[Walt Fricke]

One way to move the pin up, thus allowing the benefits of a longer rod, is to run only two rings. Porsche did this on some of its racing pistons. Should allow a bit more room for beefier pin bosses, if that has anything to do with this kind of failure.

1) Which ring gets deleted? 2d or oil?

2) By how much does this shorten component (ring, piston, cylinder) life? Shorter ring life might be OK for 40-80 hour amateur race motors. Bit costly if the more expensive components need more frequent replacement.

3) How does having two rings save weight (beyond the weight of the missing ring)? Add back in the weight of the missing land, plus the extra weight of the longer rod.

You don't hear much about 2 vs 3 rings - what's the drawback for racing?

I don't know about 98s, but I weighed a 95mm J&E bare at 470g. While perhaps not a good comparison, a used Alusil Kolbenschmidt stock 9.3/1 95 weighed 530g. (knew there was a reason to keep those pistons).

Walt Fricke