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Posted by: stugray Apr 23 2012, 12:14 PM

What pistons does everyone run in their race engines?

A reputable source tells me that I need forged pistons and to not use anything else.

I know two guys that run 914-4s here in Colorado vintage racing that use the AA pistons, and they said that both of their cars have run 5 seasons with no work required to the lower end.

AND they are running 10:1 CR and E85 fuel.

This engine will be very close to stock 4-cyl 2.0L with a Raby race cam package and 40 IDFs.

Thoughts?

Stu

Posted by: Racer Chris Apr 23 2012, 12:29 PM

I've run either Wiseco or JE forged pistons in all my race engines.

Posted by: stugray Apr 24 2012, 12:47 PM

Ballpark costs for those pistons? I dont see any 914 pistons on their website.

Also how many racers are using the Keith Black hypereutectic pistons?
Do you have any horror stories about them?

Stu

Posted by: Racing916 Apr 24 2012, 07:21 PM

I use JE forged pistons in a 6 cylinder motor, and have been happy!

I see on LN's website JE pistons sell for $920 for a set.

http://www.lnengineering.com/pistons.htm

Posted by: Racer Chris Apr 25 2012, 10:57 AM

$600-900/set
My race pistons have all been made custom to my specifications.
They don't have standard design 914 piston sets available direct, only through dealers. I purchased a set of flat top 96mm JE pistons from Aircooled.net recently but I just checked their website and didn't find any JE products anymore.

Posted by: RobW May 1 2012, 08:42 AM

Mahle seems to work...

Posted by: DanT May 1 2012, 08:45 AM

for my 2056 I used Keith Black hyperutectic pistons I got from Jake...
Worked very well.

Posted by: orchid914 May 2 2012, 09:20 PM

I have used AA pistons in the past. The only issue was the pin clips would would make their slots larger....so it was dificult to drove out the piston pins.

I have since used J&E custom pistons from FAT Performance. No problems at all.

2258 cc motor with 96 mm pistons, 78mm crank, and 11 to 1 CR.

John

Posted by: Randal May 15 2012, 09:04 AM

Custom designed J&E Pistons, CT12 (110 octane) race gas and 12.5 to 1 compression.

Posted by: patrick3000 May 15 2012, 03:07 PM

Ebay

Posted by: stugray Jun 30 2012, 04:02 PM

Thanks for all the response.

I decided to go with the Jake Raby kit that gives you the Keith Black hyperutectic pistons.

The instructions in the piston box says to open the upper ring gap by 20-40% from stock for hyperutectic pistons.
The hastings rings that came with the kit seem to be gapped at .015 which is at the low end of the factory specs and does not add the 20-40% on the upper ring.

Do I need to open the upper ring by the 20-40% specified in the instructions or not worry so much?

Stu

Posted by: McMark Jul 2 2012, 11:56 PM

I know you got your answers on Jake's forum, but for everyone else, the extra gapping refers to OE spec gaps. So if your Chevy/Ford/Porsche manual says X gap for stock pistons, the KBs should have a slightly larger gap. But the rings provided with the KB pistons are usually right on.

Posted by: RSrocket Jul 5 2012, 01:54 AM

This might be a little off topic but I need/want to rebuild my 2L 4 cyl. A friend of mine is family owner of Ross Racing Pistons. And she said that she can help me out with both of my Pcars. I know it's kind of against the norm, but from what I've been told, is that I can get a pretty good deal on a set. So I might be going with Ross.

JE is a great product! I also have a good friend at JE (if he is still there) who is one of the piston engineers. He has many of times put together custom 6 cyl and 4 cly apps for many of his customers with great results. I believe you can't go wrong with JE. BTW, he has been there before "and" after the Carillo Rod merger.

Hope this helps, good luck in your build!