be stock or replaced)?
I have read that the formula for determining gap size is between .0065 and .006 x bore. Does this apply for stock, replaced, or both?
Edit: cylinders had to be bored so the question now is "What do the brand new rings need to be gapped to on a 4.030 bore?"
My questions are:
1. Do I have new rings put in it or leave the stock 110k ones in?
2. Should I have him gap the rings (whether they be stock or replaced)?
I have read that the formula for determining gap size is between .0065 and .006 x bore. Does this apply for stock, replaced, or both?
Edit: cylinders had to be bored so the question now is "What do the brand new rings need to be gapped to on a 4.030 bore?"
Last edited by 1Legged60ftHnter; Feb 18, 2012 at 09:09 PM.
If your doing all that work I don't know why you wouldn't buy new rings. They seem cheap enough for safe assurance. As far as ring gaps, I left my turbo 5.3 at the stock gap. People seem to have good luck re-gapping them though, but I don't know much about it.
No,dont reuse your rings. At the very least buy rings. You should save up some more money and get some good rods and pistons. Half the cost of a built motor is machine work.
On The Tree
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From: Grapevine,TX
If your getting new rings, you might as well open the gaps, an extra .005 isn't going to hurt a thing. Most open the second ring farther than the first to control top ring flutter,(when combustion pressure builds between the two rings and forces the top ring upwards, unseating it) hard to prove but have heard this from many builders.
Last edited by quik67; Jan 21, 2012 at 09:48 PM.
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If your getting new rings, you might as well open the gaps, an extra .005 isn't going to hurt a thing. Most open the second ring farther than the first to control top ring flutter,(when combustion pressure builds between the two rings and forces the top ring upwards, unseating it) hard to prove but have heard this from many builders.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2011
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I would love to put some good rods and pistons in the motor, but I don't feel like adding another $1k worth of parts is something I want to try and swing at this point in time. I really do not have a hp goal so whatever it makes I will be happy with (the 10 bolt wont though lol).
I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on how far to gap the rings, but who has actually done this on a 4" bore and how far did you gap them? I want this to be a fairly reliable (mostly stock) bottom end. The reason for honing is because a couple of the cylinders need some cleaning up.
I would have thought that .032/.035 would be too much gap even for a 6.0... maybe this needs some rethinking? The plan is currently to be running between 8-10psi on 93 (if this makes a difference). If I ever were to step up to e85 I doubt I would take it over 12, but who knows. This thing has already snowballed so far. Pretty soon Im going to want to run 50#. LOL
I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on how far to gap the rings, but who has actually done this on a 4" bore and how far did you gap them? I want this to be a fairly reliable (mostly stock) bottom end. The reason for honing is because a couple of the cylinders need some cleaning up.
I would have thought that .032/.035 would be too much gap even for a 6.0... maybe this needs some rethinking? The plan is currently to be running between 8-10psi on 93 (if this makes a difference). If I ever were to step up to e85 I doubt I would take it over 12, but who knows. This thing has already snowballed so far. Pretty soon Im going to want to run 50#. LOL
I would love to put some good rods and pistons in the motor, but I don't feel like adding another $1k worth of parts is something I want to try and swing at this point in time. I really do not have a hp goal so whatever it makes I will be happy with (the 10 bolt wont though lol).
I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on how far to gap the rings, but who has actually done this on a 4" bore and how far did you gap them? I want this to be a fairly reliable (mostly stock) bottom end. The reason for honing is because a couple of the cylinders need some cleaning up.
I would have thought that .032/.035 would be too much gap even for a 6.0... maybe this needs some rethinking? The plan is currently to be running between 8-10psi on 93 (if this makes a difference). If I ever were to step up to e85 I doubt I would take it over 12, but who knows. This thing has already snowballed so far. Pretty soon Im going to want to run 50#. LOL
I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on how far to gap the rings, but who has actually done this on a 4" bore and how far did you gap them? I want this to be a fairly reliable (mostly stock) bottom end. The reason for honing is because a couple of the cylinders need some cleaning up.
I would have thought that .032/.035 would be too much gap even for a 6.0... maybe this needs some rethinking? The plan is currently to be running between 8-10psi on 93 (if this makes a difference). If I ever were to step up to e85 I doubt I would take it over 12, but who knows. This thing has already snowballed so far. Pretty soon Im going to want to run 50#. LOL
Piston ring gap formulas
Bottom ring gap should be 20-30% larger than top ring gap.
Top rings
NA gap = .004" per inch of bore diameter
Oval track = .0045" per inch of bore diameter
N20 = .005" per inch of bore diameter
Turbo/super = .006" per inch of bore diameter.
Staging Lane
Joined: Nov 2011
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From: Australia
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Dec 2011
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Bumping this back to the top. My engine builder said that if it was him he would put a smaller gap on the bottom ring for boost. I'd like to trust him and think he knows what he is doing, but what do I say to that? What are the reasons for having a larger gap on the bottom ring? (he said .024 top ring and .020 bottom ring)
Or am I completely backwards and the top ring means "closest to the crank, and bottom ring means "closest to the cylinder head"?
Or am I completely backwards and the top ring means "closest to the crank, and bottom ring means "closest to the cylinder head"?
OP, Have you read the big bang theory article?? Hot Rod Magazine tried to push a stock bottom LS motor to the point of failure using a twin turbo setup. Surprisingly the shortblock held up amazingly to multiple 1000hp+ pulls and the only thing they modified was the top ring gap. Just a little food for thought.
Thread Starter
On The Tree
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I should add: Plans have changed! the motor had to be bored because of damage in the cylinders so I had to order some rods and pistons. I got racetec -20cc pistons and eagle rods (trying to keep it on a budget). Doubt that changes the ring gap numbers by TOO much (I know some), but I will not be using the stock rings any more.
