The Clever Engineering Of Piston Rings

[@NewMind]

▶Visit brilliant.org/NewMind to get a 30-day free trial + 20% off your annual subscription

[@Max_Chooch]

Do a video on Nikasil cylinder bore coatings, please, and maybe also torque to yield fasteners, and torque angle.

[@doodskie999]

Man, I have been building motorcycle engines for years, but I have no idea how much tech and engineering goes into them and how much we take them for granted. In fact, the next time I rebuild an engine, I'm going to take a piston ring, look at it more and admire it more often

[@NativeTexMexican]

It's fascinated me since I was a kid. 😐👍 (My grandpa and uncles rebuilt old trucks.)

[@StaYUTI420]

I've saved every ring I could and talked to alot of automotive engineers over the years and yeah a surprising amount of research and development goes into them.

[@kx4532]

I put fresh piston rings into a rototiller once. I hope I put them in right side up. 😱 It still runs good. I guess they were well marked or I had a 50/50 chance!

[@Tadesan]

You must be bad at building motorcycle engines.

[@carlosoruna7174]

​@mattmt0918umm but you need to know the basics this is all basic logic . Overspecialisation creates MBA,s much below average

[@catbangs276]

I was an automotive engine rebuilder right out of high school and installed hundreds of piston rings on pistons. If I understood the details as explained in this video, I would have appreciated my job even more.

[@davidharvey3743]

Wow. More info that I needed. Great video tho.

[@davidharvey3743]

Sorry.i can't follow your diagrams

[@beargillium2369]

maybe even put em in the right direction right? 😅

[@catbangs276]

@@beargillium2369 haha yes. align the rings wrong and you'll weaken someone's engine and they most likely will never know why engine not performing right

[@BuschLightMatters69]

No one cares bud

[@WhyInnovate]

I designed metal gaskets for the major oil companies, it was literally the hardest engineering project and I am a PhD , -5000 psi to 25000 psi and -50f to 200f. Much respect to piston ring engineers

[@innominatum9906]

Im always so insanely impressed at how things were made hundreds of years ago. I work as a machinist creating prototypes every day in all ranges of materials - I have the newest lines of amazing CNC mills and lathes available with the most modern tools at my hands. Even I struggle at times because of crazy tolerances or very demanding features on the parts from my customers. I can only imagine how hard it would be back then to machine these parts. The engineers from back then are the reason why we are so modern in 2024. Massive respect 🤗

[@apersonontheinternet8006]

Facts. We stand on the shoulders of giants yet act like we are so much better than them.

[@stolenlaptop]

​@@apersonontheinternet8006 not to me tion we're all brain damaged from the lead in leaded gasoline making us literally handicapped.

[@gregfaris6959]

I share this immense respect for electrical engineers of the first decades of the 20th century. Time and again I discover texts from engineers who, rather than seeking the most expeditious route to an immediate problem at hand, inventing some home-cooked scheme that would alleviate that one issue, but have little application for later use cases, they would instead forge forward in unrelenting pursuit of fundamental principles, undaunted by sometimes formidable mathematical complexities to produce a body of real science so thorough, so well documented and so forward-looking as to remain essentially unchallenged to this day.

[@carlosoruna7174]

Today it's also metallurgy, how the metal behaves to temperatures, wear and other fun things

[@STEVEARABIA1]

Very true. The things that were accomplished back then with the tools they had are mind boggling. I think of watches and chemistry and physics lab equipment.

[@andersjjensen]

One small omission about ring cap: Proper "gapping" is a compromise between sealing and catastrophic failure. A tighter gap improves fuel economy and performance at low loads, but a too tight gap will cause the ring ends to meet at maximum load due to thermal expansion. When ring ends start pushing against each other you get a catastrophic failure where the crown of the piston cracks and sends metal shards everywhere.

[@gotindrachenhart]

There was also no mention of overlapping ends.

[@firefighter4443]

I learned that when Mike Patey showed a video and he was grinding his rings because he was adding NOS, and the NOS would increase load and temperatures.

