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Piston Ring Gap

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 11:02 AM
by jodystevens
A question for those seasoned engine builders, what do you normally set your piston ring gap to for a turbo engine? Bore of 87.53. Going for about 21 pounds of boost. Theres alot of different numbers on the internet and on the "Suggested Gap Sheet" that CP sent me, so I'd like to hear some seasoned advice.

Hearsay and ivereads are great but I'd like to read some beentheredonethats.

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 12:33 PM
by GI jonas
Ive always had good luck running with the specs provided by piston manufacturers. They do tend to know more about it then most of us. Likely no need to get fancy unless your setup is something totally pioneering.

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 12:43 PM
by Jeremy
Does CP list reasons to use different gap settings on their spec sheet? Like GI Jonas said, I'd tend to defer to the piston manufacturer's recommendations on that.

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 12:47 PM
by jodystevens
Well the CP sheet has "Suggestions" depending on application. I was just looking to see what others have done. Turbo/Nitrous is on the wider end of their range.

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 2:24 PM
by Brad D.
I ran their "turbo/nitrous" recommendations on several non-BMW engine builds and had no issues. I saw low oil consumption as well as good compression.

Posted: Apr 17, 2014 2:45 PM
by jodystevens
Thanks Brad, that's the sort of answer I was looking for!

Posted: Apr 19, 2014 11:29 AM
by turbodan
I've always just eyeballed the ring gap, and its always been good so I've never had to adjust it. I don't even check it if the rings are already installed on the pistons. You're more likely to break them trying to get them off than you are to find a problem with the ring end gap.