What's a good brand name piston rings for boost application. I'm running Forgen Probe pistions.

 

How much boost, and what type? I'm running stock pistons and rings.

I'm sure you have something a little more radical in mind though....

 

In the hotrod magazine "Big Bang Theory" they had a stock 4.8l with stock rings with an increased gap in the top ring and were throwing 26lbs of boost at it with no signs of fatigue.

 

I used ekerly and childs extream nitrous rings on my ls1, they said it would work great for large boost too. I heard hell fire rings, and total seal works good too.

 

At what point do stock rings become a problem? Seems like nearly all of the big boost applications don't pay much attention to the rings..

 

It's more about the ring gap than the ring material IMO.

 

Right, its more the gap needing to be wider for big power than the actual ring material. Although im sure the ring selection will show up in terms of longevitiy. My 402 is gaped at 0.025" I believe.

 

Don't use hellfire's or similar on something you want to last awhile, they have a lot more tension then average performance rings and will wear your cylinders relatively quick. Good for a drag car or true weekend cruiser only. Like others have said, even stockers do well, especially with a hair wider gap then stock. Total seal is what I'm running, seen them used quite a bit around here.

 

Most people building for nitrous above 150hp shot or boosted 10 psi or more mainly just shy away from a Plasma Moly ring set, as the Moly will tend to flake off. Instead, it is generally accepted that it is best to run a ring pack with a steel top (compression) ring. The steel top ring will handle the added heat better. That and gap them accordingly.

 

The factory GM ring is a better material than most aftermarket. I believe it's steel.