piston advice

[lil red s-10]

okay so i was wanting to ask a few questions while the blocks is still at the machne shop. they said it will clean up in .020 which is good. looking at JE extreme duty pistons as the bottom end is getting eagle rods and splayed main caps. but i was curious what others were running. also was debating on uping the compression ratio just a tad. its getting vortec heads also. would like to make 450+ ish... and thoughts on this?

 

[randy merritt]

Re: piston advice

I am running the JE extreme duty, eagle H beams and splayed main caps. It works just fine and has been very tough for several years now. My compression ratio is calculated at 8.75:1 due to smaller cc on my vortec heads due to milling. Be sure the shop dings the bottom of you oil pan to clear the rods. It is much easier to do it now than later when the engine is installed. Trust me on that one. I found out that my shop had not fully tightened down my oil pan, and when it was snugged up good, the rods hit the bottom of the pan.

 

[Don W.]

Re: piston advice

I'm using SRPs. They've been through 3 teardowns unscathed enduring a lot of abuse until I broke a ring land couple of weeks ago. Probably detonation, can't blame the piston for that. Eagle rods, ToralSeal rings. These are file-fit. Time consuming.

The pan clearance as mentioned is a must. I clearanced mine without the gasket that way when I used the gasket I knew I had a little extra.

 

[Peter]

Re: piston advice

My build is not too different from your: Eagle rods, 4 bolt mains, Vortec heads w/Lingenfelter's beehive springs, custom cam, and Renz's upper intake. I chose Diamond 11403 pistons for standard SBC, and Total Seal rings. The pistons are a lightweight 4032 alloy forging, 473 grams each. You can read all about the differences between 2618 and 4032, but for your goal, 4032 is a good choice. Part# 11403 is the for .040 over. You'll have to call Diamond to get the number for .020 over. It's not listed in their catalogue, but I know they make it. If the Vortec heads are 64cc you would end up with 9.2:1 compression ratio. This has worked fine for me.

 

[lil red s-10]

Re: piston advice

i was debating on bumping it a tiny bit and goung with a smaller turbo... looking like budget might not allow for a turbo upgrade yet but it will get a bigger one...... what in your guys opinion with this bottom end what do you thing it would hold hp wise? you know with a good tune ect. ?