Hey guys,
I am planning on rebuilding my motor pretty soon. I am currently running a stock motor with a turbonetics T3/T4 60-1 turbo and precision 525cc injectors. I turboed the car about a year and a half ago and made 274whp on 9psi (in 95 degree weather). I put about 35k on the car since its been turboed and its due for a rebuild since its smoking a bit. I want to make around 350whp this time around and i was going to buy some pistons to make my goal a bit easier to reach. (even though some of you might say the stock internals are fine for that much power). I am not planning on boring the cylinders out and was wondering if i use stock size forged pistons such as JE or Wiseco, will this cause an issue? since forged pistons expand under heat? If i use forged pistons will i need to bore the cylinders out a bit so when the pistons expand it wont cause the cylinder walls to crack? Also, is it possible to mount aftermarket pistons onto stock rods? Just wondering if I can get away with using the stock rods or if I would have to go with aftermarket rods. Sorry for the noob questions but i do not have any experience with aftermarket rebuilds at least when it comes to the block. Help would be appreciated greatly. If you need anymore information from me about my setup, let me know.

 

stock pistons are safe to 400+. rods is what you want to get. IMO rods are the weaker part of a motor. you will not have to bore the cylinder walls. you will just have to set the right ring gap and piston to wall clearance. the clearances will depend on what pistons you get and the amount of power you wish to make. also get some new bearings to freshen things up. oil pump wouldn't hurt either.

 

Thank you, I was planning on new bearings and oilpump, I will also run clearances. I had rebuilt engines before but never with aftermarket pistons/rods. I actually just got done rebuilding my brothers about a week ago but only stock. Now, will aftermarket rods fit the stock pistons? Since aftermarket wrist pins are a different size. And can anyone else confirm Boosteds' claim about choosing the rods over the pistons?

 

well considering i have nippon pistons witch are stock basically. making 460. i think you'll be safe with stock pistons. the stock rod and piston has a pressed in wrist pin that gets pressed into the rod. therefor you will need to have pistons machined for c clips or by aftermarket pistons. Correct me if i'm wrong HT guys because i'm not sure... thanks.

 

When i bought my nippon pistons they were for stock rods. and i had eagles. i had to get the pistons machined for clips to hold the wrist pin.. so thats what you will have to do i'm pretty sure.

 

Alright, thanks.

 

i was wondering if u could use eagle rods with stock pistons...

 

boostedef you sir are correct

 

how much did you pay for them to be machined for the rod to fit? im thinking of doing this setup aswell alot of my friends say its ok to use stock pistons its all in the tune...

 

Idk if this is the same situation for your stock pistons, but on my accord, the ringlands are seated higher on the piston for emissions reasons. Because they are so close to the top, they are one of the first things to go on boosted accords. So if your stock pistons also have rings that are high up on the piston, you may have the same problem. Otherwise, you should be safe.

 

my nippon pistons were 150 for stock rods. and i had to give him a extra 50 for the machining and clips. so its not that much. if your going to by stock pistons just buy the nippons. there on ebay.. and if you order them just let the guy know that you are going to be using eagle rods and that you need them machined. and everything else will be perfectly fine.

 

b series isnt like that.

 

ive heard kinda the opposite. ive heard at least LS rods (dont know about gsr rods) with ARP bolts were plenty strong for 300whp. ive always thought that pistons were more important, the stock cast ones crack ringlands especially with boosted apps. id think shotpeened and inspected rods with ARP bolts would be sufficient for that build. could be wrong. as for your ? regarding piston expansion, you would have a slight issue if you ran low silicon forged pistons because the expand much more, therefor you'd have a slight knock when its completely cold. higher silicon content forged pistons expand less, therefor a little more suitable for a street build.