Piston ring question for 1327 Wiseco pistons

[Flo]

Hi,

I got an old Orient Express block here honed already with 80mm Wiseco (I believe) pistons. That stuff is at least 10 years old, but was never used.

Two questions:
-I do not know which of the rings is supposed to be top, which second ring. Both have same dimensions and a top-marking. One has more open ring gap (so more tension I guess) and is black (cast I guess) opposite to the other one looking like chrome. Which one should be top?

-What ring gap should I aim for? They measure around 0.25mm (about .01"). Is that enough? Should I file them? I do not have a ring grinder, so I would liek to avoid that?

Looking for real world info. Maybe someone from APE jumping in?

Best regards
Flo

[TSCC]

Ring Chart

http://www.wiseco.com/PDFs/Catalogs/CB07/Comp-Rings.pdf

[rapidray]

You have an XG ring set & the chrome ring is top ring, black is second. Ray.

[Flo]

thanks, that is great help already! Any more info on the ring gap?

What makes me ask is this:

http://wiseco.com/PDFs/Manuals/RingEndGap.pdf

Should I just assume the rings are fine for my bores?

[rapidray]

Just make sure the ring end gaps are within the specs listed for YOUR usage. If you need to increase the ring end gaps, take the block, rings, & 1 piston to an automotive machine shop that does RACING engines & they will be able to help you. Or you could buy a ring end gap ginder from Jegs, Summit, or APE. Ray.

[Flo]

thanks for the answers!
I do not have any docs what piston ring gap I should run. According to that chart from Wisecos page it would be more like .36mm for the top ring.
Sent an email to APE and they said my .25mm is minimum but will work.
I will just leave it alone and install it.

Maybe sounds weird but there are pretty much no machine shops around here (Germany) who do race engines of any kind. Appreciate everyone's help.

Flo

[rapidray]

If you click on the Wiseco ring link above it tells you .005 per inch of bore for the top ring & .0055 per inch of bore for the second ring. Your bore is 3.110 so multiply that by .005 & you get .0155 ring end gap for the TOP ring. Multiply 3.110 by .0055 & you get .017 gap for the second ring. Ray.

[Flo]

@Ray: you mention exactly the chart I was referring to first, which translates to the mm-numbers (.36mm) I mentioned. That is why I asked in the first place, hope someone had some experience with this. APE said the .25mm I got are OK...

I never filed a piston ring before, did not want to screw up anything... this file-to-fit-approach just sounded weird to me.
Already have the block on with copper gasket and silicon... I guess I am just going to assemble and fire it up spring and see next what is going to happen..

[rapidray]

OK, but if you pinch the rings because you don't have enough end gap it will DESTROY your cylinders & pistons & you'll have to go to next size overbore! It's much cheaper to buy a couple of gaskets & do it now. Ray.

[Big Jay]

Ray;
Wiseco rings have a lot of gap, that is why they state those figures. .003" per inch of bore has always worked without any ring butting. Ask Byron if he would run .017 on an 80 mm bore.

Jay

[rapidray]

Jay, have you looked at the Wiseco ring gap chart listed above? It shows the MINIMUM gap at .005 on the top ring & .0055 on the second ring for a street motor. I, also, used to go by the 3 thousandths per inch rule but the new stuff has different expansion rates. Ask Snake next time you talk to him. Ray.

[Flo]

Hi Ray,
I may have forgotten to write that, but these parts are at least ten years old, if not older. they were never used, but they are not new.
Thanks to all involved, I got just the real-world-info here which I was looking for!
Flo