Total Seal's patented Gapless piston rings provide increased performance because of unmatched sealing of the cylinder and combustion gasses in the combustion chamber. Increased horsepower and torque along with longer engine life are just a couple of the reasons why Total Seal's Gapless piston rings are widely considered the best rings available. With Total Seal, you get:

• Increased horsepower and torque

• Longer engine life

• Saves money (fewer rebuilds)

• Improved consistency

• Cleaner engine oil

• Longer ring life

• Better oil control

• Less friction

• Lower engine oil temperatures

• Wider torque curve

• More engine vacuum

• Increased intake signal

How do these rings work?

Compression gas is deflected by a ring rail into the piston groove. This aids in pressure loading the ring throughout the 4-stroke cycle. More importantly, at the same time the rail also closes off the combustion gas leak path that's created by the ring end gap. This gap is the primary cause of blow-by in a 4-stroke engine. 

With a conventional type ring, as the ring and cylinder wear the ring end gap increases and the blow-by figures increase. The Gapless ring blow-by figures are not affected by this wear, as the ring end gap increases it is blocked by the rail portion of Total Seals patented interlocking two-piece design, stopping the blow-by at the source. 

When new, conventional-style rings will show leak-down figures of 7% or higher. These figures can quickly exceed 20% or higher after a surprisingly short period of time. Gapless rings on the other hand, when newly installed typically show leak-down figures of 2% and lower and should remain the same throughout the life of the engine.

Piston ring function: sealing the power

We all know that any blow-by leaking past the piston is horsepower lost. There are three leak paths for blow-by to escape past the piston into the crankcase:

THE FACE OF THE RING – The face of any compression ring can have many characteristics that may help or hinder cylinder sealing. The profile (barrel, taper, etc.) can vary in many different ways that help the ring stay seated through piston rock over. Face coatings can also make a substantial difference with cylinder sealing depending on your cylinder wall material. 

THE SIDES OF THE RING – The side surfaces of the ring, that is the surfaces that seat against the piston flank itself are often overlooked but equally as important in sealing an engine. Simply, the flatter and smoother these sides are, the better they will seal against the piston and stop any blow-by from traveling around the ring land and into the crankcase.

THE END GAP – Here is the correlation...the larger the end gap, the more blow-by and power reduction your engine will see.

Let's examine the strokes in a four stroke engine and the importance that cylinder sealing means to each...

INTAKE – On any naturally aspirated engine, the better the rings are sealed inside the cylinder and against the piston, the more intake charge (air and fuel) will fill the combustion chamber. Ring seal is the only thing in a normally aspirated engine that draws air / fuel into the cylinder.

COMPRESSION – The better the engine is sealed on the compression stroke, the higher the percentage of intake charge that previously filled the cylinder will be utilized. Ring seal is the only thing preventing the charge from leaking past the piston and into the crankcase.

POWER – During this explosive event, the more explosion the rings keep above the piston, the higher the force will be that's exerted downward on the piston, resulting in more torque and horsepower.

EXHAUST – The more efficiently the cylinder disposes of exhaust, the more that event in overlap, will help prime the intake stroke for cylinder filling.

Total Seal is providing two sets of rings, at a value of around $500. Many thanks to Dave Powell of Performance Unlimited who got the deal with Total Seal for the American Super Stock series.