No, Total Seal rings do not require special cylinder honing. But they like all piston rings do require proper cylinder honing. One of the most common causes of ring sealing issues today is improper cylinder honing. It¡¯s not uncommon to see engine blocks and cylinder sleeves ranging in hardness from approximately 150 to over 300 on the brinell scale. Yet it is very common to see these all of these being honed using the exact same process. The end results vary dramatically. These results are measured with a tool known as a surface roughness tester. The results are measured as Ra, Rz, Rpk, Rk, and Rvk and vary depending on the specific application. Basically these numbers are telling us to how rough the cylinder is and how well it can retain oil. An overly rough cylinder will prematurely wear the rings while an overly smooth cylinder may never seat the rings and can lead to cylinder burnishing. Cross hatch angles can also vary depending on the application, These angles determine the critical ring rotation speed, generally a 45¡ã cross hatch angle will do a very good job. Though some O.E. applications do vary from this, if your not sure check before you proceed. To steep of a cross hatch angle can cause the rings to pump oil, rotate to quickly leading to accelerated ring and ring groove wear. To flat of a angle can cause a chattering affect as the ring passes over the valley preventing the ring from receiving proper lubrication again leading to excessive ring wear. If you¡¯re not sure about the proper honing procedures and cross hatch angle for your specific application please give us a call.

The following recommendations are for most general applications.

Ra 10-20 µ in.Rz 10 times the RaRk 30-50 µ in.Rpk 5.0-20 µ in.Rvk 50-100 µ in.

The Total Seal gapless top ring is the natural evolution of the gapless second. By moving the gapless ring to the #1 ring groove we effectively seal the cylinder closer to the combustion chamber. This not only increases the cylinder seal on the compression and power stokes but also improves the ring seal on the intake stroke resulting in better cylinder filling on a normally aspirated engine. The increased amount of force generated by the combustion process in turn delivers a greater amount of energy to the crankshaft. The choice is yours and either ring offers superior cylinder sealing.

Yes, Gas porting aids in keeping any top ring seated in high rpm / high cylinder pressure applications.

Though we have seen it done successfully on occasion we do not recommend it. We have seen the best and most consistent results breaking the engine in on light viscosity conventional oil. Synthetics can be used after completing the break-in process.

Please follow the gapping chart supplied with the ring set. Different applications require different amounts of gap. If for some reason the gapping chart is missing or your just not sure please call our tech line and they will gladly help you make the right choice.

Yes the ring and the rail need be filed*. Follow the gapping chart supplied with the ring set.
* The rail end gap can be larger than the primary ring but not smaller.

The gapless ring is always installed rail side down.

Quickseat is our patented dry film cylinder wall assembly lube. It's quite unique in that it is a dry lube this helps to prevent glazing of the rings from the over use of assembly oil. It also provides outstanding lubrication during the critical initial start up period helping to prevent ring scuffing and cylinder wall burnishing.