[christopher406]

you said that gapless rings are detonation prone, why is that? Also did you mean that the top rings that come in gapless ring sets are pre-gapped. I have a 406sbc that is my daily driver but probably shouldn't be, it has a full spool 4.56 gears and a 3800stall. It goes 11's in street trim. Recently I ran into some fuel problems which made the car crap out at 6000rpm in third gear, about a month of this problem finally hammered my main bearings, so I'm rebuilding the motor. What rings do you think i should put in it , it has been run for about a year. It is 30 over, the bores were exact for each piston, they're SRP, and it was torque plate honed. It had Speed-Pro moly rings. Upon tearing it apart i noticed a good amount of oily crud on the pistons was this blowby? The guy at total seal told me to have it honed with a 280 grit stone to knock the glaze off and to put a TS1 race set of rings installed dry, preferrably with the quickseat powder? Do you have any input.

[4 Jaw Chuck]

Hi Chris! I didn't say the gapless rings were detonation prone it's just that the have a nasty habit of breaking off the overlapping tangs if the rings go into flutter at high rpm or heavy detonation, the z rings are better but you can't gap them...I like to gap my own rings.

The moly rings are what I use all the time and are the best in my opinion. In your case if it was my motor I would torque plate the engine and hone with 400 grit or finer unless the bores are scratched or out of round or tapered. A fine finish is easy on the moly ring and breaks in almost immediately. Japanese engine builders have been using superfine finishes for years and as long as the bores are straight to begin with, the engine will last much longer. These fine finishes require the utmost care in building the motor and when your done the bores look like dull mirrors.

The oily residue is inevitable and is indicative of high temperature shellac formation, synthetic oil reduces this phenomena and is what I recommend you run once the engine is broken in. You cannot prevent blowby and if you did the second ring would be unnecessary, the high pressure combustion gases are required to seat/seal the ring. If there is a substancial streaking on the skirts your rings where not sealing well, what did the engine leak down at?

What the hell is quickseat powder? Sounds like moly powder which would mean you don't need oil to lubricate the cylinder walls, I have never tried it...but I might!

Did you fix the fuel problem?

An 11 second car with a full spool and 4.56 gears as a daily driver????? Are you crazy? Going for milk and bread for the family must be a blast. The police must know you by name....mine did. <img src="graemlins/boxing.gif" border="0" alt="[boxing]" />

[christopher406]

Quick Seat Powder is made by Total Seal you rub it on the bores dry it supposed to instantly seal the rings. A populular engine builder in my area swears by it and so do other builders I've talked to. And I wasn't fibbing about my car it is the only vehicle I own, I'm 19 work at an auto parts store and am paying for Junior College by myself. Although friday nights in my car are great the weekday is a pain. although my car has a full interior and looks stock save for 31/2's in front and 2756015's out back it is a hassle because of no AC or heat and half the time my electric windows don't work, the power seat works all the time though. You would never guess my car has run as quick as 11.82 by the way it looks or sounds. Despite the fun, I need a beater truck. Thanks for the insight 4-Jaw

[christopher406]

Yes i fixed the fuel problem it seems as though my 130 qph 14psi mechanical pump was to much for my stock fuel lines. Also the way it was plumbed was very questionable. Yes the cops no me due to my fair shair of street racing, I was never caught, I'd say I've raced at least 50 times on the street. After that stupid fast and the furious movie all the imports and turd monsters in my town started racing, there is so much police presence at the cruise nites that I'll never race on the street again, also at the speeds i'm going now it would be retarded to race on the street.

[4 Jaw Chuck]

Very Wise. You only have to get the wits scared out of you once.

You might find it hard to find an engine builder who has 400 grit hones, most builders prefer a rougher bore because it covers mistakes and is foolproof. As long as you have nice round bores do it. You can do the same thing by using 400 grit sandpaper over the honing stones and deglaze that way, change paper often until the glaze is gone. Use aluminum oxide abrasive paper not emery cloth-emery cloths bond dissolves in oil.

BTW formula 1 cars have bores that look like mirrors, there is no break-in to speak of. The problem with rough finishes with moly rings is it removes all the moly and your left with plain chrome, kind of defeats the purpose if you ask me.

You are using 1/2"lines? Right? That kind of fuel flow needs the extra capacity of 1/2". Don't forget the pickup in the tank either, most stock pickups are pitiful. A fuel cell would be a good addition if you don't already have one, solves a bunch of problems all at once...not to mention being a whole lot safer. Getting a sender in the tank can be a problem with fuel cells, I like a sight glass. Looks cool too.

Good idea to get a beater, with the fuel mileage your getting you could pay for two educations. I still can't believe I once drove a car everday that got 6 miles to the imperial gallon, lots of fun though.