ring pack options for 98mm Nickies and JE pistons

[fredmeister]

I have been hearing different opinions and pricing from various suppliers for Nickies and JE pistons on the proper ring packs to use for my turbo rebuild.

I am looking to upgrade to 98mm Nickies and JE pistons and wanted to see if there was a best ring pack to use other than the standard Goetze set up that is most common.

I am tracking the car at DE days about 50% and street driving the other 50% so I want a ring package that is going to be more tolerant of hard running and possibly being exposed to detonation more so than a daily driver. In other words, I want some additional margin of safety.

Can anyone tell me my options on another supplier and give some specifics. I have been told the Goetzes are pretty brittle, and I want to see others opinions that have been down this route.
I need to balance the additional costs as well against the standard ring packs before I make my decision to buy. One vendor is calling for a $600 increase for the "optional ring pack" he utilizes.

Thanks,
Fred

[jwasbury]

I bought my Nickies/JE set through Turbokraft and utilized Chris Carroll's suggested non-OEM ring set (oil control ring is OEM, others are not). If I recall correctly, I probably paid a $300-$400 premium buying them through Chris as opposed to getting them from Charles at LN Engineering directly (which would have been spec'd with OEM rings).

I also availed myself of Chris' knowledge ana expertise on several occasions during the rebuild process. All together, I wouldn't be surprised if I got 2 hours of his time on the phone (over several lengthy phone discussions). Overall I consider it a square deal.