[200q20v] Re: [V8] Re: [s-cars] Reprint of 4-97 Post: Piston ring seating

[Brett Dikeman]

On Tue, 30 Oct 2001, Marc Swanson wrote:

> > Only use Audi factory piston rings for pistons.  Total Seal piston rings
> > and many other "performance" piston manufacturers are not for use in turbo
> > applications.
>
> I have to disagree with you there.  They have many different varieties of
> rings to suit different applications...  including turbo rings.  Running them
> in my 4ktq.

Same here; my father, upon recommendation and advice from others, sought
Total Seal rings for his Calloway 944, which was bored out by Calloway as
part of the turbo conversion.  They supplied the correct rings.

Rings like these are MORE appropriate for turbo cars, for one very simple
reason.  Inspect the intercooler on your car some time.  It's -covered- in
oil.  That's not from the turbo!  It is from the crankcase ventilation
system.  Over time, compression will be raised in the engine by carbon
deposits from the burning oil.

Audi factory race/rally cars come standard with a emissions-illegal system
we can't use, to deal with the oil vapor(it releases the crankcase vapor
into the atmosphere, after passing through a filter.)  Scott J told me
about the one on his S2.

The vapor comes mostly from the crank splashing the oil around, but the
blowby from the piston rings is what a)makes the crankcase breather
assembly necessary and b)pushes the oil vapor out of the crankcase.

To whoever made this statement originally...why are total seal rings
inappropriate in turbo engines?  Any actual reason?

I've been looking into a oil seperator, but I've hit somewhat of a dead
end.  They're becoming very popular in the piston aircraft world, where
the problem is recycling the oil(piston aircraft go through an enormous
amount of oil), and things looked encouraging when I contacted one
manufacturer...a rep stated that they knew a couple of people were using
their seperators in automotive racing applications.  When I responded and
asked for more info(such as pricing etc.), no answer came
back.

Systems made by Greddy and other companies seemed grossly simpified to the
point that they were nothing more than glorified catch cans, which is NOT
what is needed; the oil mist needs to be removed, we're not trying to
catch overflow(which is what catch cans are for.)

Installation of a proper oil mist seperator would reduce problems
with:
-oil consumption
-michellin man hose failures
-ISV failures and throttle gumming
-intercooler inefficency due to oil coating(btw, this is easily solved by
sealing one end with a ziplock bag+some rubber bands, filling with hot
water+dish soap, and swishing around; swish it a little before you seal
the other end, or it'll blow right off from the expansion of air inside.)
-deposit buildup on valves, combustion chamber
-catalytic converter and O2 sensor premature failure due to deposits from
burning oil

the list goes on, and on.

B