1-16 rings, what clearance in the piston? My ring measures .0625. .001-2?

IIRC, .001 to .002" falls in the "acceptable" range. Not supposed to be any tighter, though.

I checked the clearance on my last rebuild w/ some Total Seal rings and they were close to .002"; had a set of Mahle on hand that tightened that up about .0005", so I used the Mahles.

Tighter is better than to loose ..001 minimum at room temps. on all rings
Check the back clearances also, shim that if needed. I like .003 to .008 below the piston edges press all the way into the gorooves on those back clearances

Ive always been under the impression that anything over .0015 is no so good

My cutting tool i made is .067 so what you’re saying is I need it down to .064 ring being .0625? I’ll grind some more.

It is interesting to take the pistons your going to use and install and check one set of rings on the side clearances at room temps and the stick them into a oven 250F for 10 to 20 minutes and see how much they change on those clearances heated up a little

Cudaman1969, could you clarify your "cutting tool", not sure what you mean by this? Thanks

Tried to take pic of cutter but still learning. I’m cutting a 1/16 ring into the dykes ring spot, Ross said not a problem doing, one came out fine (test piston, have ten)

I know 40 years ago that's how custom ring grooves were done, but the way pistons are manufactured today creates much smoother, flatter, and more consistent surface finishes for the rings to seal against.

Is this for a competition engine? If so, are new pistons w/ the ring lands put where you want them not in the budget?

Street engine, $200 for all brand new right deck height bore and compression, and so easy a cave man can do it. No offense but really how much do you think it will matter if there’s a microscopic imperfection in the ring land even in a race engine? If your chasing numbers I could see but a street-occasional strip car?

.0015"-.002" axial/vertical clearance is where a 1/16 ring with a bevel on the upper inner corner will work best. With gas ports it would work best in the .0008" axial/vertical clearance range.

That’s what I’m shooting for thanks, No gas ports