Called Mahle today. They claim they have a standard 3mm low drag oil ring. Call total seal to see if they had low drag standard oil ring and they just about laughed at me. Said all standard 3mm oil rings have same drag at about 13lbs. Maybe I should have started this thread asking which rings are best for my application in a .043/.043 3mm file fit?
The reason for the "laugh" as you call it, is because Mahle told you something, or at least the way you phrased it, that is impossible. No such thing as a standard tension "low drag" oil ring. The drag is based on tension and standard tension, is standard tension. Plus ALL the scrapers are the same, so tension is varied only by the expander, which never touches the cylinder wall..........Now Mahle MAY have meant that they have a standard(meaning shelf) "set" which includes a "low drag" oil ring, which would make sense, but that's not what you said here or apparently to Total Seal
If you WANT a low tension oil package, they can definitely make you one.....just tell them what you want for pounds and they will make it happen. The way this is done is by varying the size of expander. The MORE expander you cram in the groove, the MORE tension and vice versa. So lets say your bore size is 4.060 and they send you an expander for a 4.00 bore set, you have less tension. They KNOW all this and can give you exactly what you ask for. Too many people worry about "shelf" sets and settle for what they can get, when all you have to do is tell them what you WANT.
"Crimping" an expander, simply means you take some pliers and squeeze a few sections of expander tighter, so that it can't expand as much. HOW MUCH and HOW MANY.....only VERY experienced builders who have done it before can answer that. The ONLY reason you do that, is to make the oil ring expander you HAVE into a lower tension one, in lieu of just ordering what you need