[@andersjjensen]

@@firefighter4443 Yeah, Nitrous Oxide increases combustion temperature quite dramatically compared to adding more boost because the percentage of oxygen in the total mixture goes up.

[@Seregium]

​@@gotindrachenhartyes, i have an old two stroke engine with only one ring with overlapping ends. I think its beautiful but more expensive (I also have the next model of this with two standard rings).

[@bowieinc]

Yes, I leaned this lesson on a supercharged ‘07 Jeep srt8. A muffler shop’s owner had a kid who did detailing. 16 miles added to odometer resulted in several spark plug electrodes that looked like they were smashed closed with a hammer. Endoscope showed several pistons had chunks missing from ring expansion. 🤦🏼‍♂️

[@michaelfortier7726]

Jesus this video is a gold mine in information. I work with engines for an OEM, and truthfully this is the first time I see this much information on such a deep level freely available outside of my workplace. Good job.

[@jimtitt3571]

Nicely made, I worked for years in a ring factory for the UK's largest manufacturer making rings for nearly everybody, boring Perkins diesels, Cummins, Rolls Royce Merlins, Cosworth F1 engines, just everything (the factories were divided by ring diameter, we were 2 1/2" to 7 1/2", our neighbouring work up to 16ft for marine engines). Complicated to make, normally 30+ operations for a ring. They aren't actually ever round except compressed, the spun-cast cylinders are machined in an egg-shape to get the required variation in spring pressure and at every stage afterwards compressed to do the rest of the work.

[@UncleKennysPlace]

Yep. And pistons are far from round, when cold, as well. Mass and temperature distribution are taken into account to form an oval, tapered piston.

[@queueeeee9000]

​@@UncleKennysPlacehow much of an oval shape are we talking? As severe as an egg? Or less than a millimeter difference?

[@Seregium]

​@@queueeeee9000in this case micrometres play a big role)

[@tagferret6898]

@jimtitt3571 that in itself would make a fascinating video!

[@robertlindsay9826]

Hastings company?

[@artysanmobile]

I’ve wanted this explanation for a long time. The rings’ endurance always seemed impossible to me. I knew there was a lot to learn. Thanks for this.

[@EbenBransome]

This is a very good video. A little additional background: Newcomen type engines started with wooden pistons but cast iron pistons for steam engines were around as soon as the Watt type engine appeared. There's no way wood would withstand over 100C. By the 1880s piston rings were getting very complicated indeed with internal adjustable springing to keep them in contact with the cylinder walls. There were a lot of patented designs. The spiral (actually helical) expander design was invented before 1890. There were many experiments with Diesel ring designs from quite early on, including multi-piece rings designed to exert pressure on both the cylinder and the piston land using angled springs. By the time I was involved for a few years in piston R&D, the rubbing faces of rings were profiled and hard chromed. One of my jobs was to determine efficient ways of checking the shape of the ring profile and measuring the gap in a test cylinder. We might have been the first company to apply digital optics and computing to the problem, but of course nobody else was talking about their in-house secrets. Note that for Diesel engines, things like keystone ring profiles have tended to die out as better ways of getting performance, and better oils, have been developed.

[@rahulmooley3298]

I am an electronics engineer that currently works in tech. Me being privy to this information is absolutely inconsequential and will never help me in any way, shape, or form, ever. Therefore, I must now watch this entire video and learn everything about piston rings.

[@yobama8344]

you'd need it when you'll eventually have to work on your own car

[@mercoid]

So you can show off your knowledge at cocktail parties.

[@RARufus]

Programmer here but I’ve rebuilt several engines and here learning more about piston rings. Great stuff!

[@rolandtamaccio3285]

Well , you'll need more than what is in this video .

[@sivansharma5027]

​@@yobama8344 most people, even mechanically adept, would refer their car to a mechanic if there's an issue anywhere near the piston rings... The amount of engine you gotta dismantle to get to them makes it a job for only those who have the right space and equipment for it

[@michaelhuffman9545]

True enthusiast appreciate every aspect of an engine. Very well done. I live for videos like this. So educational. Pumps me up.

