Technical > Matt Shaff's Engine Shop

Custom Pistons and all the cool extras you can get

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dusterdave173:
I do a lot of dyno work and engine work
There is power in low drag ring packages for most anything but....have to agree with DRE on this one
The small gains you 'might" see  ( and I mean MIGHT) in an alky drag engine like we run is nothing much at all and the important thing is oil control and the ability to hang in there in a block that may not even have water so my vote would be for a regular 1/16th  1/16th  3/16th ring package
it is normal and cheap and foolproof!!
all those high dollar skinny rings have a place like a super stock engine or a circle tracker that is limited and needs another 2 hp but no way I would use them in what we do
OEM guys use them to aid MPG more than any other reason if truth be told
ring drag ain't what holds us back
custom oddball pistons mean big big $$$ later when you need a couple more ( and impossible wait times)
I build customer engines as standard, easy to get, normal as possible for cheap operation and EASE of repair
Just my opinion--not directed at the original poster but...every racer thinks they are an engine developer and does some odd combo --that is just not right--this stuff has already been figured out--get the basics right and go on
To my point-- he needs expensive pistons because of Odd heads--

again--not aiming to make trouble here or be a smart a%&  it is just something I deal with every day with customers--

dusterdave173:
It may be pointed out that I am slow so I must not know anything--I race with parts that my customers throw out--I have a cracked block, an eagle crank that  did not mag good, used rods that had been in a circle track engine that jumped the fence , went airborn and turned 10K rpm or more  ( so the rods were tossed) I have pistons that came out of an overheated drag engine and were scuffed to heck and back--i simply sanded them until the big gouges were gone--I did reclaim an oil pump--I used new bearings and rings, valvesprings but other than that my Junk pile runs mid 5's in the eighth like the Everready bunny and I have less than most folks spend on valve covers in it--oh and my $600 Craigs list heads that are way too small if you ask anybody :)

ricardo1967:

--- Quote from: ricardo1967 on May 21, 2015, 08:34:04 AM ---
--- Quote from: dreracecar on May 21, 2015, 08:16:08 AM ---Gimmicks--  Build the engine with sound techniques and one does not need all that crap

--- End quote ---

With due respect, I have a different perspective. For example, a lot of production cars now have pistons with hard anodized ring lands. I work in the automotive industry, believe me, these guys fight to save pennies and would not use anything that doesn't add value.

--- End quote ---

Just to qualify my comment, the mindset here is survive-ability, not HP gain.
My SBC400 has three or four news parts, everything else is well used (and some past conceivable life span).

masracingtd1167:
An .043 ring will make more power than a 1/16 ring in an un blown motor . They will last just as long .

FEDNV:
Well after dealing with JE for a few days trying to get information and frankly some attitude on the phone from the tech people I ended up calling Ross pistons.  I spoke to a tech guy there and he was very familiar with the heads I have and said I do not need custom pistons and they have an off the shelf dome that will fit and have the compression I was looking for (in fact a bit more closer to 16:1).  Also, these come with gas porting, accumulator groove and a few other "extras" that JE charged for.  These also come with the .043, .043, 3mm ring pack so in the end I am pretty happy.  I can also order these through Summit and get pro shop pricing.

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