Zipper Failure: What to Do?

What can be done about tongue wear?

. . . in case of problems, tow the car instead of repeatedly trying to start it: When towing, if the engine spins faster than the starter motor allows, it will restart because the compression at top dead center ("doesn't have as much time to dissipate").

A weak battery or a worn-out starter motor will naturally exacerbate the symptoms; therefore, especially in the initial stages, replacing these components can often provide relief.

If you have piston ring wear in the engine, the cylinder bore surfaces in the area of the piston ring reversal points will be heavily worn. The deeper the wear, the closer it is to the top dead center (TDC) point of the uppermost piston ring.
This type of wear only occurs after relatively high mileage.
Normally, new pistons with an oversized bore are required, and the cylinders need to be re-bored and honed. This is naturally too expensive for most car engines, so it's rarely worth doing.
Specifically for wear on cylinder liners, there are Goetze sealing rings. The company Goetze is part of the Federal Mogul group http://www.federalmogul.com.

Best regards, Rainer.