here's the situation, im going for about 450-500hp and i need to get new pistons anyway.

about how much power are the stock rods good to?

would a set of JE .020 over pistons work with the stock rods?

finally, does anyone think this would be worth it.... or should i just say f*** it and buy some manley's or something?

 

You might as well get some good rods.. It's pretty much a waste of time IMO to put a good set of pistons on a stock rod. If your trying to keep to a tight budget Manley has an H beam rod that will handle the 450-500HP your looking for with ease. The rods are around 300$ for the set.

 

Eagle also sells H beams that are rated for 600whp, although there have been plenty of people running upwards of 700whp, including the guy that tuned my car. They cost around $300 as well. I am still debating on whether to drop the extra $300-$400 on rods or not when rebuild time comes.

As far as running forged pistons with stock rods, I would either A) Stick with stock pistons with the stock rods and keep the power below 550whp, because stock pistons wear better on the cylinders. B) Get aftermarket rods with your forged pistons and go for strength for power levels over 550whp.

It seems like forged pistons with stock rods is the worst of all worlds, extra cylinder wear (shorter engine life) without the ability to make big power reliably.

 

since when do forged pistons wear cylinder walls more?


I would like proof of that..

 

At least grab yourself a set of cheap rods.

 

Since always.

Failure to warm the car up and then running with pistons with high piston to wall and alloys that dont expand fast will oval the cylinders wall out. A car put together with tight clearances might get by longer, but unless its the 2.5 or so that factory is, its gonna happen. Cant run that tight on any aftermarket piston I know of, though Wiseco will try telling you to set their pistons that tight....until you read the fineprint anyway.

If anything I'd do it the other way around and run stock pistons on aftermarket rods if it were possible. Then again if its apart just do it once and go.

 

John so the factory pistons are fine for big power as long as you upgrade the rods?

 

yeah but its not possible to go that route that I am aware of. Just bite bullet and do both at the same time

 

Well right - if you abuse it...

But if you let the car warm up... your still saying forged pistons wear cylinder walls MORE then stock pistons

 

Correct, its looser and will cause erratic wear sooner or later. We are talking maybe 60-70k instead of getting 140-150 though so its not horrible. Most built motor cars will be broke because of other things before they really wear the cylinders bad.

 

haha! that was my next question.. will my built motor last til its a problem.. or will i have already rebuilt it!! haha

 

Well eventually you will have to replace the block, because over time the wear will add up until you can no longer use the block. I am not sure how many built engines a block can support? I know you can bore a little, but not much. I know some pistons have the skirts coated for anti wear, would be interesting to know how much it helps.

Another interesting question would be how much a stroker shortens the life of a block with the extra side load. Like a 2 liter could be rebuilt 3 times before you would need to replace the block where a stoker can only be rebuilt 2 times? So many variables though that can add to the wear (power, driving habbits, etc)

 

typically - you can bore a block 4 times....

.10..20..30,.40

 

thanks for all the input guys, i think this is settled... eagle H beams it is!