Weird info on piston rings.

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fiatfan

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I´ve been looking for a 3-piece oil ring set. Looking at AN and RGM there´s some confusing info.... and prices. RGM have a pic showing their rings with the 3-piece oil ring, at half the price compared to AN, who has the one piece oil ring in their pic and twice the price compared to RGM. I asked RGM and it shows that they only have the one piece type, and they should update the pic. I will ask AN on monday, maybe they got it wrong the other way around....? Should it really be such different prices between the two types, I can´t believe that they sell the same rings and one of them cost 33£ and the other 65£.....
 
Looking at the adverts, I think both vendors are selling in sets for two pistons.

IMHO quality of components and the actual manufacturer are more important than which design when it comes to piston ring function.

AN are selling Italian made Gandini, which I believe are good quality.

RGM appear to be selling Hepolite, but I don’t know what that means anymore.

I’d confirm with both sellers to be sure of exactly what they are selling if it were me.

Personally, out of the two, I’d go with the Gandini‘s unless I could find a supplier that sold German made Goetze rings.

Piston rings are certainly things where price is NOT a consideration (unless you’re Alan Millyard perhaps).
 


I would like to know where these brand new box AE rings are coming from and who has the name rights now ?

The ring sets seem to be all over the show price wise on the RGM website.
 
I would like to know where these brand new box AE rings are coming from and who has the name rights now ?

The ring sets seem to be all over the show price wise on the RGM website.
Exactly!

Hence I’d wanna know, who made ’em and where !
 
Goetze are part of Federal Mogul who licenced the Hepolite TM to Wassells. Wassells will sell you the full piston kit which first came with Hastings rings and now AE rings (also part of FM) made in UK, but they also sell the kits ring free so the distributor can fit their preferred rings.

So even if someone answers today with the right answer where the rings come from, it can be wrong tomorrow, best advice is to always ask before buying.
 
The one piece oil scraper is very similar to that in Gilardoni cylinder kits (Gilardoni was part of Moto Guzzi but branched off a decade or so back) and would have thought Gandini might be the maker of the pistons/rings in those kits.
I googled but could not find a Federal Mogul link to the likes of Hastings rings.

Edit.
Back to the UK and GOETZE ?

 
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I googled but could not find a Federal Mogul link to the likes of Hastings rings.
There is no link from FM to Hastings as its Wassells that did the link, based possibly on US market requirements or suggestion.
 
Yes, sometimes due to whatever regulations apply, the identical product from one producer is sold under different names in different countries. For that matter it could simply be about "branding.". For example, In the US there are God-knows-how-many lead/acid battery brands available but only three or four actual battery factories producing them. Folks argue about which battery is best and often are arguing about the identical battery...with different labels. Could be the same with piston rings!
 
I think I know one thing, over the last 5 / 10 ? years the whole piston (and many other parts) and now rings source has been very murky.
 
I think I know one thing, over the last 5 / 10 ? years the whole piston (and many other parts) and now rings source has been very murky.
I was told (2019)by a respected Italian engine builder that people who used the new Hepolite piston/ring sets had significant problems with the rings very quickly.On that basis, I would not use them. He also said he found Wassell very uninterested in feedback on their products, which he imported.
 
Be careful, wassel have used Hastings in the past, but seeing as Hastings no longer make the Norton sizes, I am not sure who they use now. I have a set of Hastings for 750 +20, if anyone wants thes rings they are welcome to them. When measured they were neither wide nor narrow radial width so I won fit them.
Gandini rings I suspect are EU made.
 
Be careful, wassel have used Hastings in the past, but seeing as Hastings no longer make the Norton sizes, I am not sure who they use now.
Goetze, apparently.
 
I just got an answer back from AN, and they supply what they call "2-piece" oil ring sets. So I take that as they sell the same type as RGM, but maybe another manufacturer, they didn´t say. (RGM that is) Still twice the price of RGM. So where do I find a good old 3-pice oil ring set then? I´d prefer somewhere in Europe.....
 
I just got an answer back from AN, and they supply what they call "2-piece" oil ring sets. So I take that as they sell the same type as RGM, but maybe another manufacturer, they didn´t say. (RGM that is) Still twice the price of RGM. So where do I find a good old 3-pice oil ring set then? I´d prefer somewhere in Europe.....
Look on E bay, There are Hasting ring sets. I sell under the E bay name racingnorton
 
Look on E bay, There are Hasting ring sets. I sell under the E bay name racingnorton
Yes I´ve seen that, I find it pretty strange that neither RGM or AN can supply ring sets with the 3-piece oil ring. I also sent a question to "britbikesuk" on sunday but haven´t even got an answer.... So I guess I have to order rings from the US, which to me also is pretty strange.....
 
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