Getting ready to start building my bottom end, best price I've found for a set of JE 9:1 81.5mm pistons is $419, but that doesn't include rings. Any other recommendations? Are SRPs worth a ****?
thanks,
J

 

hmm well for pistons I would either get JEs' or Endyn RW

 

got my pistons and rods for 850 with 20 bucks shipping from ARI...

it included:
Je pistons, 9.0:1 and .20 over
eagle rods
rings pins and locks

 

Don't do SRP's as they are just downgraded JE's. Stay away from Arias for street use. JE's sound reasonable plus buy the rings they sell so you know they are right. Don't be cheap with rings. They fail first and then take the piston with them. I am assuming you are honing the block .5mm but don't go any farther as the block will be to weak at 82 mm. I wouldn't use a block guard as the real problems start to happen below the block guard anyway. I suppose a lot of people will disagree with that but most problems start because the sleave balloons out half way down from the side force of the piston.
Earl

 

I believe you can get Endyn RW's for about the same price... seem to make the most hp in the NA engines... have to lean out the mixture as they seem to be less thirsty... don't know for sure on the forced induction... yet... think I'm buying them...

 

Where is ARI? Have a website?

 

endyn is bs... im not even going to argue this point anymore...

 

what about total seal rings? would they be worth the money?

 

Total Seal is Total Crap. My close friend *had* them until they fell apart when he removed his pistons for smoke problems and oil loss.

 

Why?

 

How are his pistons really BS? I dont care if he works at his house. Yes I know alot of his stuff he is just distrubuting. Yes he sells wiseco pistons but they are sanded smoothed out and I dont hear any complains bout them simple as that. If they were 400 w/rings like JEs' I would get the RWs'. Im not even taking any sides. Im just a consumer that looks for good stuff that works.

 

endyn rollerwave pistons are good. They do not come stock bore, though. You have to bore your block to use them.

Dustin

 

I can't find the damn number for ARI, but I'll find it tonight....

 

one thing you can't argue with me youngster... the pistons installed as they should, eclipse the rest in power production and fuel economy... Bitch about Endyn all you want... hell, they are only designed by Endyn anyway, not produced by them.

Ps the "in house" stuff is all that is "hand finished"... buy a set of pistons only and you get them "in the rough"...

 

Arias Pistons need more clearance as they expand more than other pistons when they heat up. IMO they wear quicker and are harder on the block. Not great for the start and stop of street use. They are a great race piston only.

Do not use a gapless ring as they are a compromise and not good for all out horsepower.

 

I thought gapless was what we would want no?

People have pointed me towards the "Total seal piston rings" as well...

And what was the ARI website?

 

No sir, total seal rings are terrible. I've seen two builds use them and then smoke horribly, accompanied with excessive oil loss. Used new rings(JE in one case, Honda in the other) and everything cleared up.

 

Have you looked into Wiseco Pistons. Race Engineering has them for $400.00 or so. They are of no silicon content, so they will expand with heat, but they are bullet proof. I think their high tension rings are around $75.00. You can get them for standard bore or up to 1mm over bore.

Louis Anaya
1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R
12.0 @ 118.77
349.6hp & 301.9ft/lb

 

Actually, Arias pistons have High Silicon content which doen't expand as a non or low silicon piston such as Wiseco, SRP, & JE. Arias pistons run a very tight psiton to wall clearance; something like .001" - .003" whereas pistons such as JE , SRP & wiseco run looser clearances such as .005".

 

Well, all I have is experience to go by when it comes to Endyn. Two weeks ago, I finished building a B20/VTEC for n/a duty, and used Endyn's 84.5mm 12.2:1 pistons and rings (which arrived ahead of schedule, mind you). Using all of his piston to wall clearances, gapping settings, etc, the motor fired on the first try, with no piston slap at all. With a stock ECU, head, head gasket, throttle body, timing@ 16degrees, ignition, JUN Type 1 cams, GSR head, skunk2 manifold, crappy exhaust and USDM dc header, and AEM cam gears, the car has put down 192hp @7800rpm and 142tq@6k rpm. We have yet to tune the VAFC or the exhaust cam, and keep in mind this car still has power steering (costs 5hp) and a/c (2hp). This car, with 12.2:1 compression ratio, runs on 93 octane, 16degrees of timing, with the a/c on, and no pinging. When we pulled the head for a leaky oil plug, you could see the rollerwave action working, as advertised. I was impressed.

That being said, the pistons do work, no question in my mind whatsoever. This coming from someone who's built a lot of engines. Sorry for the long post, but I'm a believer, and impressed.

 

So is this good or bad?


Which of these quotes is correct?

sorry I thought I knew alot..but apperantly not as much as you guys..so thanks for the help..


[Modified by BlwnBlue, 4:46 PM 8/22/2001]

 

You will get plethora of answers, stories, situations, & hp figures about the use of High, Low or Non Silicon Pistons. Supposedly, Arias Pistons run very tight clearances which is supposed to eliminate piston slap, oil blowbye which occurs with Non or Low Silicon pistons only until they warm up! Although you will have some or very little piston slap with Non or Low silicon Pistons, it is bearable and only occurs until the metal expands, BUT these pistons are rock solid. Some concerns that people have that DON'T run NON or LOW silicon pistons is the fear of the piston tearing into the cylinders. Usually, the looser tolerances of NON or Low Silicon Pistons are still within Factory Spec, thus the "Great Debate" about Silicon Content in Aftermarket Forged Pistons!

 

Well damn if I were to form my own opinion about the pistons..I would say they are damn good ..but when you said they were rock solid where you refering to the low,non silicone pistons? And does that mean the arias aren't rock solid?

 

Look, this guy asked about some FI stuff, and all you're giving him is 12.2 : 1 (for NA use) rollerwaves!!! ?

Let's get back to the cylinder wall clearance and silicon content issues. thanks

 

NON/LOW Silicon Pistons are Rock Solid! The only issues that people who PREFER HIGH Silicon pistons have are that NON/LOW Silicon piston tend to have piston slap and have oil blowbye ONLY until they warn up. During this period of expansion, the cylinder wall could become damaged if the piston to wall clearances are loose.
ie: JE, SRP, Wiseco, HKS, GREX

High Silicon Pistons are very strong pistons! Although, I have seen a set of Arias pistons melt on the outer edges EVEN with Swaintech coatings. These certain pistons were spec'd out for a 10 Second Nissan 200SX BY an engineer that works for Nissan USA. The car ran multiple 10 second passes and layed down 524 hp & 487 ft/lb to the wheels, but I , Personally, feel that the high silicon content had something to do with the outer edges of the piston melting. Have people used Arias pistons in 400-500 hp car, YES!

Like I said before, This is an ongoing thread that will continue as long as there is sufficient data and figures to back up both sides of the spectrum!