M30 3.5L or M52 2.8 L ??

[magpie]

ross and mr screech are doing a good job so far i'd say

[HairyScreech]

given how critical ring seal is on a performance engine i always get opinion of a pro on honing, rings etc as its something you'd not want to have to redo because of cutting corners and what not.

Agreed.

Run your block down to a local machine shop and see what they say,
Some quick rules of thumb - Any polished spots where there is no honing present and it will be out of round when hot and need honing
- any scratches or lips that are big enough to feel if you scratch then with your finger nail and the rings will feel it too. If your nail wont catch on it then ignore it. A road engine will cope with about 0.007" deviation.
- hone grit finish is dependant on ring type, tell the machine shop what your rings are when you ask them to glazebust or hone it.

Rings can be reused but it requires careful inspection, me and a friend used some old bmw rings regapped to rebuild an odd lancia engine (rings not available), did a careful wear inspection, checked the conformity to the bore and the gap, put them in and its all ok.

It depends on what you want, I know the engine ross is building is a bit more expensive and need a bit more work, but stuffing a b30 bottom end into an M52 using 2nd hand pistons and crank?
It's a £500 job that you can expect to last 50k.
For me that's 5 years at least, by that point I would be wanting more power or something different anyway.

[magpie]

indeed

i will be looking for something boosted in a couple of yrs time