Piston Question

[Squizz]

Hi Lads and Ladies,

As you know my car is a little less healthy than I would like and I can't afford forged pistons so I am considering getting standard pistons HPC treated or something similar.

Your thoughts???

[meggala]

jsut put in the stock one with a metal head gasket that should be fine mate.

cheers

[MIKGTR]

Don't waste your money on forgies unless you plan on making BIG horsepower. Standard cast piston are strong enough for most applications and are nice and lite.

[Squizz]

Well the last ones didn't like 1.6 bar.

[Squizz]

Well what about the HPC idea???

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Squizz,

I have a set of forged pistons going in. They are 8.5:1 compression therefore doing away with the expense of a metal head gasket. If you planning on running boost over 1.2 bar then I think forgies are a good idea. The stock ones are fine below this, and with a larger turbo running 1bar you could still get 500hp from the factory pistons.

There is a form of heat treatment available for pistons, valves etc. but I decided to only bother with ceramic coating the exhaust manifold. Only if you were circuit racing would I both doing the pistons, cause in general forged piston need to be hot before they start to operate properly.

MIKGTR,

I'm pretty sure that the forged aluminum are lighter than the factory cast pistons, I was surprised when I picked one up and compared it to the factory one.

See'ya:burnout:

[Squizz]

We are talking SR20DET here by the way...

[GTS-t VSPEC]

SR20DET just means you need to buy 2 less pistons than me. I think the SR20 pistons are little bit better then the RB25 pistons I have, but as you found out high boost will kill them. I'd say go for it, but save the money on HPC the pistons and spend it on a better exhaust manifold, that is where most of your hp gains will come.

See'ya :burnout:

[Squizz]

I have a trust manifold.

[GTS-t VSPEC]

You lucky bastard. I'm having mine custom made, but I have the Greddy plenum. Have you had the head ported and polished, match the inlet and exhaust runners?

See'ya:burnout:

[Squizz]

Trust Exhaust Manifold

Trust Dump

Trust Front Pipe

HKS Cams

Trust T518Z Turbo

Greddy Wastegate Actuator

Aftermarket Fuel Rail

Nismo Fuel Pressure Reg.

GTR Fuel Pump

But I don't have a plenum...

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Squizz,

That sounds like a great setup, and I'd definately suggest the forgies now, you don't want a weak point with an engine like that.

The plenum could be worth considering, I hated the design of the RB25DET plenum and the Greddy one is much better, I also have a 90mm throttle body to remove any air restriction.

See'ya:burnout:

[GTS-t VSPEC]

Squizz,

How much were you quoted for a set of forgies? You should be able to get a set of Wiseco pistons, with rings and gudgeon pins for about $1000. I would expect that the cost of coating your pistons would be heading up in this region.

See'ya:burnout:

[sniffy]

Originally posted by GTS-t VSPEC

The plenum could be worth considering, I hated the design of the RB25DET plenum and the Greddy one is much better, I also have a 90mm throttle body to remove any air restriction.

where did you get the plenum from? and for how much?

[MIKGTR]

GTS-t V-SPEC: Yeah I spose talking piston weights is a bit "how longs a piece of string" they vary that much between each engine and each piston maker.

I was thinking CA18DET when I said it, doh, I didn't realise it was SR20....I went thru chasing up forgies for my CA18 and all the forgies I could afford (under $2000) were heavier than stock, the dearer forgies were light but expensive cause of all the machining to make them I guess.

As for piston coatings i'd be checking to see how long the coating is meant to last before it wears thru....I've used them before (not HPC) and found the coating worn thru after only a few 1000km. OK in a race engine but money down the drain in a street engine

Cheers

[GTS-t VSPEC]

MIKGTR,

If your talking about Jap pistons then $2000 sounds about right, hence the reason I chose Wiseco. They are made from forged aluminum, very light, and are used in alot of race engines.

Sniffy,

The plenum is from Greddy, available from any decent import shop, cost around $1500, it makes the setup like that of a GTR, therefore improving the intercooler pipe design aswell. An Infiniti throttle body will fit on the end, if you can find one.

See'ya:burnout:

[sniffy]

available from any decent import shop...errr, i dont know any!An Infiniti throttle body will fit if i can find one...so im guessing they're hard to find. where do i look/go and how much is it going to sting my wallet?

how long would it take for a pro to install?

im guessing it would be easier if i got a FMIC to put on at the same time?

[MIKGTR]

sorry for the thread jacking but....

GTS-t VSPEC:

Did you go direct to Wiseco or is there someone local that stocks them?? cause I'm building a CA18 at the moment and wouldn't mind chasing some forgies up again. Wiseco sure is damn good stuff!! I've used their bike pistons before but last time I chased up there catalogue they didn't have a listing for any Nissan pistons so I didnt look any further and all the others I tried - APEP, Arias, JE & Cosworth were close to $2000

cheers

[GTS-t VSPEC]

MIKGTR,

Me and my mate ordered 5 set, 4 for SR20's and one for me (RB25), I think we got them directly from the distributor. I should be able to find out who on Monday and let you know. They definately do Nissan pistons now, with a whole range of compressions and sizes available.

Sniffy,

I just bought mine from Xspeed here in Perth, I'm sure if you ring around then you'll find someone who can get it in. It would be a good idea to do FMIC at the same time, save redoing intercooler piping. The Inifiti was hard to find, try your local wrecker, but they are eligible this year under the 15year rule, so there should be lots around soon. A 4.5L V8 from Nissan, sounds like something that needsa turbo.

See'ya:burnout:

[sniffy]

ok thanks, i had better start looking. whats a reasonable price for

the infinity? (so i dont get ripped[again])