[@k1ng617]

3:19 John Ramsbottom lol

[@SamTheMan666]

The 12 year old within everyone giggles.

[@timault8209]

i don't get it

[@seymoarsalvage]

@@timault8209 sex joke

[@LouieLouie702]

Ladies man

[@MrJumpStars]

🤭🫣

[@nuvnsrp]

i have been 'teaching' mechanical design of i.c. engine parts from more than a decade and discuss much more than given in any 'text book' yet i find this video is quite interesting and informative.

[@denisl2760]

you should write a textbook

[@ats-3693]

I'm not a qualified mechanic but I've been messing with engines including doing full rebuilds for decades since I was in my late teens so I'm quite familiar with gapping and installing new rings into rebuilt engines, but I was totally ignorant of so much of what discussed in this video, for instance I had no idea that compression rings and their seating grooves on the pistons are designed in such a way that the combustion gas is forced in around the back edge of the ring helping to push the ring outwards tighter against the cylinder wall, I always thought that was just up to the outwards spring tension of the ring, so interesting, great video 👍

[@Sharpened_Spoon]

Govt: We want your cars to use less fuel. Manufacturer: Here, we use more oil instead. Govt: Great work!

[@gregorymalchuk272]

And then the catalytic converter becomes fouled with ash and fails.

[@gristlevonraben]

exactly!

[@andersjjensen]

The net effect is still better. 1l oil per 1600km instead of, say, 500ml per 2000km (internal combustion engines have always consumed SOME oil) in exchange for 10-15% better fuel economy is still fantastic. If we assume 20km/l -> 22km/l you're still saving ~7l of fuel per 1600km in exchange for ~700ml engine oil. And this is a very conservative example due to the almost unrealistically high millage.

[@gristlevonraben]

@@andersjjensen what about the money and environmental cost of making, distributing, and installing and disposal of new and old catalytic converters? and of fouled sparkplugs, then valve and throttle body cleaning, engine diagnostics, and the health cost of breathing in bigger oil particles in exhaust? or was this planned obselescence to make a bigger opening for electric vehicles?

[@andersjjensen]

@@gristlevonraben My Mazda 3 from 2021 has lower service requirements than my Toyota Corolla from 2005 had, so I don't know where you get that from. I have 75k km on it and it's still on the original plugs, whereas my Corolla needed new ones every 35-40k km. You seem to have decided that consuming more engine oil results in more dirty combustion as a blanket statement with no ifs and buts. But do you really know that or are you just trying to apply "common horse sense" to a complicated topic that involves advances in machining precision, different compositions of modern synthetic oils, changes to injection and ignition patterns, etc, etc?

[@janallexander5173]

Fun fact Soichiro Honda made piston rings for Toyota ! The founder of Honda motor co.

[@mareksumguy1887]

And Yamaha made engines for Toyota.

[@fabrb26]

@@mareksumguy1887 Still are not so long ago on the Lexus LFA

[@MB5rider81]

Kaizen !!

[@alb12345672]

@@mareksumguy1887 2GR is Yamaha's baby. They also made engines for Ford.

[@jonienglish3231]

Honda 1sy piston rings were a Failure !!!!!!

[@Tortee2]

This channel defines me as a person. Please for my sake and everyone else, never stop. Take breaks, but PLEASE don't let anyone tell you to stop.

[@ceopabdoc538]

This!

[@guyh3403]

The amount of effort on these graphics is from beyond this universe. Wow. Thank you so much!

[@SveinWisnaes]

As far as I understand, there are only 3-4 factories left in the world. And I live next to one of them. During my time teaching business English there, I got a tour of the place. Very impressive!

[@gustavcalder4514]

What factories are you talking about?

[@SveinWisnaes]

@@gustavcalder4514 This video is about piston rings?

[@josegregoriogonzalez874]

I used to rebuilt my own Beatle engines, the most critical part was to have the tool to properly install the rings. Excellent video!

[@TahoeRealm]

I am rebuilding a GMC 270 straight six. What piston ring tool did you prefer?

