@doodskie999
Man, I have been building motorcycle engines for years, but I have no idea how much tech and engineering goes into them and how much we take them for granted. In fact, the next time I rebuild an engine, I'm going to take a piston ring, look at it more and admire it more often
@rogerking7258
This is a great example of the increasingly rare type of Youtube article that allows you to actually learn something. As far from clickbait as you can get. I spent 30 years as a competition engine builder but much of this is new to me, although I can confirm some of the benefits from hands on experience. We were building a certain type of engine that used 1960s piston and ring technology, but we took the opportunity to change to a piston that used a modern coated and plated ring pack. The results were spectacular in that you could feel a significant reduction in friction even when just pushing the pistons down the bore manually. In use, with no other modifications, the engine gave another 10bhp, fuel consumption was slightly improved and oil consumption significantly reduced. On top of this wear was significantly reduced, particularly to the bore face. Brilliant article - many thanks.
@catbangs276
I was an automotive engine rebuilder right out of high school and installed hundreds of piston rings on pistons. If I understood the details as explained in this video, I would have appreciated my job even more.
@michaelfortier7726
Jesus this video is a gold mine in information. I work with engines for an OEM, and truthfully this is the first time I see this much information on such a deep level freely available outside of my workplace. Good job.
@innominatum9906
Im always so insanely impressed at how things were made hundreds of years ago. I work as a machinist creating prototypes every day in all ranges of materials - I have the newest lines of amazing CNC mills and lathes available with the most modern tools at my hands. Even I struggle at times because of crazy tolerances or very demanding features on the parts from my customers. I can only imagine how hard it would be back then to machine these parts. The engineers from back then are the reason why we are so modern in 2024. Massive respect 🤗
@andersjjensen
One small omission about ring cap: Proper "gapping" is a compromise between sealing and catastrophic failure. A tighter gap improves fuel economy and performance at low loads, but a too tight gap will cause the ring ends to meet at maximum load due to thermal expansion. When ring ends start pushing against each other you get a catastrophic failure where the crown of the piston cracks and sends metal shards everywhere.
@jimtitt3571
Nicely made, I worked for years in a ring factory for the UK's largest manufacturer making rings for nearly everybody, boring Perkins diesels, Cummins, Rolls Royce Merlins, Cosworth F1 engines, just everything (the factories were divided by ring diameter, we were 2 1/2" to 7 1/2", our neighbouring work up to 16ft for marine engines). Complicated to make, normally 30+ operations for a ring. They aren't actually ever round except compressed, the spun-cast cylinders are machined in an egg-shape to get the required variation in spring pressure and at every stage afterwards compressed to do the rest of the work.
@artysanmobile
I’ve wanted this explanation for a long time. The rings’ endurance always seemed impossible to me. I knew there was a lot to learn. Thanks for this.
@EbenBransome
This is a very good video. A little additional background: Newcomen type engines started with wooden pistons but cast iron pistons for steam engines were around as soon as the Watt type engine appeared. There's no way wood would withstand over 100C. By the 1880s piston rings were getting very complicated indeed with internal adjustable springing to keep them in contact with the cylinder walls. There were a lot of patented designs. The spiral (actually helical) expander design was invented before 1890. There were many experiments with Diesel ring designs from quite early on, including multi-piece rings designed to exert pressure on both the cylinder and the piston land using angled springs. By the time I was involved for a few years in piston R&D, the rubbing faces of rings were profiled and hard chromed. One of my jobs was to determine efficient ways of checking the shape of the ring profile and measuring the gap in a test cylinder. We might have been the first company to apply digital optics and computing to the problem, but of course nobody else was talking about their in-house secrets. Note that for Diesel engines, things like keystone ring profiles have tended to die out as better ways of getting performance, and better oils, have been developed.
@BeInnovativeToday
I designed metal gaskets for the major oil companies, it was literally the hardest engineering project and I am a PhD , -5000 psi to 25000 psi and -50f to 200f. Much respect to piston ring engineers
@guyh3403
The amount of effort on these graphics is from beyond this universe. Wow. Thank you so much!
@michaelhuffman9545
True enthusiast appreciate every aspect of an engine. Very well done. I live for videos like this. So educational. Pumps me up.
@rahulmooley3298
I am an electronics engineer that currently works in tech. Me being privy to this information is absolutely inconsequential and will never help me in any way, shape, or form, ever. Therefore, I must now watch this entire video and learn everything about piston rings.
@nuvnsrp
i have been 'teaching' mechanical design of i.c. engine parts from more than a decade and discuss much more than given in any 'text book' yet i find this video is quite interesting and informative.
@Sharpened_Spoon
Govt: We want your cars to use less fuel. Manufacturer: Here, we use more oil instead. Govt: Great work!
@Tortee2
This channel defines me as a person. Please for my sake and everyone else, never stop. Take breaks, but PLEASE don't let anyone tell you to stop.
@ats-3693
I'm not a qualified mechanic but I've been messing with engines including doing full rebuilds for decades since I was in my late teens so I'm quite familiar with gapping and installing new rings into rebuilt engines, but I was totally ignorant of so much of what discussed in this video, for instance I had no idea that compression rings and their seating grooves on the pistons are designed in such a way that the combustion gas is forced in around the back edge of the ring helping to push the ring outwards tighter against the cylinder wall, I always thought that was just up to the outwards spring tension of the ring, so interesting, great video 👍
@williamebrahim2612
I watch a lot of engine videos and rarely find new info and knowledge like this, thank you and please continue to teach people like me we greatly appreciate it
@lance_the_avocado9492
I’m a Deere technician, and I’m actually going though John Deere’s technician program at the moment, I am currently in my engines, emissions, and HVAC quarter, and getting to watch this video is pretty awesome. We go over most of this stuff so it’s nice to go over it again, it’s amazing how far we’ve come to seal compression gases and performing culpable oil control in the past 100 years in internal combustion engines!
@NewMind