RING FEATURES:
Gas Ported Rings direct cylinder pressure to the back of the ring through these machined horizontal slots placed around the ring. The pressure pushes against the inside of the ring forcing it outward to improve ring seal.
Improved ring-to-wall-sealing is the main goal for Total Seal’s Gas Ported Rings, but another benefit is longer oil life. With improved sealing comes less blow-by which reduces the amount of carbon that reaches the oil, thus increasing the life of the engine oil.
This example of a gas ported piston shows where the port next to the exhaust valve filled with carbon creating a hot spot leading to excessive damage.
FEATURES:
There are three areas where leakage can be reduced when it comes to piston rings; the ring end gap, around the groove and between the face and the cylinder wall.
The smoother the ring surface, the less areas are available for high cylinder pressures to leak past the rings and into the crankcase. This effect, commonly referred to as blow-by, results in loss of efficiency in each cylinder effectively reducing the power of the engine. Total Seal’s Diamond Finish creates the smoothest finish of any piston ring, but to get a better idea of surface roughness, you need to think smaller. Very small
The number one goal of Total Seal’s Diamond Finish Rings is to increase the efficiency of the engine so it can produce as much power as possible and with improved piston-to-ring sealing, there are also other benefits. With improved ring sealing, the oil stays cleaner due to less blow-by occurring. Reduced blow-by can also help lower oil temperatures since less highly heated combustion gasses enter the crankcase of the engine. Lower oil temps combined with less contamination leads to longer oil life which over a race season will lead to budget savings!
Another side benefit of Total Seal’s Diamond Finish rings is their lightweight. The axial thickness of a Diamond Finish ring is held at +/- .000050-inch (that’s fifty-millionths of an inch) compared to a typical production ring which are about +/-.0005-inch. Less wight on each piston equates to less rotational mass resulting in improved acceleration of the engine. As an example, a typical .043-inch by .155-inch ring weighs 9.5 grams while a Diamond Finish .027mm ring weighs only 4.7 grams! Also, a thinner ring can conform to the cylinder wall better while also reducing friction as another way to improve the sealing and efficiency of an engine.
If a high performance race engine is in your future, there’s never been a better time to step up to a set of Diamond Finish rings as Total Seal now offers their premiere rings in sets! The Sets include a 0.8mm top and second ring paired with 3mm oil rings. If you these lightweight, thin rings aren’t in your wheelhouse, Total Seal offers their Diamond Finish on their gapless and ported rings and on rings up to 1/16”.
RING FEATURES:
Conforming to pressure may often be looked at as a sign of weakness or compromise. In engines, compromise is a necessary evil that engine builders strive to minimize. From ignition timing to fuel curves, component strength or weight savings, it’s a never ending trade off in terms of compromises in order to gain overall performance.
However, conforming to pressure takes on a completely new discussion when it comes to sealing the cylinder, and the experts at Total Seal Piston Rings take conforming very seriously. Piston rings have one of the toughest jobs in an engine as any leakage past the rings results in an inefficiency that not only diminishes the power of the engine, but also degrades the ability of the motor oil to properly lubricate. Total Seal has the answer on how best to conform to (cylinder) pressures.
Sealed Benefits
When it comes to a better ring seal, not only does the engine become more efficient through the four strokes of the engine, but less combustion gasses leaking into the crankcase means the engine oil stays cleaner longer. Clean oil and cooler oil protect the engine better, which increases oil life and the longevity of the engine itself.
Total Seal offers the Total Conform rings in AP Steel and with their top line Diamond Finish, depending on the application and use of the engine. Total Conform rings can be made from either stainless steel or tool steel, depending on the demand of the application. Due to these variances, it’s best to call one of Total Seal’s tech experts to discuss the engine build to ensure the best ring possible for the build.
Localized Distortion
The cylinders of all engines experience some form of localized distortion due to heat, head bolt positions and sleeve materials. The best example to illustrate these differentiations is to use a big bore, long stroke engine. The temperatures at the top of the cylinder are higher than the temps at the bottom of the cylinder which leads to different rates of expansion. This example is especially prevalent in thin sleeve aluminum blocks as the materials expand unevenly under temperature changes.
When cylinder distortion occurs, it causes leakage points between the piston rings and the cylinder wall. Piston rings are typically designed to seal a round cylinder, so any distortions to the cylinder can cause gaps between the cylinder and the rings leading to increased blow-by. Put simply, a loss of efficiency.
Due to this physics of these alterations, the piston ring would need to change the shape of the outer diameter as the engine operates. While a traditional piston ring design allows for some conformability, there’s just no way it change shape enough to seal as effectively as the cylinder bores distort due to heat, pressure and mechanical stresses. Or is there? Total Seal now offers a solution with their Total Conform top rings.
Constant Conforming
The Total Conform Ring is a unique design for the top compression ring. The patented ring has a series of radial notches around its inner diameter which allows the ring’s outer diameter to shift its shape, allowing it to conform to the distortions in the cylinder wall. This radiused form reduces stress risers as well as the chance of the ring fracturing while maximizing its ability to conform to the ever changing cylinder form to produce a more effective seal.
Joe Gibbs Racing recently performed a test of the Total Conform rings on an iron sleeved, aluminum block developed for an off-road race truck. The engine featured a wide bore and used Total Seal’s .8 mm Diamond Finish rings as the base line for the test. When fitted with a Diamond Finish Total Conform ring (also .8 mm), the engine produced 50% less blow-by! Where there is blow-by, there is lost power and a 50% reduction is substantial in any engine.
The form shifting abilities of the Total Conform ring was designed to seal in combustion pressures, but their design also resulted in a lighter and more flexible ring. The radial notches of the ring also provide an area where cylinder pressures can push the ring out to assist in sealing to the cylinder wall much like a gas ported ring.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
Gapless™ technology and high performance piston ring sets for the diesel engine ranks is now available. With their extremely high cylinder pressures, the benefits of Gapless™ rings for diesel engines are even greater than they are for gas.
By eliminating the excessive blow-by characteristics common to diesel engines, Total Seal® Gapless™ second rings help these engines unleash their full potential, turning them into true horsepower and torque monsters.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
DIESEL HSS RINGS
Provides superior ring seal and decreased blow-by.
Total Seal® 2.0mm Rectangular High Speed Steel (HSS) top rings for Diesel aftermarket high performance pistons.
Total Seal® pioneered Gapless™ technology over 50 years ago. Gapless™ piston ring design provides consistent performance that doesn’t fade with opening end gaps. They are used for all aspects of Motorsports, Diesel, Industrial, Compressors and Aviation.
Total Seal® Gapless™ patented Top or 2nd Piston Rings provide:
Why Choose a Gapless™ Top or Gapless™ 2nd Ring?
A Gapless™ top provides the greatest performance benefit (increased horsepower and crankcase vacuum). However, a Gapless™ 2nd provides excellent oil control and blow-by prevention (less oil consumption). As such, we typically recommend a Gapless® top for naturally aspirated applications, especially V8 and straight engines. For flat (horizontally opposed) engines and turbo or surper-charged engines, we recommend a Gapless™ 2nd. Most Total Seal® piston ring styles are available in Gapless® configurations.
Get the same horsepower producing piston ring technology that Total Seal® delivers to the top engine builders in Cup, IRL, NHRA, IHRA, and Formula 1.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
Total Seal Ultra-Thin Ring Packs offer maximum efficiency and significantly reduced friction for normally aspirated engines.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
Utilize tighter tolerances, sharp-edgetechnology, and PVD coatings for superior performance.
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
FEATURES AND BENEFITS:
FEATURES AND BENEFITS: