JE branded rings. Anyone?

Here's another that will probably not get answered but I'm going to try anyway.

Anyone happen to know who manufactures JE (piston comapny) branded rings?

Thinking I will try them on my next build.

Anyone use them? Decent parts?
JE is kind of a trusted name in the industry, right?
I shouldn't be too concerned.

Yes, as you might expect, cost is driving the question because the ones I'm looking at are half the price of Sealed Power....and I've got to wonder if they are not the same parts inside the box.

I've never used anything but Sealed Power...

I think that is like asking who makes Mopar Performance parts. The only person who knows is the procurement guy and even he might not know from time to time since the suppliers change.

I've never had an issue with JE rings but I'm pretty sure they source from several different suppliers. If you look closely at the JE ring catalog you might pick up some clues since the sizes and shapes might be the same as other vendors.

The other wild card is that JE is part of Race Winning Brands now. They are owned by the same holding company that owns Diamond Pistons, Trend, Wiseco, DART, K1, etc. so they probably have some consolidated procurement power when it comes to buying rings.

We should stop calling them "World" blocks since that's top secret Chrysler procurement information.

We've been through this with lifters, so why not rings?

Yes like any other company they probably source from several suppliers, but How many manufacturers are there, really. As opposed to brands or marketers.

I used JE pro seal rings on my last engine build.
The have worked fine the engine has not used any oil.

My machine shop is one of the best in the area and that is what they recommended. Rhyne Racing. I told them I wanted the good parts not cheap or Chinese. Keith

Thank you

The marketing name I'm looking at is "Pro Seal Premium Sportsman Series"
for what it's worth.

Mine are JE pro seal -sportsman series ring set. no premium
They were $98.00

Thx again, really appreciate the input.

You never know if you're getting far east garbage and sometimes it pays to just ask around.

The ones I'm looking at are only $78 which seemed too good to be true.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/jep-s100s8-45005

I just bought Howards Cams file fit rings last year. They were Total Seal rings in the box. $100👍

That's what I'm talkin' about right there

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Howards-True-Seal-4-505-1-16-1-16-3-16-Plasma-Moly-Piston-Rings-HRC4860-4500-5/232376053086?hash=item361ab12d5e:g:J8QAAOSw2xRYUUjU

JE pistons and rings in mine also...

Yep, added to watch list.

Is it the oil expander that jumps out at you?

I've never used total seal and don't know.

Do you think they are most likely Total Seal "Classic Race (street)" or whatever they are marketing their normal non-gapless ring as these days?

The JE branded (in the picture) appear to be an awful lot like FM/Speed Pro/Sealed Power/whatever they are calling themselves lately.

Member Vic Elinger that races the 440 powered Volvo works for Wiseco and could easily answer this question but I haven’t seen him around in a long time. I’m better there are only a few manufacturers and they are rebaged

Id bet they are a street friendly ring. The price and materials used warrant that assumption. Not sure what you mean about the oil expander tho...it was just like any other I have used...ive used Total Seal a few different times, motors always sealed up fine. I like their stuff.👍

I was referring to what seems to be a gold-ish color to the oil expander, in the picture of that particular set.

The picture is probably not accurate though just like most other catalogs!

The rings had a "TS" marked on them, and were literally bagged in Total Seal packaging in the Howards box.

Can't get any more obvious than that...thank you

The Pro Seal ring is a Mahle piece, steel top, napier second, standard and light tension oil sets are available, FYI there are only a handful of ring suppliers to the automotive world, just like cam cores, gaskets, bearings, cranks and rods and yes even castings and forgings. Most times it is a matter of specifications that make a brand unique vs the material.

Wholly Crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I thought he disappeared.

Yes, and there he is...thank you.

I knew somebody must know, and somebody did!

Inevitable follow-up is...Pro seal "sportsman" vs. pro seal "race"?...
....but I won't go there. It's safe enough to assume the cheaper ones aren't going to have the Napier second. The JE rings look to be a good value.

I've got plenty of time to decide which way to go...

Thanks for all the replies.

It's all relative to the application. We have used Hastings 1/16 1/16 3/16 budget rings for 4-5 seasons in 600hp alcohol engines with no issue. The thinner rings are better to conform to cylinders that might flex more, or have very high cylinder pressures. Think of it as a floor squeegee vs. a wiper blade. The wiper will do a much better job at following an distortion under load, including piston deformation.

In a perfect world for the occasional racer/street guy it is fine to go with a drop in Hastings ring. If max effort results are desired then the .043/1mm 2/3mm oil combos are what you want. They will live a long life if you rough hone with a proper stone to create enough "valley" for the oil stay on the cylinder walls. Too smooth of finish will wear out a steel ring in no time because the oil ring and underhook second (Napier ring) pulls all the oil off the cylinder walls. The guys at Dart do not hone ANY blocks without a profilometer in hand to check the surface finish to make sure there are enough peaks and valleys to promote long ring life AND ring seal. In my cars I have tried many different rings and .043 steel top 1/16 Napier 2nd with a 3/16 medium to high tension oils are the best combos for what we do with them. We run the snot out of them so we shoot for "big and dumb shelf type parts" that are readily available and reasonably priced.

The Pro Series is a "ultra finish" steel top with Napier rings while the Sportsman deal is typically a more conventional Plasma Moly top ring with a standard barrel face 52nd ring with no underhook to scrape oil. Either one I would use up to about 800hp beyond that I would stay with the Pro series.

Pistons have locked me into 1/16-1/16-3/16.....Mostly street so, std tension oil ring, Old tried and true stuff. Nothing fancy.

Just looking at options, and would like to figure out the manufacturing base a little better like we seem to have for so many others.

It never hurts to save a buck, and when the same parts are sold under multiple brands it's best to use it to our advantage.

Will probably go with a conventional barrel face second ring, same as always.

thanks so much for the breakdown!

Perfect. Thank you very much.

No problem man, I would invest in the Napier second if you can, it does a nice job controlling oil, everything we drive daily uses that style ring. But nothing wrong with what you are looking at using.

Appreciate the response. That's new to me.

Do tell? The more details the better.