When looking for information on the top secret/dirty word "nitro" anything, you don't find much outside of Spuds Nitro Notes which is an awesome read and thank Spud for putting Facts out there instead of voodoo fear. Spud has had good results but believe he has access to a knowledgeable machinist. In hind sight I should have talked with his machinist. Guess he is still alive so I guess they don't kill you for divulging the secrets. I know enough to be dangerous but will give you what I know and have learned and don't want to contribute to the voodoo so use this with caution. Running even smaller %'s I noticed cylinder wear and an etching (burnishing) at the top of the cylinders and ring seal falling off, had no problems prior using methanol and a zero gap Total Seal Top ring. Lots of "can't use a zero gap second ring with nitro" stuff out there but everything usually was referring to high %'s , blown & Hemi. Although there were some that had success using gapless second.?? Most guys were using a Dykes top ring. The ring flutter issue makes sense to me but I'm NA and low %? So went away from the zero gap to the TNT ring and more % and brought piston clearance to .010" from .007". Rings went away quickly and the etching was very bad. The etching area is in the upper 1.5" of the bore and the crosshatch is gone. The lost crosshatch I knew was lack of lubrication but why? The light came on when a gentleman asked me the question, "what is nitromethane used for"?? A Solvent: which changed my thinking. So the oil is being washed off from the nitro, ok but how to fix it. I had previously had the cylinders prepped as per ring instructions (320 grit stone). As Jon says call the ring manufacturer! The crosshatch roughness ( Ra, Rz, Rpk, Rk, and Rvk , go to any of the ring sites and they explain the differences) becomes the important numbers rather than the stone grit. Not all machine shops have the tool to determine those values other than the Ra value. I did not have convenient access to a machine shop with this ability or any knowledge of nitromethane living here at the edge of the earth so I have improvised and did it myself. With help from Total Seal they suggested using a 220 grit stone and plateau hone. I finally ended up using a 180 grit stone and 10 reverse passes with a plateau hone. I am using a standard tension oil ring. I have not had a loss of ring seal nor oil on the plugs to this point. Hoping to get 2 seasons as my indicator of success for me. There are a lot of variables with this, a big one is the block you are using. I'm using a Mark IV block which is very soft and added to my problem; a Dart, Merlin, Brodix, etc are different animals. Again have you or your machinist talk to the ring manufacturer & ask questions. I did talk to J&E about using a moly ring for nitro and he quickly said it would not work but could not give me details(voodoo??). I did read that Top Fuel used top and second rings both moly but said they delaminated quickly( believe in a pass) but apples to oranges. The reason why I used the TNT ring was no one else made a 4.350" x 1/16" ring other than J&E which was moly.
Thanks
Mark
