OEM vs Aftermarket Piston Rings

[AKhan87]

Engine 1ZZ-FED, I have done 7 already and this will be the 8th engine I will be doing.

Piston Rings used:
DNJ 1
EngineTech 5
OEM 1

Connecting Rod Bearings used:
Sealed Power 1
EngineTech 5
OEM 1

I had the DNJ piston rings fail on me once upon start up but that was on a 2ZZ-GE engine, since then I have been using EngineTech, and all the engines run fantastic and don't burn oil(reason they were rebuilt) anymore.

My wife's 1ZZ-FED that I rebuilt had the OEM piston rings and OEM connecting rod bearings installed using the identifiers on the connecting rod. Since there are 3 different marks and therefore 3 different connecting rod bearing sizes, to use OEM bearings for my Celica using the identifier is a no-brainer.

I have had success using EngineTech rings, but a part of me wants to believe that the OEM rings are of better quality. Toyota tech who guided me on engine removal & installation on my first go, recommends using only OEM and uses only OEM for all the rebuilds he does for Toyota and the rebuilds he does on his own time.

Now my question is will there be much of a difference between the OEM rings vs the EngineTech rings? other vehicles were corollas and we use them as economy cars, my celica means more to me then the corollas.

OEM Rings
Pros: higher quality?
Cons: 4x the cost

Aftermarket Rings
Pros: 1/4 the cost
Cons: lower quality?

 

[eljefino]

Since toyota rings are low tension and this causes them to coke up to begin with, why not go with top shelf aftermarket like perfect circle?

I used PC rings in a saturn 1.9 and it lived a long happy life after.

 

[qdeezie]

I use Hastings rings. The logic here is all they do is piston rings, so it would be hard for them to go wrong if they are only manufacturing one thing.

 

[Trav]

I always use high end aftermarket rings and bearings and never had a problem. Many times the aftermarket that specializes in these products correct problems that occurred with the OE.

 

[Fordtrucktexan]

I've used Hastings, Sealed Power, and OEM (Saturn) and have never noticed any real difference between any of them.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Since toyota rings are low tension and this causes them to coke up to begin with

Yes they are low tension rings but where did you get that logic?

On the 1zzfe, 2zzge, 2azfe, the piston rings are perfectly re-usable as these engines don't have compression issues, just simply the oil return holes get clogged up from the lack of oil return holes, toyota fixed that issue by increasing the number of oil return holes in the later years.

These pistons run way too hot, none of those piston rings are actually faulty...The DIY on toyotanation.com has some people re-using their old rings with success, just depends on how cheap you are but to say the ring design causes them to "coke up" is incorrect.

 

[AKhan87]

I google but I didn't find any perfect circle or hastings piston rings being sold in usa from a trustworthy website (my opinion)

any links for the aftermarket standard ring size that are not already listed on rockauto.com?

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
I google but I didn't find any perfect circle or hastings piston rings being sold in usa from a trustworthy website (my opinion)

any links for the aftermarket standard ring size that are not already listed on rockauto.com?



I've had some of their pages bookmarked for years. Perhaps they could help if you give them a call.
http://www.hastingsmfg.com/ContentData.aspx?Contentid=41

 

[AKhan87]

their website is very informative.

 

[AKhan87]

after reading Hastings piston ring website, the EngineTech piston rings I was buying have a steel top compression ring, which according to them is second best and the best option out there is stainless steel coated with "Gas-Nitrided and Ceramic PVD".

Nippon Piston Rings made in Japan for this car are "Gas Nitrited Steel Rings" which makes me think they are the stainless steel mentioned on hastings website.

Would you guys deduce that the Nippon rings (Japan) are of better quality then the EngineTech rings (Japan also)?

Hastings piston rings for my car are about 40 bucks more then OEM ones from the dealer...

 

[donnyj08]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
after reading Hastings piston ring website, the EngineTech piston rings I was buying have a steel top compression ring, which according to them is second best and the best option out there is stainless steel coated with "Gas-Nitrided and Ceramic PVD".

Nippon Piston Rings made in Japan for this car are "Gas Nitrited Steel Rings" which makes me think they are the stainless steel mentioned on hastings website.

Would you guys deduce that the Nippon rings (Japan) are of better quality then the EngineTech rings (Japan also)?