[@vjay4297]

@NewMind: 5:28 I believe you are meant to say "DECREASE" instead of "INCREASE".

[@404Anymouse]

Probably was originally meant to say "mileage" and got AI-rewritten to "fuel consumption" without context.

[@andersjjensen]

@@404Anymouse Go back and watch his old videos from before all the AI crap. This is just how he sounds.

[@Niightblade]

Or "increase fuel efficiency"

[@williamebrahim2612]

I watch a lot of engine videos and rarely find new info and knowledge like this, thank you and please continue to teach people like me we greatly appreciate it

[@lance_the_avocado9492]

I’m a Deere technician, and I’m actually going though John Deere’s technician program at the moment, I am currently in my engines, emissions, and HVAC quarter, and getting to watch this video is pretty awesome. We go over most of this stuff so it’s nice to go over it again, it’s amazing how far we’ve come to seal compression gases and performing culpable oil control in the past 100 years in internal combustion engines!

[@mitchellradspinner4491]

Man, engineering is awesome

[@maxcaz17]

Yes indeed. Engineers are incredible

[@discoverlight]

This video is the perfect follow up for the one I watched yesterday from Driver61 about how F1 pistons are made.

[@dahbrezel]

who else is here because of that? *raises hand*

[@flightmaster999]

same here!

[@malcolmar]

That was "brilliant". Thank you. This gives me an even better appreciation of the extreme engineering that has gone into modern internal combustion engines and reminds me to do two things. (1) to stay on top of my oil changes and (2) use Prolong engine oil additive every time I change my oil.

[@94520shatto]

Amsoil says and I think The Oil Guy agrees that additives actually harm the additive package of motor oil.

[@nathanbrawley7256]

8:11 low taper fade🙀

[@robbietucker7815]

Outstanding video. I struggle watching informative videos because I can’t always retain everything I just watched. However, this video was very well constructed & I was able to retain everything due to it simple yet effective format. Thank you very much

[@GojiraTenno]

@3:19 John does what now?

[@shokdj1]

He’s an expert with ring

[@film57r7]

💀💀💀

[@islandpaddle]

You heard him he ramsbottom 😂

[@Cobra427Veight]

Good video , one part of development you missed was the 4 piece oil control ring this was most likely common in the 70s and 80s, known to me as a CR4 ring these relied on groove depth to supply ring pressure to the bore, where as the 3 piece by its design, puts pressure on the bore, that's why it's important to butt the inner spacer correctly, I knew this design as a CX3 ring , I was an auto machinist in the 80s and 90s . I must have had some reasonable, training as i knew about all the internal and external steps and chamfers to induce torsional twist for better oil control Cheers .

[@jimmyzhao2673]

The creativity of people never ceases to amaze me.

[@theduke3919]

I work for a well-known engine manufacturer in the engineering department. We have subject matter experts who's focus is solely on piston rings and their performance. I was just having a conversation with one a few days ago, so it's interesting to come across this video.

[@victoryfirst2878]

VERY well done video Sir. Keep up the great work fella.

[@bobd1805]

Well done. A technique featured in some small engines is a bevel on the top ring that faces the piston top to increase sealing pressure on the compression stroke. In the quest for dazzling mileage the Honda CRX car used a slipper piston and very narrow piston rings usually found only in drag racing. They got their mileage goals at the expense of longevity. Once these engines got some miles on them their fuel economy plummeted and the were burning oil at a record rate.

[@KiwiMaker]

6:27 That blew my mind! Such a genius way of creating a tight seal that only has friction when you need it.

[@planted770]

I had no idea there was so much to know about piston rings. Well done!

[@pollodustino]

This is a spectacular video on piston rings and still only scrapes the surface. I teach automotive fundamentals at a college and will include this video in my lesson plans, and have sent it on to my department chair for his own lesson plans.

[@patiencelarson4128]

Haha, "only scrapes the surface"

[@maker7363]

Damn. This is just outstanding work!!! Research, Graphics, Script, Style.

[@EnergyXyz]

Then you really have to admire Honda's effort to create the oval rings for the NR750.

