Of all of us who have been using motorcycles that are older than say 5 years or have run more kilometres on it than to mention, we all must have gone through this service routine of changing the Piston Rings of our bike’s engine. And I can bet on this that from all those who have had it changed, over 80% has had no idea what piston rings are, what they do and how do they even look. Just because the service manager asked that it needs changing, we simply change it. For this reason we have for you this article so that we can dive into the technicalities of piston rings and know how they perform and what they do.We all know that our motorbikes have a piston inside the cylinder block of the bike. This piston is what moves and produced the power when fuel is burnt. Now here the piston is actually not in contact with the cylinder wall inside the engine because that would increase metal on metal friction and that is going to ruin the engine and the performance over time no matter how much lubrication you use.
RELATED ARTICLE: Forged Pistons Vs Cast Pistons- Which One Is Better And Why?
So to counter this issue Piston Rings are used. These rings bridge the gap between the piston and the cylinder wall. They are generally made from metal but have a good heat carrying and elastic property to it. This way the piston rings go on to perform multiple functions which we will discuss in some. Piston rings are not that expensive but the task they handle it really important and without them not only the bike won’t be able to perform at its optimum level, but it will also go on to damage the engine quite quickly over time. Coming to the functions that piston rings performs are as follows:
1. Heat Dissipation From The Piston:
This comes really handy because the piston is the one which does the compression in an IC engine and also the burning is done on the piston. This is the reason why the piston gets really hot due to the continuous combustion. But the issue comes when the piston is not connected to anything or in contact with a large surface, so the heat from the piston does not quite get a chance to really cool down. Here is where piston rings come in who carry the heat from the piston to the cylinder wall and from there to the atmosphere. If this was not the case, then entire heat exchange load would fall on the engine oil and that would tend for it to lose its viscosity and could end up harming the engine. And also the excess heat and the all-time stress might also lead the piston to disfigure and thus causing harm.
2. Aids In Balancing Piston Movement:
The piston has just one movement, along a single axis. But this is only because it is designed so. But suppose due to some reason the piston becomes disfigured and it has absolutely no support whatsoever and hence it comes in contact with the cylinder wall and goes on to damage the engine; how damaging would that be. This is where piston rings come in. They keep the piston steady by covering the gap between that and the cylinder wall and hence keeps the piston steady at all times. This way if anything goes wrong, the piston rings are the ones to take the hit preserving the piston and the rings can be then cheaply replaced off.
3. Seals The Gap between Piston And Cylinder Wall:
This is a very important function which not many really even know of. The Piston Rings seals off the gap between the cylinder walls and the piston. This is why the fluids on both ends of the piston head do not mix. This is the same reason why if the piston rings are damaged, then your engine oil will start mixing with the combustion mixture and end up in a smoky exhaust. Also the engine oil will start burning and reduce in quantity and stop providing optimum protection to the engine which is why it is important to get them replaced ASAP.
So these are the functions of piston rings mentioned above. If you have any more queries do comment down below and share it with everyone so they know what piston rings do and how useful they are and stay tuned to BikesIndia for more such informative articles.This comes really handy because the piston is the one which does the compression in an IC engine and also the burning is done on the piston. This is the reason why the piston gets really hot due to the continuous combustion. But the issue comes when the piston is not connected to anything or in contact with a large surface, so the heat from the piston does not quite get a chance to really cool down. Here is where piston rings come in who carry the heat from the piston to the cylinder wall and from there to the atmosphere. If this was not the case, then entire heat exchange load would fall on the engine oil and that would tend for it to lose its viscosity and could end up harming the engine. And also the excess heat and the all-time stress might also lead the piston to disfigure and thus causing harm.
2. Aids In Balancing Piston Movement:
The piston has just one movement, along a single axis. But this is only because it is designed so. But suppose due to some reason the piston becomes disfigured and it has absolutely no support whatsoever and hence it comes in contact with the cylinder wall and goes on to damage the engine; how damaging would that be. This is where piston rings come in. They keep the piston steady by covering the gap between that and the cylinder wall and hence keeps the piston steady at all times. This way if anything goes wrong, the piston rings are the ones to take the hit preserving the piston and the rings can be then cheaply replaced off.
3. Seals The Gap between Piston And Cylinder Wall:
This is a very important function which not many really even know of. The Piston Rings seals off the gap between the cylinder walls and the piston. This is why the fluids on both ends of the piston head do not mix. This is the same reason why if the piston rings are damaged, then your engine oil will start mixing with the combustion mixture and end up in a smoky exhaust. Also the engine oil will start burning and reduce in quantity and stop providing optimum protection to the engine which is why it is important to get them replaced ASAP.
By: Pratik Patole