Why Gas Ported Rings from Total Seal?
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Harness Cylinder Pressure To Improve Efficiency
Gas Ported Ring
direct cylinder pressure
to the back of the ring through these machined horizontal slots placed around the ring. The pressure pushes against the inside of the ring forcing it outward to improve ring seal.
Improved Ring-to-Wall Sealing
Improved ring-to-wall sealing
is the main goal for Total Seal’s Gas Ported Rings, but another benefit is longer oil life. With improved sealing comes less blow-by which reduces the amount of carbon that reaches the oil, thus increasing the life of the engine oil.
Example of Gas Ported Piston
This example of a gas ported piston
shows where the port next to the exhaust valve filled with carbon creating a hot spot leading to excessive damage.
Our Videos
Maximizing Horsepower in an Engine
When it comes to maximizing horsepower in an engine, it ultimately boils down to efficiency. There are many areas to focus on when it comes to improving an engine’s overall efficiency from air and fuel delivery port design, to valve angles, bearing clearances, bore hones and more. It is a never ending study of efficiency and using the components that are available (or legal) in each form of racing.
One goal of every internal combustion engine is the seal created between the piston ring and the cylinder wall, especially during the compression and combustion cycles. The practice used to be that increased tension of the rings would improve the cylinder sealing so piston rings were thicker and heavier, but with today’s improved metallurgy and machining technology that mindset has changed. In fact, the ring experts at Total Seal are using a reverse psychology approach; instead of trying to overcome the cylinder pressures, why not use it to your advantage.
Get Gas-Ported PERFORMANCE without the use of Gas-Ported Pistons
Available in steel or ductile iron
for top ring placements. When ordering simply ask for Gas-ported on your top ring sets.
Better Gas Pressure Distribution
Gas Ported Rings feature more gas ports than the typical gas ported piston. As a result, the gas pressure is more evenly distributed which produces improved ring sealing.
Self Cleaning
Because the piston ring is always rotating, the gas ports in the ring are self cleaning, which results in longer lasting ring seal.
Piston Ring Anatomy
Stainless Steel > Cast Iron
Utilizing 440B Stainless Steel instead of Cast Iron, Total Seal Gas Ported Rings offer greater ductility and tensile strength than standard cast rings.
Advance Profiling Symmetry
Total Seal LS Gas Ported Rings utilize our proprietary AP ring process, which yields more horsepower and less blow-by due to tighter tolerances than OE replacement rings.
PVD Face Coating
All Gas Ported Rings feature our aerospace grade C-33 PVD applies face coating. Utilizing wear resistant Chrome-Nitride thin film technology, Total Seal piston rings provide long-lasting performance.
Gas Ports
Harnessing the power of cylinder pressures over 1,800 PSI, gas ports improve piston ring seal, which improves engine efficiency and durability. Plus, gas ported rings stay clean longer, reduce localized bore wear and improve piston top ring land strength.
Less Blow-By
Here is a graphic that shows the measured performance advantage of gas ported pistons rings. This shows less blow-by, which improves engine performance and durability.
More Horsepower
Here is a graphic that shows the comparison horsepower performance between conventional and gas ported ring. This shows the improved horsepower performance of gas ported ring over conventional.
Cylinder-to-Piston Sealing
Total Seal has been studying cylinder-to-piston sealing since it first developed their gapless ring technology over 50 years ago so this way of thinking is not new for them. Their unique team of hardcore racers and engineers constantly strive to help race teams, from Formula 1 to the Saturday night dirt track racers, improve the cylinder sealing and therefore power of their engines. One of their newest technologies, a gas ported top ring, will improve ring seal of any engine.
Total Seal’s Gas Ported Rings feature unique horizontal slots machined into the top of the ring. These slots direct combustion gases to a bevel behind the ring to push the ring out towards the cylinder wall and improve the seal. This technology stems from the use of gas ported pistons which have been available for a number of years, yet porting the pistons has a number of downfalls.
Downfall of Gas Ported Pistons
Gas ported pistons requires extra machining, which equates to more expense. One of the weakest areas of a piston is the valve relief area and adding ports to the top of the piston can weaken the area along with ring land itself. There are also a number of race classes that do not allow gas porting of the pistons.
Another downfall of having ports on top of the pistons is that the ports will eventually become plugged by combustion carbon causing inadequate sealing of the ring to the cylinder wall. Also, when the pistons are ported, the ring will always seal tighter to the cylinder wall in the exact same position which will eventually lead to uneven wear of the bore.
LS Set Part Number
| Bore Size (in) | Ring Grooves (mm) | Part Number |
|---|---|---|
| 3.785 | 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 | CS8794GP |
| 3.898 | 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 | CS7984GP |
| 4.000 | 1.2, 1.2, 3.0 | CS4708GP |
| 4.000 | 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 | CS2010GP |
| 4.065 | 1.2, 1.2, 3.0 | CS4708GP 65 |
| 4.065 | 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 | CS2010GP 65 |
| 4.125 | 1.2, 1.2, 3.0 | CS4709GP |
| 4.125 | 1.5, 1.5, 3.0 | CS2012GP |
Choosing Gas Ported Ring over Gas Ported Pistons
By moving to a gas ported top ring, all of these shortcomings of ported pistons are overcome. Because the ring is constantly moving in the ring land of the piston, the cylinder wall wears evenly compared to that of a ported piston. Using a gas ported ring allows you to run a thinner, lighter weight ring package which equates to less mass without sacrificing effective cylinder sealing.
Another advantage of a gas ported ring that you may not consider is how much less oil contamination occurs. When you have improved ring sealing, there is less blow-by which not only aids in overall power, but the oil stays cleaner longer. This can save money over the course of the season with fewer oil changes. Total Seal has also seen lower oil temperatures due to less combustion gasses entering the lower end of the engine. As far as legality in different racing sanctions, there are no rules against using gas ported rings while some classes outlaw gas ported pistons.
Total Seal offers their Gas Ported Rings in most of their ring offerings, even their gapless technology. The most popular design is the Advanced Profiling (AP) steel ring sets, but the porting technology can be added to nearly all of their top ring applications. All performance engines create cylinder pressure, why wouldn’t you harness this pressure to improve the sealing and overall power of your engine? It’s basically free power when you think about it!
Our Reviews
"We dyno tested our big block Chevrolet with Total Seal Gas Ported rings and gained about 10+ horsepower and 10+ foot pounds of torque."
— Leon P.
"Gas ported piston rings really work, especially in engines without gas ported pistons."
— Robbie M.
"Back to back dyno tests prove gas ported rings increase horsepower and reduce blow-by!"
— Chamber S.
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