[@ImListeningToReason]

And certain flavors of their GP motorcycles that also ran oval. I’ve blipped the throttle of an NR750 and I’m glad I got the chance to do so.

[@calvint226]

Mf would do anything not to make a 2 stroke engine, except lose races. Gotta admire the effort

[@axelamps1279]

Really good video, I actually learnt stuff about car engines today. Thanks!

[@namenotshown9277]

really well done video, thanks

[@maxcaz17]

Engineers are incredible!

[@zulharis]

My car's engine has pistons, and surely they have piston rings. After watching this, I feel more appreciative for the developments of piston rings. THANK YOU!

[@addmix]

5:25, "Moving toward thinner ring heights to reduce internal friction, and increase fuel consumption" I believe this is the first time I've ever seen an error in one of your videos. Still amazing content.

[@Akira-nw4jl]

I also noticed it.

[@JanKowalski-bd8rv]

Not just piston rings but there is a whole lot of thought that goes into the many products appliances equipment etc. that we use on a regular daily basis it’s just incredible and quite fascinating when you start to think about it

[@rocketruss3405]

Did I misunderstand when at 5:26 he said “modern trend in design is to thinner ring height to reduce friction and increase fuel consumption? Doesn’t he mean reduce fuel consumption?

[@micahjones7837]

Yeah I think he meant reduce

[@Elataki]

3:20 ramsbottom, most likely mantra “I’ll show them”

[@hermanjohnson9180]

This was so extremely interesting. I appreciate the video.

[@raindropsrising7662]

Truly Amazing! This is extremely clear and focused topic for students of mechanic engineering. Appreciate it so much 🙏

[@joshclark44]

Man i am so impressed by this lecture. From the niche detail only engineers would consider to the vocabulary used to convey the exact meaning in not overly technical ways, you could teach a lecture on giving lectures. This is the difference between going to school for engineering and simply getting a piece of paper, and being invested in the material and performing well regardless of whatever proxy measurements the education system employs. I'm a subscriber after one video.

[@joshclark44]

I would add, however, that in order to convey the information more easily to a lesser informed audience, with lower cognitive effort on the viewer, that you add a blow up of the features you are highlighting with geometrically exact shape (in terms of relative dimensioning) but exaggerated values (say 5 or 10 degrees instead of 1 or 2) so that it's more visible and clear what you are pointing out without having to squint. Otherwise very well done, very well informed, and excellent diagramming.

[@elprofee2937]

As a 15 year master tech, never learn or seen such a well detailed and informative video on piston rings.

[@davidtatum8682]

I'm amazed at the engineering involved in these things. I have a semi with a Detroit diesel 60 series engine. Have almost a million miles on it now. Boggles my mind how many revolutions this engine has made over the last 8 years or so and is still running strong. Really is amazing to me.

[@jkk244]

Bit of a typo at 5:24 where the narration should say “…thinner ring heights to reduce internal friction and increase fuel EFFICIENCY…”

[@dasfahrer8187]

I love the internet. So many seemingly mundane things I've learned are actually fascinating.

[@vossti]

i had seen some video a while time ago about how piston rings are complex structures.... This video takes it all the way up to rocket science level!

[@MercSLRFan]

This brought a tear to my eye

[@BestKiteboardingOfficial]

What a brilliant insight I to the complexities of the humble piston ring.

[@BaroqueViolin]

Beautiful engineering! Thank you!

[@jasonburnham1013]

Thinner ring heights are designed to DECREASE fuel consumption due to decreased friction. NOT increase it. You got that part wrong.

[@WesleyHarcourtSTEAMandMORE]

This was a great video. Your information on steam engines was very accurate and well informed.

[@ivonvoid]

Excellent video. My understanding of piston rings has been greatly improved

[@motorv8N]

Fascinating topic very well explained and presented - thanks!

[@arsyanandregate7288]

Loved this type of writting, well done covering both history and technical aspect

[@kein2009]

SOO informative! Thanks for making this type of videos.

[@kenlipper874]

Really interesting! Very well done! Thanks for the effort.

[@EdsEnemy]

This is the first New Mind video I have watched. I subscribed.