Hastings piston rings for my car are about 40 bucks more then OEM ones from the dealer...


If the OEM ones are cheaper why not use them? i understand wanting the very best, but i think hastings vs OEM toyota is splitting hairs IMO. I know a couple people with 200k+ on their celicas that have never been opened up. I would just go OEM if you can get them locally and easily. plus it supports your local guys.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: donnyj08
Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
Would you guys deduce that the Nippon rings (Japan) are of better quality then the EngineTech rings (Japan also)?


If the OEM ones are cheaper why not use them? i understand wanting the very best, but i think hastings vs OEM toyota is splitting hairs IMO. I know a couple people with 200k+ on their celicas that have never been opened up. I would just go OEM if you can get them locally and easily. plus it supports your local guys.

I totally agree, I'm thinking of buying OEM at the moment but my question was asking about the quality of Nippon Piston Rings (NPR) vs the EngineTech Piston Rings

Nippon = Stainless Steel (tier 1) vs EngineTech = Steel (tier 2), this is what I have understood from the links and the Hastings Info regarding the different tiers.

 

[Fordtrucktexan]

I assembled my only Honda motor with Nippon rings and they seemed to be very good quality, but that motor is still sitting in a garage and has yet to be ran. My buddy has used them on his turbo Honda builds with great success.

 

[AKhan87]

Originally Posted By: Fordtrucktexan
I assembled my only Honda motor with Nippon rings and they seemed to be very good quality, but that motor is still sitting in a garage and has yet to be ran. My buddy has used them on his turbo Honda builds with great success.

this is what I was looking for, where did you and him purchase it from?

ebay (3 different sellers) and amazon (1 seller) seem to be the only place selling these.

I read some reviews on these rings and quiet a few folks are saying "you get what you pay for" referring to buying them from ebay (I highly doubt that is a legit reasons though)

 

[eljefino]

Aftermarket ring manufacturers want you to build an engine with long life and no oil consumption problems. The OE wants another 1/100 MPG.

Though if their service replacement rings are somehow reengineered better than the originals, that'd be an option to look at.

My experience is with saturn S-series oil consumption which as I understand is not too far off from the 98-02 corrolla problem as far as oil drainback.

If you want someone to validate buying Japanese only rings, IDK, I haven't been down that road.

 

[Fordtrucktexan]

Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
Originally Posted By: Fordtrucktexan
I assembled my only Honda motor with Nippon rings and they seemed to be very good quality, but that motor is still sitting in a garage and has yet to be ran. My buddy has used them on his turbo Honda builds with great success.

this is what I was looking for, where did you and him purchase it from?

ebay (3 different sellers) and amazon (1 seller) seem to be the only place selling these.

I read some reviews on these rings and quiet a few folks are saying "you get what you pay for" referring to buying them from ebay (I highly doubt that is a legit reasons though)


I got mine off ebay, I want to say we've bought sets off RockAuto in the past too.

The problem with most Honda owners is very few actually know what they're doing. They do stupid things like slap on a turbo kit without tuning, spray nitrous with wrong size pills, or flat out just drive the car like an idiot. Then, when something breaks, it's the parts fault, not theirs. Another buddy of mine is a classic example, he swapped a B16 (1.6 DOHC) into his Civic and drove it hard. Killed one engine with nitrous (on a stock fuel pump, ran it lean), rebuilt it, and then killed the STOCK clutch after entering a burnout contest and drag racing it. Of course, it was the clutch's fault, in his opinion.

Honestly, when I sit here and think about it, I don't know of any mfr that really makes a bad set of piston rings. I mean, they're just rings. As long as they're made from a good material and measure to the oem thickness, size, and gap specs, then really you shouldn't have any problems.

Just make sure you don't put them on the piston upside down. Seen that before.

 

[Fordtrucktexan]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Aftermarket ring manufacturers want you to build an engine with long life and no oil consumption problems. The OE wants another 1/100 MPG.

Though if their service replacement rings are somehow reengineered better than the originals, that'd be an option to look at.

My experience is with saturn S-series oil consumption which as I understand is not too far off from the 98-02 corrolla problem as far as oil drainback.

If you want someone to validate buying Japanese only rings, IDK, I haven't been down that road.


Remember S-series oil consumption is caused by more than just the pistons and rings. The valve guides, seals, and pcv system play a major role in it's thirst for oil too.