Here's what I found with a Google search:
For a nitrous or blown racing engine, the top ring end gap sould be opened up to as much as .006 or .007 inches times the bore diameter. Now we're looking at a 2nd ring end gap of .024 to .028 inches in an engine with 4 inch bores.
For the 2nd ring on a nitrous or blown motor, the recommended ring end gap is even wider: .0063 to .0073 inchestimes the bore ( or 0.025 to 0.029 inches with a 4 inch bore).
The recommended ring end gap for oil rings regardless of the engine application is typically .015 inches.
Some racers believe that opening up the 2nd end gap even more (say an additional 10%) can improve overall ring sealing by allowing trapped gases to escape before they blow past the top ring and cause ring flutter at high rpm (say above 5000 to 6000 rpm).
From Wiseco:
Top 2nd Oil
High-Perf. Street/Strip .................. .0040†........ .0050†. ... ... .015â€
Street-Moderate Turbo/Nitrous ..... .0050†........ .0055†. ... ... .015â€
Late Model Stock .......................... .0050†........ .0053†. ... ... .015â€
Circle Track/Drag Race ................ .0055†........ .0057†. ... ... .015â€
Nitrous Race Only ........................ .0070†........ .0073†. ... ... .015â€
Blown Race Only .......................... .0060†........ .0063†. ... ... .015â€
The pistons I have are the K542M815 pistons on page 8 (6 of 27).
http://www.cylmo.no/arch/_img/9072658.pdfUltimate goals for this is 450-500whp. It's a B18B block, B18C5 head, GSR cams, TT B18C forged rods, Wiseco B18C forged pistons, and a B18C crank resulting in 9.62:1 compression with OEM headgasket.
I'm assuming I'd use their specs for "Street-Moderate Turbo/Nitrous."
Thus:
Bore: 81.5mm bore / 25.4 = 3.2087" bore
Top ring: 3.2087" * 0.005" = 0.016"
2nd ring: 3.2087" * 0.0053" = 0.017"
Oil ring: 3.2087" * 0.015" = 0.048"
Sound good?
Also on the page with the Wiseco ring gap information it has a suggested placement of the gaps in relation to the piston... Should I bring this to the machine shop and risk offending their intelligence, or is it basic knowledge that they should already know?
Any suggestions on what rings I should use?
Grassyass.