I have a 74 440, .030 over with a 4.15 Eagle crank, Manley rods and Ross pistons. I'm filing the Mahle rings to fit and making each ring fit each cylinder. The instructions state .004 end gap for a 4 inch bore for moderate performance and .0055 for street/drag racing. I filed the top rings to .020 and started filing the second rings. The tech sheet recommends a larger gap on the second rings, so I went with .024, which is in keeping with the .0055 street/drag racing spec. I went too far with 2 of the rings. Both measure .030, .006 larger than the others. The tech sheet shows the .030 number for drag nitrous apps. I may drag race the car, but I have no plans to run spray in this motor.
Whats the chance that the larger second ring gaps would be a problem? I pulled the 3000 mile engine to address an oil burning problem. I found the oil rings had no tension and the compression rings were worn enough to have end gaps in excess of .050. I performed cranking compression tests several times over the past few years trying to diagnose the oil burning, and the numbers were always in the 180 range and within 6% of each other. With worn rings, I would think those numbers are not bad. With that in mind, would wider gaps on the second ring matter much, if at all? I dont want to be a cheapskate here. If its suggested that I order 2 new rings to make all the end gaps consistant, I'll do it.