The rings are not Honda branded, but are produced by NPR (Nippon Piston Rings) for the GX160 engine. NPR produce the rings for the Honda engine factories and parts stores.
I spoke to the Honda dealer down the road and he said that this is how they come now (3 piece oil ring) whether you get them with the Honda logo on the box or not - but in typical Honda fashion, you pay an extra $20-30 a set for the Honda logo on the box.
I did say the guides were replaceable, but compared to the cost of a complete head kit, it is not economical to change them out. The Honda guy said he hasn't bothered doing guides for over 20 years now - the cost of the guides and then the labour for fitting them and reaming them to suit the valve stems is more expensive than a new head...a genuine head is ~$100. I got a non-genuine complete head kit for $93 delivered from the USA - the GX160 is the most popular go kart engine over there, so there a heaps of after market parts available. Just going through the sellers catalogue, I could build a complete GX160 from new parts for ~$350-400. e.g. Crank case and cylinder $50, crank $35, complete head $65, cam components $35, ignition coil $35, gasket kit $20, recoil starter $20, piston and con rod $40, carby $15, exhaust $20, fuel tank $20.
I'll measure the slop in the exhaust valve, but the 'feel' of it indicates a lot more than 0.005".
I have the full workshop manual and parts list now - been trying to get them to Bruce to upload them, but his mailbox is too full.
Ben.