[@michelhadid]

Thanks for this video!

[@demon39063]

this is incredibly well done! thank you!

[@haris300tt]

This is an insanely well made and easy to understand video.

[@angeljohn4019]

such an obscure item, and see the time it took to reach this level. Kudos for enlightening us

[@AlessandroGenTLe]

Excellent and detailed video. Thank you!

[@chrissmith2114]

A lot of modern engines no longer use a cylinder 'liner' but use a very hard low friction electro-chemical coating straight onto the aluminium of the cylinder wall, this improves the cooling of the rings and piston by a large amount.

[@ravi.k.t]

Thanks, man Always wanted to know about them in the past but then suddenly it's in my feed 🙏

[@sirjusmanz]

Flabbergasted! Lots of physics and engineering just for a ring, genius!

[@davep7849]

This is a fantastic segment. Entirely valid. Can't believe it doesn't have more views and likes. Of course as soon as I wrote that I know why....

[@SuperGemma2010]

fabulous explanation, brilliant job thank you

[@puffinjuice]

I'm not into cars, but you still made this very interesting by including the history of steam engines. I love your videos!

[@kirangiri4044]

Awesome vid 👌🏻

[@jfrye5]

Impressive video. This is why KZbin needs to exist.

[@ganymede3141]

Great video. Very educational. Thank you!

[@RoadWarrior-lo9vt]

This channel was an awesome find.

[@stansbruv3169]

Thank you. Subscribed! Please. Keep making and sharing information like this.

[@-_-----]

Absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much for making this video.

[@Hopeless_and_Forlorn]

What a great presentation of information, and well timed for me. While recently contemplating the choices of oil viscosity for my hybrid-engined car, I began to wonder about the current state of piston ring design and technology, considering that most of what I know about the subject was learned in aircraft powerplant school in 1964 and subsequent experience. So here comes this video to update my understanding and fill in a few gaps. My conclusion: 0W-16 synthetic oil, as recommended by the manufacturer. But I feel better about it.

[@gregorymalchuk272]

You have no choice in oil viscosity. Low tension piston rings will hydroplane on thicker oil and burn even more and poison the catalyst.

[@allareasindex7984]

Great video!

[@RemedyRob69]

Thanks for this great educational video. Very interesting.

[@freeman8000]

Bravo. Excellent documentary.

[@manxman8008]

Excellent explanations and very interesting

[@arnenelson4495]

Excellent video, much appreciated as a motorcycle engine builder, also PWC, quads, etc...

[@rileyanderson0024]

Im only a minute and ten seconds into the video and you have got me hooked

[@williamgibb5557]

Did automotive school in 1971 and never went into this kind of detail! Now I now more then ever and am retired.

[@briantruck2284]

Living in the information era Problem is there's too much fales information too

[@paulkemp4559]

A well constructed information video. I knew some of the content but the majority of it so thank you. Every days a school day

[@jaimejaimeChannel]

Amazing - had no idea there was so much to it.

[@noseeum6385]

Wow. I never knew or thought about them in that depth.

[@inoid724]

Wow, what a development!

[@ktwei]

Dom : Now, me and the mad scientist got to rip apart the block... and replace the piston rings you fried.

[@redwinedrummer]

Ask any racer, any real racer:

[@r3drumg33k3]

Overnight parts from Japan!

[@axle.student]

Never underestimate what you can achieve with a can of Hylomar and 2 hrs to spare before that street meet :P

[@joshjones3408]

Let me guess y'all got to do all that ripping apart engine blocks... because it twisted the chassi coming off the line from all that torque..👍👍👍👍

[@redwinedrummer]

@@joshjones3408 Nine hundred horses of Detroit muscle. You'll barely keep her on the track.

[@javierrflores]

Great content!

[@thunderboltpenetrator8498]

@3:16 This is why i had a hard time being in school 🤦... I'd have to take a break after hearing the teacher say his last name 🤭 Another funny one is Mr. Peabody... 🤣

[@제임스에딘]

모델링과 설명이 있어 좋아요 🙂