Most piston ring manufacturers recommend a minimum end gap of 004 inches times the bore diameter for the top piston compression ring.
Top piston ring gap.
This can be done with a piston ring squaring tool which has little pockets that locate on the top of the bore and makes sure the ring is located squarely the right distance down the bore.
As an example on a recent 5 7 liter ls build using stock replacement rings on a fresh standard 3 898 inch bore we measured a top ring gap of 0 025 inch.
Hastings recommends a minimum of 0035 gap per inch of cylinder diameter.
The flat top of the piston will square the ring in the bore and the best part is this tool costs nothing.
4 bore x 0035 0 14 minimum gap.
A feeler gauge inserted into the ring gap will show you the existing dimension and from there you can make your adjustments.
For the 2nd compression ring the standard end gap recommendation for most stock engines is typically 005 in.
004 x 4 00in bore 0 016 inch ring gap.
X the bore diameter.
So for a 4 inch bore the standard end gap would be 016 inches.
Maximum ring gap is an important part of ring performance in that too much gap results in lost compression power loss and ultimately poor oil control.
For a street engine multiplying your bore size by 0 004in will give you the top ring gap you are looking for.