Going to refresh block this spring. Looking to use low tension ring set. Street driven very little. Are you guys that are running them do you notice any more than normal oil use? It's a 498 BBC. Pros and cons of using low tension Rings.
Looking at Speed Pro Plasma rings. Naturally aspired Carb. No NOS or Turbo or blowers. I like to hear from the guys using them. Thanks Dave.

I guess the main PRO would be less friction, my main CON is oil on the valve covers and burning off the headers at the end of the track, no I don't have a vacuum pump which might help considerably or if I plumbed the valve covers to reservoirs with breathers it would help quite a bit.

We run Total Seal's ML3690 low tension set in our 331" road racer with a vacuum pump. I have noticed no excess oil consumption, and with the vacuum pump there are no leaks. We get 1500 race miles out of a set of plugs, so they aren't getting oil fouled.

Going to refresh block this spring. Looking to use low tension ring set. Street driven very little. Are you guys that are running them do you notice any more than normal oil use? It's a 498 BBC. Pros and cons of using low tension Rings.
Looking at Speed Pro Plasma rings. Naturally aspired Carb. No NOS or Turbo or blowers. I like to hear from the guys using them. Thanks Dave.

We prefer low-tensions 1/16 x 1/16 x 3/16 in every "normal" unit we build. Have no oil control problems whatsoever and no blow-by. These are used in almost all our basic street units, in the race units (and SOME street units also) we go to .043 B/C's top and second and low tension 3 MM oil rails. Thanks, Gary in N.Y.
P.S. We use the 6.000" long "Offenhauser" breathers in all the street cars and as I said, no oil problems. In the photo below here you can see the breathers.
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/GOSFAST/PES%20Engines/th_P1010571.jpg (http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b28/GOSFAST/PES%20Engines/P1010571.jpg)

Dave - I've never built a bbc, but we use low tension oil rings on all of our sbc motors. In a street motor I like a 1/16" x 1/16" x 3/16" ring package with low tension oil rings and don't use a vacuum pump. Note that the typical low tension rings are advertised at about 15# tension, but generally measure in the 20# - 22# range on our fish scale (your results may differ). We have used the same ring package with oil ring tension in the 10# - 12# range (on the same fish scale) in street/strip combos with no problems. Below that tension range (and we have gone as low a 5#) we use thinner rings, a vacuum pump, increased pin clearance, casidiam coated pins and gas ported pistons.

Also open up you second ring gap larger then the 2nd. This trend has been around for quite awhile after ring flutter was addressed. If you run say .020" on the top then .022 or .024" on the second is adviseable.

That is why I always ask here first. I had it in my list of things Id like to do this time around. Right now Im running STD tension rings, more drag than I like. I have the Plasma moly rings. Engine 454 .70 over 4.320 bore. Can any one help out with the correct part number for the Speed Pro/Federal mog 1/16th rings low tension ring set file fit. Bob ,Go fast, oneofakind 67,cstraub, 383 Thanks again. I like straight answers. Dave

That is why I always ask here first. I had it in my list of things Id like to do this time around. Right now Im running STD tension rings, more drag than I like. I have the Plasma moly rings. Engine 454 .70 over 4.320 bore. Can any one help out with the correct part number for the Speed Pro/Federal mog 1/16th rings low tension ring set file fit. Bob ,Go fast, oneofakind 67,cstraub, 383 Thanks again. I like straight answers. Dave

Hi Dave, you need an R9278+005, assuming you have a 3/16" oil ring. These are 1/16 x 1/16 x 3/16 file-fits for std. bore 4.320+5. Thanks, Gary in N.Y.

Thanks again Gary.
Dave