Total Seal Piston Rings

HI there,

I am almost ready to assemble my ej255 block. I have opted for Cosworth pistons and I am keen to improve on the standard ring pack that comes along with the Cosworth PA2667 pistons.

My goal is a reliable and efficient daily driver and to minimise blow by which is an issue on the EJ platform.

I have found Total Seal piston rings offer PVD coated (diamond coated) gas ported piston rings. I am thinking these will fit my application as they reduce blow-by, improve compression and produce lower friction.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with these and if they last longer than their gapless ring which is touted by Andre to be for motorsport use only as it does not have a good lifespan.

My thoughts - and I recommend you check on them, I may be in error

You do need to be careful about makling direct comparisons between 'street', even fast street, engine compared to 'race' as while there are some similarities the requirements and loadings are very different. A high boost engine is applying much greater force behind the rings forcing them against the bore, so the loas on the very fine oil film can cause it to break down, potentially causing scuffing and wear - with alcohol fuels where there may be a 'washing' affect on the oil film, this is more important.

There are two main causes of ring wear - the first is fine dust and dirt which is a problem with no, or poor, filtration as it acts like a very fine grinding compound. The second is micro-welding - in theory the rings are skating on an extremely thin film of oil, but in practice there may be miniscule peaks that are worn down in the initial running in and which may also cause micro-abrasion, which is why the bore finish is so critical - especially when the rings are highly loaded.

A street engine should ALWAYS be filtered, but it isn't uncommon for 'race' engines not to be. This shouldn't be a big problem.

For most street engines gas-ported rings shouldn't be required, and will increase potential wear, but if bore/block distortion is a known problem for ring seal, you may decide it's worth the trade-off. With regular oil and filter changes, with a good quality oil, and preferably a magnetic sump plug, you should still get may years work out of the engine as even with the porting the rings will be lightly loaded most of their life.

Hi @Gord,

Thanks for your thoughts.

I absolutely agree.

I will have a plethora of oil related upgrades to my engine build. Including a 12mm ported and lock tight STI oil pump, 30% larger and deeper volume oil pan, Aeroflow (killer B type) oil pickup, Baffle, remote oil filter to keep exhaust tempos away from the OEM location filter.

Finally an Amsoil secondary fine filtration unit a part of the remote system. This will filter impurities down to 2 microns and keep the oil analytically clean of fine particles. I also intend on running Amsoil post break in. I take oil very seriously as I consider it the vital component that keeps everything running the way it should.

I have asked the experts (Liegh Bird from Deshele Perormance, Ralispec who use the Cosworth Pistons) and I been told that the Cosworth rings are indeed high quality rings that have been known to last 100K Miles on North American EJ25's. So good enough for me.

I guess sometimes I get sucked into the marketing. But lucky that I have resources such as HP academy, experienced EJ builders and yourself to draw on real world experience.

My conclusion is,

Total seal rings seem to be only for race purpose and I now understand and agree that gas ports will seal better but will produce more pressure on the rings and wear the bore faster. Not for me.

Thanks again!