piston rings?

[Coleydog]

Originally Posted by Mike Miljanovic

Trying to get back in Stock after a 15 year lay-off (shifter-kart/stock car racing with my son), so I am a little out of date. I used to use discarded standard bore oil spacers with .030 over rails, giving 8-9 lbs vertical pull(wet), with no smoke. On LS6's, using deck plates did not make a difference on the pull. Is that still acceptable today?
Also, has anyone tried installing empty heads & hand-honing from the bottom with the block upside down? I experimented with that once long ago & ended up smashing my hone (gave up!).
What is the current upper ring combo today, or is that a big secret? Last time, I used a Dykes upper ring with a back-cut 2nd backed up with a spacer.
Thanks for any help.

Funny you should mention honing with the head on. I've contemplated taking a hole saw to a junk head, cutting all four holes right through the head. To me this would be better than a hone plate